NASA astronauts on the International Space Station will have two malfunctions associated with the outpost's solar arrays to inspect when they venture outside Dec. 18 in a spacewalk that can't wait until the space shuttle is flying again. In addition to the starboard solar alpha rotary joint (SARJ), a beta gimbal assembly (BGA) that rolls half of the array wing around its own axis is out of commission, possibly from a micrometeroid or debris hit detected when circuit-breaker trips stalled it Dec. 8.
The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program has "turned around," a DOD official said Dec. 13, while acknowledging that it has been "troubled since the beginning." JTRS program executive Dennis Bauman offered a list of results to prove the program is "on track." Fifty pre-engineering development model (EDM) ground mobile radios (GMRs) have been delivered to the U.S. Army, he said. Full EDMs are expected to be delivered in January 2009, with low-rate initial production (LRIP) to follow in August 2010.
POSEIDON FUSELAGE: Boeing and its Poseidon industry team started production of the first P-8A fuselage Dec. 12 at Spirit AeroSystems' Wichita, Kan., facility. The first P-8A fuselage components were loaded into a holding fixture on the factory floor. Initial parts and other fuselage assemblies will come together on Spirit's existing Next-Generation 737 production line. In early 2008, Spirit will ship the first P-8A fuselage to Boeing in Renton, Wash., for aircraft assembly. The first of three flight- and two ground-test aircraft will be delivered to the U.S.
The U.S. Navy is working to build a program that would make laser weapons onboard ships a reality, a service official said. Programs are being evaluated in the near-, mid-, and long-term time frames, said Navy Capt. Dave Kiel, program manger for the Navy's directed energy and electric weapons office. "By 2010, I want to have an advanced component development prototype," Kiel said. "By 2012, I want to have a full-fledged acquisition program."
NASA will continue to work with Ad Astra Rocket Company as the Webster, Texas-based firm moves forward with development of an advanced plasma engine for future in-space propulsion. Michael Coats, director of Johnson Space Center, and veteran astronaut Franklin Chang Diaz, the Ad Astra chairman and CEO, signed a Space Act Agreement Dec. 10 setting out a "framework for collaboration" as the company matures its "Vasimr" engine technology (DAILY, Feb. 15).
The top four-star leaders of the U.S. Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy heard the first widespread congressional reaction Dec. 13 to their newly unveiled maritime strategy report -- and lawmakers were skeptical across the political aisle.
SPEEDY TRANSISTOR: Northrop Grumman says it set a new world record for transistor speed on Dec. 11. The company said the ultra-fast device, an indium phosphide-based High Electron Mobility Transistor (InP HEMT), will provide higher frequency and bandwidth capabilities for future military communications, radar and intelligence applications. The InP HEMT operated with a maximum frequency of more that 1,000 gigahertz, or one terahertz. The test measuring the record speed was conducted at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
U.S. lawmakers will allow the Pentagon to enter a multilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) authorizing acquisition of Boeing C-17s with NATO allies under the Strategic Airlift Capability Partnership, but stress that the shared airlifters should support alliance missions over national uses.
The first transcontinental flight powered by synthetic fuel will take place Dec. 17 on a C-17 from McChord Air Force Base, Wash., according to Secretary William Anderson, the U.S. Air Force's senior energy executive. The flight is part of the Air Force's initiative to certify its fleet to fly on a 50-50 combination of synthetic fuel (liquid derived from coal) and petroleum-based fuel by 2011 (DAILY, Oct. 29).
Lawmakers, now led by Democrats, are continuing their reluctance to allow the U.S. Air Force to retire several aircraft - which the service wants to do to help buy new equipment - because of concerns in awaiting replacements. Under the House-Senate compromise over the fiscal 2008 defense authorization, which the Senate is expected to bless soon after the House did as much Dec. 12, conferees also hammered out restrictions to keep the Defense Department from grounding bombers and other military aircraft linked to local jobs, among other reasons.
One of Boeing's biggest fans on Wall Street is having second thoughts. Morgan Stanley research analyst Heidi Wood lowered her rating on the company's stock to "equal-weight" - the equivalent of neutral - a day after a year-end briefing on the 787 aircraft's development status. Mike Shanahan, the new 787 program manager, maintained that a recovery plan is on track to deliver the first 787 by the end of next year. But Wood, in a research note issued Dec. 12, says the hurdles are too risky to tell her clients to keep buying Boeing stock.
Ladish Co. has unveiled plans to open a new investment casting foundry in Mexico, a move the company says will help it meet soaring demand for aircraft titanium components and capitalize on a growing base of aerospace manufacturers in Mexico. The Cudahy, Wis.-based company says it will invest $16 million-$20 million in the project. It is considering several locations in Mexico for the 55,000-60,000-square-foot plant and expects it to be operational in 2009 or 2010.
BAE EXPANDS: BAE Systems announced Dec. 12 the opening of a new, 30,000-square-foot facility in South Nashua, N.H., to support 1,400 of BAE's 4,500 employees working there on the F-22A Raptor and F-35 Lightning II electronic warfare programs. According to company officials, the facility will enable assembly and testing of microwave products and reduce the costs involved in assembly, integration and acceptance testing. The electronic warfare suites BAE provides to the F-22 and F-35 detect, analyze, evaluate and react to possible electronic threats.
Exploration systems managers at NASA have picked Boeing to build the Instrument Unit Avionics (IUA) on the next-generation Ares I crew launch vehicle that will carry the planned Orion crew exploration vehicle to orbit. The total value of the contract if all options are exercised is roughly $799.5 million. The base contract covers one IUA ground test article, three flight-test units and six production flight units supporting flight-tests and missions through 2016.
iRobot has developed a new payload for its PackBot ground robot that will allow it to create and relay to its operator a real-time two-dimensional structural map of the environment it is moving through. Known as Mapping Kit, the payload also will allow PackBot to detect and avoid obstacles in its path autonomously, while still leaving overall control to the operator, iRobot says. The company says this level of autonomy should allow operators to navigate more efficiently through unknown areas.
JCA BLOCK: Under the House-Senate compromise over the fiscal 2008 defense authorization (see story p. 1), lawmakers are moving to block funds for the nascent Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) until 30 days after the Fleet Mix Analysis is delivered to Congress and DOD provides certification that a validated operational requirement exists for the aircraft. But conferees agreed to withhold judgment on moving the program to a single service until a review of roles and missions within DOD is completed and a recommendation is provided by the defense secretary.
Israel wants to keep its air force dominant by buying Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, making it operational quickly and packing it with equipment designed exclusively for its own needs. Senior Israeli Air Force (IAF) officials say they have an "understanding" with U.S. officials. Washington's representatives say there is no official change to Israel's program. Israel's plan is to get more than 100 F-35s the minute they are available. Determinations on what's inside may be a battleground.
NATO RAID-LITE: Raytheon said it received a $5.3 million contract from NATO to provide tower-based, elevated persistent surveillance systems for alliance forces in Afghanistan. The company's Enhanced Surveillance System is similar to its Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) system, currently deployed by the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan (DAILY, July 10). Raytheon will also provide all logistics support services required to keep the systems operational.
OPEN AEGIS: The cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) will receive a fully-open architecture Aegis weapon system, the first for a major surface warship, during its depot modernization period starting in February 2008, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin. Bunker Hill is the first of 22 cruisers scheduled for modernization with Aegis Open Architecture over the next 10 years. In 2012, the Navy will begin a similar modernization program for the 62-ship class of Aegis-equipped Arleigh Burke destroyers.
Although certainly not what high-technology industry officials would have crafted themselves, the emerging fiscal 2008 defense authorization measure appears to leave out what they would consider the most offensive acquisition reform proposals. "We are still analyzing the legislation, but it seems that the worst ideas are where they belong - on the cutting room floor," said Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) chief Phil Bond.
Officials at Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems are looking forward to an "unprecedented" slew of satellite competitions in 2008 worth up to $17 billion total. Among those eyed by the executives are the U.S. Air Force's GPS III and Transformational Satellite (TSAT) deals, the latter of which is being considered for termination in the fiscal 2009 budget proposal.
