LUNAR ASSIGNMENTS: NASA on Oct. 30 announced the dispersal of work on lunar exploration systems among its field centers. Johnson Space Center in Houston will lead the lunar lander and surface systems project, while Kennedy Space Center, Fla., will have responsibility for final lunar lander assembly and in situ lunar resource utilization. Marshall Space Flight Center, Ala., will be element lead on the lunar lander descent stage.
Recent statistics from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center and an Aerospace Daily analysis of Army safety data suggest that the combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan are safer - in terms of accidents - than they were earlier in the conflicts. Further, there has generally been a far greater risk of being in an accident during peaceful or homebound operations, according to a computer analysis of nearly 1 million Army safety records from different databases dating back from 1972 to the last quarter of 2004.
TRIALS COMPLETE: The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bertholf completed successful propulsion dock trials at the Northrop Grumman Ship Systems facility in Pascagoula, Miss., last week. The embattled National Security Cutter (NSC) is 90 percent complete. The dock trials, which ran for two weeks, were conducted to prove out the ship's propulsion train, which consists of the engines, combining gears, shafts and propellers. The NSC will undergo machinery trials later this year.
HOUSTON - The most complex International Space Station (ISS) assembly mission on the manifest has gotten even more complicated, with a one-day extension to permit thorough inspection of a key mechanism found to be contaminated with foreign object debris (FOD).
The U.S. Air Force needs better financial controls over its Air Force Network-Centric Solutions (NETCENTS) contract, a recent Pentagon Inspector General's (IG) report says. The NETCENTS contract provides the Air Force, the Defense Department, and other federal agencies a primary source of networking equipment and system engineering, installation, integration, operations, and maintenance. The multiple-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract has a $9 billion order ceiling and a base contract term of three years with two one-year options.
MEANWHILE: While NASA grapples with a problem on a crucial International Space Station (ISS) joint (see story), the complex robotic operations needed to move the station's P6 truss/array combination from its temporary position atop the ISS to the far end of the port truss have gone smoothly. Before astronaut Dan Tani found foreign object debris in the joint on Oct. 28, he and fellow STS-120 crewmember Scott Parazynski disconnected the 34,994-pound unit so the station and shuttle robot arms could pass it back and forth en route to the end of the truss.
PHOENIX - The first tactic many aerospace and defense companies turn to when filling their program management (PM) needs is to poach appealing managers from rivals, several industry participants say, and they are increasingly aware that it is shortsighted and may add to headline-grabbing program management issues.
NEW ORLEANS - The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is trying to change the culture inside the intelligence community to one of open information sharing to improve maritime domain awareness (MDA), says U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Richard Kelly, director of global maritime intelligence integration (GMII).
NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Keith Ingalsbe discussed the pending November release of a request for proposals (RFP) for his service's Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS) at the Coast Guard Innovation Expo here Oct. 29, the same day Northrop Grumman announced its intention to compete for the design, integration, installation and testing of NAIS. "This is not just a black box," Ingalsbe said. "It's a compilation of computers, receivers, transmitters and antenna...that pass information using an ingenious, self-organizing protocol."
U.S. Missile Defense Agency officials are now ready to begin pitting the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system against separating targets after last week's successful flight-test, according to program officials.
NEW ORLEANS - An expedient "operationalization" of maritime domain awareness (MDA) is needed to "guarantee American security and prosperity," a U.S. Navy intelligence director says. "We understand that whatever the Department of the Navy does is of limited value unless our partners can contribute critical information and insights at every level of classification," Wendy Kay, senior director for intelligence for the secretary of the U.S. Navy, said in opening the U.S. Coast Guard Innovation Expo here Oct. 29.
GRIFFIN TESTIFIES: NASA Administrator Michael Griffin will be the lead witness this week when the House Science and Technology Committee considers what the agency can do to improve aviation safety. The Oct. 31 hearing also will include former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall. NASA came under fire from lawmakers, including Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) last week over its refusal to release publicly the results from an extensive survey of commercial and general aviation pilots about safety incidents.
NEW DEHLI - Following years of discussion, India and Russia signed an agreement for the joint development and production of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGA) during a recent visit to Russia by Defense Minister A.K. Antony.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] Oct. 29 -- AVIATIONWEEK Management Forums, Avionics Outlook, Hyatt Regency, Phoenix, Ariz. For more information call (212) 904-3195, http://www.aviationweek.com/forums. Oct. 29 - 31 -- AVIATIONWEEK Top A&D Programs to Watch, "Commercial and Defense Programs in Review," Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix, Ariz. For more information call (212) 904-4483 or (800) 240-7645 or go to http://www.aviationweek.com/conferences.
AMENDED SUPPLEMENTAL: The Bush administration's recent amendments to the February fiscal 2008 supplemental budget request would boost by $67 million a request to replace the 14 Close-In Weapons Systems diverted to the Army in FY '07 and accelerate production deliveries to minimize the impact to the Navy's fielding plan. At the same time, $2.5 billion would be directed toward M1 Abrams Tank and M2 Bradley Fighting vehicle upgrades, Stryker vehicles, Howitzers and small arms and medium caliber weapons for operating, returning and future Army deployments.
