HYDERABAD, India - India is planning 60 space missions over the next five years to achieve objectives in navigation, positioning, advanced communications, space transportation, Earth observation and space science, according to the country's Minister of State Prithviraj Chavan. This will provide increased opportunities for commercial and scientific cooperation with India, Chavan said at the kickoff of the 58th International Astronautical Congress here.
HYDERABAD, India - A growing awareness of the threat to Earth posed by even relatively small asteroids and comet chunks suggests a potential career path for budding engineers.
The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC) is hoping to convince Defense Department officials to cite its standards in future requests for proposals, top executives tell reporters. In a Sept. 18 press conference celebrating the group's third anniversary, retired Air Force three-star generals Carl O'Berry and Harry Raduege, Jr. said the 98-member consortium has rolled out a few "deliverables" that prove it can provide useful results for companies and their mostly DOD clients.
ADVENT PROGRAM: Lockheed Martin has been awarded $40 million for the ADVENT program, which demonstrates integration technologies to technology readiness level (TRL) four and five, and engine technologies to TRL-6 in a large-thrust class (25,000 pounds). The emphasis will be on multidesign point demonstration of significant advancements in thrust, fuel efficiency, production and development cost and maintenance cost characteristics over baseline engines.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine, the air arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has opened its fourth air branch along the U.S.-Canadian border at Grand Forks, N.D. The North Dakota Air Branch, located at Grand Forks International Airport, eventually will have a staff of 50, including pilots (known as Air Interdiction Agents), Air Enforcement Agents and mission support personnel.
Technology delays threaten to drive up the construction costs of the U.S. Navy's new carrier, the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Three systems in particular - the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), the dual-band radar and the advanced arresting gear - are cause for concern, GAO says.
The DDG 1000 and DDG 1001 destroyers will benefit from a $994 million contract modification awarded by Naval Sea Systems Command to Raytheon for mission system equipment (MSE) production and engineering support services. The MSE is being developed as part of the DDG 1000 ship systems detailed design and integration effort, and includes elements such as the computing environment infrastructure and the acoustic sensor suite.
EUROFIGHTER DEAL: While an agreement has been reached between the U.K. and Saudi Arabia on Project Salam, covering the acquisition of 72 Eurofighter Typhoons, many issues remain to be resolved. These include such potentially thorny items as the weapons package and exactly how Saudi Arabian aspirations for final assembly of the bulk of the order will be satisfied. The first 24 aircraft will undergo final assembly by BAE Systems, with the remainder meant to be done in country. Also believed unresolved is the final weapons package for the Tornado Sustainment Program.
Northrop Grumman's Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program radar will fly on a Block-40 Global Hawk by the end of fiscal 2008, company officials told media attending the Air Force Association conference and exposition in Washington Sept. 24. The radar, developed by a Northrop-Raytheon team, uses active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology and commercial off-the-shelf hardware to deliver long-range, very high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) capabilities and air tracking.
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) plans to offer its CH-47F Chinook in response to an Indian air force requirement for 12 medium- to heavy-lift helicopters expected to be released in the first quarter of 2008. Boeing's bid will emphasize the CH-47F's high-altitude and lift capability in hot conditions, which will be required for the austere flying environment in India, according to Chuck Allen, Boeing's vice president and general manager for rotorcraft systems.
GOES-R: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA have awarded Lockheed Martin a $178 million contract to develop the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) instrument for NOAA's next generation of geostationary weather satellites, GOES-R. The SUVI will monitor the entire dynamic range of solar x-ray features, including coronal holes and solar flares, and will continue the mission performed by the Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI) on the current GOES-N series. The first GOES-R satellite is set to launch in December 2014.
DAWN POSTPONED: NASA has postponed the launch of the Dawn spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., by 24 hours to Sept. 27. Technicians were unable to complete fueling of the rocket's second stage Sept. 23 because of bad weather at the launch pad. The launch window lasts from 7:20 a.m. to 7:49 a.m. EDT. Dawn will visit the asteroids Vesta and Ceres.
AIR FORCE ARCTEC Alaska of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is being awarded a contract option for $34,028,326. The action provides for operation and maintenance of the Alaska Radar System, which consists of 17 remote radar sites for a 12-month period. At this time $42,538,969 has been obligated. For more information please call (907) 552-5601. The contracting activity is 3rd Contracting Squadron, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska (FA5000-04-C-0011/NA). NAVY
BUY EUROPEAN?: The Italian Ministry of Defense insists operational factors drove a decision to launch its second military communications satellite - Sicral 1b - on a Sea Launch rocket, and not a drop in support for Europe's Ariane 5 launcher. The launcher choice followed the Sept. 14 award of a 118 million euro ($164 million) contract to Telespazio for launch and operation of Sicral 1b. The company will contribute funding in return for a share in capacity.
GMD TEST SET: The Missile Defense Agency has scheduled a flight-test of Boeing's ground-based midcourse defense (GMD) system for Sept. 28. The sea-based X-band radar (SBX) component will be involved, operating in data collection mode. The primary engagement radar for the test is the upgraded early warning radar at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
NUKE PATROL: National Nuclear Security Administration officials have converted the only civilian research reactor in Vietnam, in the mountain town of Dalat, from highly enriched uranium to low-enriched fuel, and they returned 10 pounds of remaining highly enriched uranium to Russia. The U.S. removed its fuel from the facility in 1975 in a secret, two-aircraft operation only hours before the town fell to North Vietnamese forces.
The Air Force Materiel Command fails to meet Defense Department regulations for certain information technology programs, an Inspector General's report says. The Sept. 18 report recommends that the command cease operation of the Lean Depot Management System (LDMS) until it complies with Pentagon regulations, including the Department of Defense Information Technology Security Certification and Accreditation Process (DITSCAP).
