DIRCM AWARD: French armaments agency DGA has awarded laser specialist Cilas a contract to build a compact laser source mockup as part of a project, known as Cesam, to develop and produce a jamming laser for military transport Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) applications. The mockup, which stems from a definition phase dating back to 2002, is to be delivered in two years.
The X Prize Foundation and Google are teaming to offer $20 million to the first privately funded team to soft land on the moon and robotically rove the surface for at least 500 meters while sending images and video back to Earth. The winner of the "Google Lunar X Prize" must transmit a specific set of high-definition video, still photo images and data back to Earth, including a "Mooncast" that will include high-resolution 360-degree panoramic views of the lunar surface, "self portraits" of the rover and near real-time videos of the rover's journey.
The U.S. is counterattacking across the murky terrain of the cyber-world. A series of anonymous attacks on Web sites used by Islamic militants - all guarded by passwords - have hijacked, blocked and delayed various communications, including the latest message from al Qaeda figurehead Osama bin Laden. The attacks on the jihadist sites came in advance of U.S. ceremonies commemorating the suicide attacks on Washington and New York in 2001.
SMALL GEO: The European Space Agency says it has invited Hispasat to make a full proposal to operate Small Geo, a telecom technology mission designed to ride on a new bus being built under the leadership of OHB System. The proposal will be based on an unsolicited offer that was retained after a subsequent announcement of opportunity yielded no better tender, the agency said.
NASA is descoping the $1.7 billion Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, cutting back some instruments, capping others and changing some design elements to cover a $75 million overrun.
PACOM TRAINING: U.S. Pacific Command's (PACOM) master plan does not provide details regarding training limitations for the Air Force in South Korea, which could cause the United States to pursue alternatives, such as training in other locations, downsizing or relocating that could affect overseas basing plans, according to congressional auditors.
Both BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman are seeking to win a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contract to test their laser jamming technologies' ability to protect passenger aircraft from shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missile attacks, company officials confirmed Sept. 13. Both BAE and Northrop Grumman have been using cargo aircraft to test the feasibility of equipping scheduled commercial flights with protection from small missiles known as man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS).
Northrop Grumman officials are clarifying the status of the second Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) satellite in response to a Sept. 13 item. The satellite already has begun environmental testing in the thermovac chamber, though an official previously said testing would begin later this month. The item also contained an incorrect launch date for the spacecraft, which will be orbited in early 2008.
LCS CELEBRATION: Northrop Grumman and U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command will herald delivery of the first mission package for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) at ceremonies Sept. 14 in Panama City, Fla. The mine warfare package being delivered, at $68 million, is the most expensive of three planned initially for the LCS class and comes before any hull is available (DAILY, Aug. 31). Senate appropriators on Sept.
PROMOTIONAL STRIKE: Lockheed Martin is touting its new DAGR, a semi-active laser guidance kit that adapts to 2.75-inch/70mm rockets to provide guided-rocket performance comparable to that of the precision-strike laser-guided Hellfire II missile. The Lockheed-funded system, rolled out earlier this year, aims for U.S. military users looking for precision munitions to destroy targets close to civilian assets and friendly forces while minimizing collateral damage.
A startup company founded by a group of scientists who have developed techniques for using Global Positioning System (GPS) signals to measure atmospheric conditions with high accuracy is raising funds for a 24-satellite constellation to collect the data commercially.
As lawmakers further scrutinize the U.S. Air Force's decision to award its Combat, Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter contract to Boeing in the wake of two U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) protest sustainments, industry analysts say the service must prove that it can pick its contractors in a transparent and unbiased fashion. The future of the CSAR-X - whose schedule is likely off-kilter because of the protest decisions - is at stake. But so is Air Force acquisition credibility as the service prepares for tanker, bomber and other purchases.
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin says that "for us to ever allow there to be any doubt about our pre-eminence in all aspects of spaceflight, from the blackest military programs to the most innocent scientific investigation, is bad for the United States."
UNDERWATER NIGHT: ITT Corp. said it will provide submersible night-vision equipment to the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard through 2012. The Naval Surface Warfare Center's Crane Division awarded the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, worth up to $37 million, for submersible AN/PVS-14 night-vision monocular devices, the company said Sept. 11. The device allows the user to adjust the gain control for improved clarity of vision in varying light conditions.
Ohio-based Defense Research Associates (DRA) has come up with a program to charge the batteries of small unmanned aerial vehicles directly from power lines, potentially providing the aircraft with unprecedented range and capability.
STSS TESTING: Alexis Livanos, president of Northrop Grumman Space Technology, says the first of two Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) satellites has completed environmental testing in the thermovac chamber. The second is expected to begin environmental testing in about two weeks. The two satellites, which were designed under the earlier Space-Based Infrared System Low program and later completed as part of the STSS program, are set to launch in 2009.
NASA managers are pondering their next moves if, as is likely, Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) won't be able to rally in the face of a nonperformance notice from the agency under its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. One possibility, according to Doug Cooke, deputy associate administrator for exploration systems, is a new competition to spend the federal seed money that would otherwise have gone to RpK.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have decided to continue preparing to launch the Selene lunar orbiter Sept. 14, although some officials say there's a fifty-fifty chance it could be delayed a second time due to stormy weather.
The U.S. Air Force's Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program still faces multiple challenges and is burning through its management reserves faster than expected, while the service's backup technology program faces problems of its own, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
