The competitive and government business cases for keeping an alternative engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter don't fly, according to a recently released briefing by the Lexington Institute. "GE and its legislative backers say the alternate engine will save money, bolster safety and strengthen the industrial base across the lifetime of the program," says the report by Loren Thompson. "Pentagon policymakers say there is no firm evidence to support those claims, and want to forego funding of the new engine.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plan to strengthen their satellite ties in the coming fiscal year with the re-establishment of an effort modeled after the Operational Satellite Improvement Program (OSIP) the agencies implemented in the 1970s.
With the conclusion of the docked portion of the STS-118/13A.1 International Space Station (ISS) assembly mission, the ISS is ready for the final build-out to a facility able to support a crew of six in U.S., Russian, European and Japanese-built pressurized modules.
ARMING ALLIES: The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has detailed to Congress several Foreign Military Sales to Bahrain, Canada, Israel and Spain, according to DSCA letters published in the Federal Register Aug. 15. Under a $465 million deal, Israel asked for 10,000 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, 2,500 Paveway II full kits for the MK-82 warhead, 500 Paveway II kits for MK-83s, 1,500 MK-82s, 2,000 BLU-109 live bombs, 50 GBU-28 guided bombs and 20,000 live fuzes.
The Northrop Grumman-built amphibious transport dock ship Mesa Verde (LPD 19) successfully completed builder's trials in mid-August, the company and the U.S. Navy announced Aug. 20. "We had a very successful trial," said Philip Teel, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems sector. "The ship is in great shape, and this team performed incredibly well. This ship is ready to serve the Navy."
The results from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) year-long, 10-flight Autonomous Aerial Refueling Demonstration (AARD) were so successful that "four or five offices" in the military services were interested in a "fairly specific" follow-on activity, the Air Force program manager told Aerospace Daily.
Some U.S. military vehicle and equipment makers with goods destined for Iraqi forces are apparently having production issues, according to Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.). Levin, who briefed reporters Aug. 20 by telephone from Tel Aviv, Israel, said he could not recall details but said that he believes problems revolve mostly around production capability and may include paperwork issues as well. Levin further said Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tasked Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England to clear up the matter.
Even as the Indian government moves ahead with implementing its new agreement on U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation, India's Left party continues its face-off on the deal and is threatening a pullout that could bring the ruling government down.
Boeing officials say their Laser Avenger, a humvee-mounted air defense system they plan to test with a 1-kilowatt laser, will require "single-digit minutes" to destroy improvised explosive devices or unexploded ordnance. An article in the Aug. 17 DAILY said the operator could destroy a target after up to 40 minutes of lasing.
The STS-118 crew and Mission Control checked out Endeavour's new three-string Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation suite Aug. 20 in preparation for Endeavour's planned reentry and landing at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Aug. 21. Endeavour, making its first reentry since December 2002, is the first vehicle in the orbiter fleet to have its old Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) receivers replaced by GPS.
ARMY Litton Systems Inc., Garland, Texas, was awarded on July 24, 2007, a delivery order amount of $6,670,758 as part of a $38,307,642 firm-fixed-price contract for sniper night sights. Work will be performed in Garland, Texas, and is expected to be completed by July 23, 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 7, 2006. The U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity (W91CRB-07-D-0020).
NORTHROP-EADS TANKER: Northrop Grumman and EADS' A310 demonstrator aircraft is now ready for its next phase of Aerial Refueling Boom System (ARBS) flight tests, which will involve in-flight contacts and airborne fuel transfers with a variety of receiver aircraft, Northrop said Aug. 20. The company said its proposed KC-30 tanker's fly-by-wire boom has completed more than 130 hours of evaluations during 50 flights. The tanker is designed with a centerline-mounted ARBS and hose and drogue unit, along with two underwing hose and drogue refueling pods.
NAVY C4I: The U.S. Navy is awarding Science Applications International Corp. a potentially five-year, $473 million contract for Navy C4I programs, the company said Aug. 16. Specifically, the award funds In-Service Engineering Agent (ISEA) and Networks Integration Engineering Facility (NIEF) support.
SOLAR ARRAYS: Over the next several months, Boeing will work with business partner Hughes to complete on-orbit testing and deployment of the Spaceway 3 satellite's 132-foot solar arrays, as well as satellite check-out and system acceptance. Hughes will then place the satellite into commercial operation. Spaceway 3 achieved orbit after a successful launch from Kourou, French Guiana on an Ariane 5 Aug 15.
MERGING MISSILES: The U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) system will be renamed the ballistic and cruise missile defense system within one year, predicts Dave Kier, Lockheed Martin missile defense vice president. Some lawmakers are pushing the Pentagon to centralize efforts, currently spread among the services and Defense Dept. organizations, to counter cruise missiles. To date, the Pentagon has rejected a merger with BMD, citing a need for the Missile Defense Agency to focus solely on the need to refine antiballistic missile technologies.
NASA engineers have turned their attention to the latest foam "liberation" problem and its impact on future space shuttle launches, now that they have cleared Endeavour to land without repairs to the foam-induced gouge in its thermal protection system. Loss of external-tank insulating foam from a steel oxygen-feedline bracket has been declared an "in flight anomaly," meaning engineers must find a way to fix it or develop a sound rationale that it is safe to fly without a fix before another shuttle can be launched.
NEW STAND: A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Aug. 23 for the first large rocket test stand to be built at NASA's Stennis Space Center since the 1960s. The 300-foot-tall, open steel frame A-3 Test Stand will allow for simulated altitude testing on the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne J-2X engine, which is an upgrade of the Saturn V upper stage engines, over burn times as long as 550 seconds. The J-2X will power the upper stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle and the Earth departure stage of the Ares V cargo launch vehicle.
