Boeing announced Aug. 10 an $18 million contract award from the U.S. Navy to design, develop and produce the Undergraduate Military Flight Officer (UMFO) ground-based training system for Training Wing 6 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. The first instrument flight trainer will be ready in September 2008. The UMFO system comprises simulators, instrument and operation flight trainers, and interactive courses, which present highly capable simulations in an electronic classroom.
Mission managers have cleared the space shuttle Endeavour to remain docked to the International Space Station (ISS) three extra days, after new hardware that lets the orbiter draw power from the station's solar arrays proved itself. The crews were notified Aug. 12, shortly after finishing a focused inspection of thermal-tile damage on the orbiter's belly, that the SSPTS met engineering expectations and could supplement the orbiter fuel cells sufficiently to slow consumption of the liquid hydrogen and oxygen they use to make electricity.
TAIWAN HARPOONS: The U.S. is eyeing a sale of Harpoon missiles and related equipment to Taiwan. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States has requested an estimated $125 million sale of 60 AGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles, 2 Harpoon guidance control units, 30 Harpoon containers, 30 Harpoon extended air-launch lugs, and 40 Harpoon upgrade kits from AGM-84G to AGM-84 L configuration.
Following a trajectory maneuver Aug. 10, NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is on a more direct course to Mars. The spacecraft is traveling at 74,200 mph relative to the sun after departing Earth Aug. 4 at 6.8 miles per second onboard the third stage of a NASA/United Launch Alliance Delta II.
NASA is giving astrophysicists a chance to refine proposals to use the moon as a base for advanced research in their field once humans return there. The agency, which hopes to start building a lunar base after 2020, will fund concept studies of experiments on the moon designed to test Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, study x-rays produced by solar wind, and advance understanding of the early structure of the universe.
NASA is pondering whether the next space shuttle mission in October should be delayed for modifications to thwart a new external tank (ET) debris threat, following the discovery of a serious tile divot on Endeavour. The STS-118 crew conducted a focused inspection of the belly tile damage Aug. 12 using laser imaging sensors on the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS). The key area of concern is a damaged area extending 3.48 x 2.31 inches and spanning two tiles.
DAGR ORDER: The U.S. Air Force's Global Positioning Systems Wing is ordering 43,093 Defense Advanced GPS Receivers (DAGRs) and accessories from Rockwell Collins for $100.76 million, according to a Pentagon announcement Aug. 10. The DAGRs will provide the U.S. military, Australia, Canada, France and Germany with GPS User Equipment, including a precise-positioning system and hand-held, dual-frequency (l1/L2), lightweight receiver (less than one pound) that incorporates the tamper-resistant GPS Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module Security module.
The Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne recently visited the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Joint Program Executive Office in San Diego to discuss the delayed and overbudget software radio effort.
SPLITTING THE BABY: Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman continue to try to differentiate themselves over Deepwater work under the Coast Guard's embattled recapitalization program. The two companies, once simpatico under the Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS) regime, increasingly churn out separate press announcements and use corporate-identifying language now that the end of ICGS as lead systems integrator is a fate accompli under Coast Guard plans and congressional mandates.
ISS RESUPPLY: U.S. industry has until Sept. 7 to make suggestions to NASA's spaceflight operators as they plan agency strategy for purchasing International Space Station resupply services once the space shuttle fleet is grounded for good in 2010. An Aug. 7 request for information wants industry data on cargo missions carrying 2,000-3,000 kilograms to the station, with downmass capability and concepts for rendezvous, proximity operations and docked activities.
NEW FUEL: The B-52H can now fly with a new 50-50 blend of JP-8 and domestically produced synthetic kerosene fuel that was approved by Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne Aug. 8 following a 16-month testing and demonstration period. Wynne says researchers are satisfied with the performance of synthetic fuel produced under the Fischer-Tropsch process, and the U.S. is looking forward to research into alternative sources for synthetic fuel and development of a clean coal-to-liquid Fischer-Tropsch process as well. The C-17 is next in line for fuel blend certification.
RAYTHEON MODS: Raytheon has received a $75 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to modify data link equipment on the Boeing F-15 fighter aircraft. The weapons data link being modified is associated with the GBU-15 AND AGM-130 weapons. The system will be developed, prototyped, and qualified at Raytheon's Indianapolis facility.
The upgraded space shuttle orbiter Endeavour is turning in a stellar performance in orbit, with only a small transducer malfunction so far - a significant achievement given that the vehicle is flying with nearly 200 significant modifications. "It is a testament to the fantastic job the folks at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) did over the last 4.5 years," says Matt Abbott, lead STS-118 flight director at the Johnson Space Center.
HOROWITZ'S REPLACEMENT: Richard J. Gilbrech, director of NASA's Stennis Space Center, will take over in October as associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, responsible for developing the launch vehicles, spacecraft and other systems intended to enable a human return to the moon and eventual exploration beyond that. He will replace Scott Horowitz, who is leaving the agency (DAILY, July 12). Robert D.
The STS-118 astronauts on the upgraded orbiter Endeavour will have a busy weekend of extravehicular activity (EVA), cargo transfer and checkout of the new Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS). Endeavour pilots Navy Cdr. Scott Kelly, the mission commander, and Marine Lt. Col. Charles Hobaugh docked the orbiter to the International Space Station (ISS) Destiny module at 2:02 p.m. EDT Aug. 10. The docking was performed as the two spacecraft flew in darkness at 17,500 mph over the South Pacific east of Australia.
ARES AWARD: Alliant Techsystems (ATK) will get $1.8 billion from NASA to develop and test the solid-fuel first stage for the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles under a contract signed Aug. 10. The five-segment upgrade of the four-segment reusable solid rocket motor that boosts the space shuttle will fly as a "single-stick" on the human-rated Ares I, and in pairs on the heavy-lift Ares V.
SPANISH AEGIS: The U.S. is eyeing the possible sale of two MK-7 Aegis weapon systems to Spain, along with associated equipment and services. The total value of the sale, if all options are exercised, could reach as high as $780 million. The principal contractors on the project would be Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and General Dynamics.
The U.S. Army inappropriately consolidated $20 billion worth of work for an information technology (IT) contract, smothering opportunity for small businesses to compete, a recent DOD Inspector General (IG) report says.
OVERPAYMENT: What does it take to hurt Lockheed Martin's bottom line? Apparently more than the $265 million - plus another possible $30 million in fines - that the company must repay the Pentagon for F-35 award fee overcharges (DAILY, Aug. 10). "The company has a cushion in its F-35 EAC [cost estimate at completion], and the over billing represents [about] 1 percent of the total F-35 development contract value," says analyst group Cowen & Co.
