ISS LINK UP: An unpiloted Russian Progress cargo craft linked up automatically with the International Space Station on Dec. 23, NASA said. The Progress was launched Dec. 21 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev were to open the Progress hatch later Dec. 23 and begin unloading cargo Dec. 25-26. The cargo includes propellant for the station's Russian thrusters, back up oxygen and air for the Russian Elektron system, water, spare parts, experiment hardware, life support components, and holiday gifts.
ABOVE AVERAGE: Real, inflation-adjusted defense spending over the past 20 years has averaged about $406 billion annually in 2005 dollars, ranging from $485 billion in 1986 and 1987 to $322 billion in 1998 and 1999, the Congressional Budget Office says. Over the past three years, however, defense-related outlays have exceeded their 20-year average, and are likely to remain above it for a number of years because of the United States' involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
V-22 ENGINES: Rolls-Royce will provide 22 engines for MV-22 and CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft under a $59 million contract modification, the Department of Defense said Dec. 22. The company will provide AE 1107C engines. The work will be done in Indianapolis and is to be finished in December 2007.
SPACE-BASED HELP: Europe's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program is continuing to support the work of rebuilding in the wake of the Dec. 26, 2004 Asian tsunami. One GMES service, Respond, is working with industry and humanitarian aid groups to improve access to maps, satellite images and geographical information, says the European Space Agency, which is partnered on GMES with the European Union.
C-141s RETIRING: The U.S. Air Force is preparing for the retirement of its four remaining C-141 airlifters in early to mid 2006. The last of the four to be retired will be the "Hanoi Taxi," so named for its distinction as the first aircraft to begin transporting freed U.S. prisoners of war back to America from Hanoi in February 1973 following the end of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War.
The U.S. Coast Guard has activated a new communications system that will help it locate distressed boats and ships and provide improved command-and-control, the system's producer, General Dynamics C4 Systems, said Dec. 23.
NASA is considering a two-year extension to the Cassini mission that would extend the probe's exploration of Saturn and its moons through 2010. "NASA has given us some additional funding to study what the options would be" for the extra two years, said Bob Mitchell, Cassini program manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "About a year from now, I'm expecting that NASA will give us an [answer] one way or the other."
A recent report from the National Research Council recommends a number of changes to the way NASA manages programs that are led by principal investigators, including less burdensome proposal requirements and increased funding for concept studies.
MINEHUNTERS: Estonia's defense ministry said Dec. 21 that it was cleared to buy used Sandown Class underwater minehunters from the United Kingdom under an 800 million crown (USD $60.5 million) budget. The number of vessels and other details will be determined during negotiations. The Estonia navy's current minehunters are more than 40 years old and fall short of a plan to upgrade the country's military by 2010. The new minehunters will provide for domestic needs and be able to take part in NATO activities.
NEW CENTER: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. recently cut the ribbon on its new Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Test Center of Excellence in Graford, Texas. The new center is an extension of Bell Helicopter's XWorX facility and will serve as the test field for all of the company's unmanned systems, according to the Northrop Grumman-Lockheed Martin joint venture running the Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program.
DEFENSE OUTLAYS: Under the Bush administration's 2006 Future Years Defense Program plan, defense outlays would gradually decline from 4 percent of gross domestic product in 2005 to 3.4 percent in 2015, eventually reaching 2 percent by 2050, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This includes allowances for cost risks and continued additional spending for military operations overseas.
TORPEDO DEFENSE: The U.S. Navy has decided to further support Systems Engineering Associates Corp.'s development and production of a surface ship torpedo defense (SSTD) launch canister. The Defense Department on Dec. 21 announced a $9.4 million contract for engineering and technical services for what was originally a Small Business Innovative Research Phase III effort.
The Senate passed a House bill that imposes criminal penalties against people who shine commonly available laser devices into cockpits of aircraft in U.S. airspace, although it amended it to provide exceptions for FAA research, Defense Department activities and the use of signaling devices in emergencies. More information was not immediately available as the Senate took its action late Dec. 21. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), means Senate and House negotiators will have to go to a congressional conference.
Saudi Arabia will replace its air force's Tornado aircraft with Eurofighter Typhoons under a military modernization agreement with the United Kingdom, the U.K. defense ministry said Dec. 22. The number of aircraft and financial terms were not disclosed. Details of the accord are confidential, the defense ministry said in a statement. The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia could buy at least 48 of the aircraft.
Congressional negotiators have allocated more than $340 million in appropriations for Army research on combat vehicle and automotive technologies for fiscal 2006, even though other lawmakers agreed to authorize only $260 million, according to the offices of Michigan's two Democratic senators.
CARRIER WORK: The U.S. Navy's Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center has chosen Earl Industries LLC for a five-year, multiship, multioption contract worth $165.3 million for nuclear and conventional aircraft carriers. The contract covers planned incremental availabilities, docking planned incremental availabilities, and continuous maintenance repairs, the Defense Department announced Dec. 21. Ships involved are USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS George Washington and USS Harry S. Truman.
U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait are testing about 500 water-filled cooling vests that they wear in Humvees, the Army says. Each vest has a hose that is attached to a Humvee's air conditioning system, which pumps water through the vest. The vests are worn under soldiers' body armor.
PURCHASE: Arlington, Va.-based CACI International Inc., which produces information technology and network products, said Dec. 22 that it has agreed to purchase Information Systems Support Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md. Financial terms were not disclosed. ISS produces information technology, communications, and logistics products. The company's estimated revenue is more than $200 million for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31. It has more than 1,100 workers in 10 states. ISS' customers include the U.S.
International Launch Services has rescheduled the launch of SES Americom's AMC-23 communications satellite on a Russian Proton rocket for Dec. 28. The launch will take place from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 8:28 a.m. Dec. 29 local time. The original Dec. 6 launch date was postponed to fix a problem with the flight control unit on the Proton's Breeze M upper stage.
The Senate on Dec. 21 ratified the conference agreement on NASA's authorization for fiscal 2007 and 2008, clearing the way for President Bush to sign the measure into law. It is the first NASA authorization passed by Congress since 2000. The House ratified the agreement Dec. 17. The legislation (S.1281) authorizes NASA to receive $17.9 billion in FY '07 and $18.7 billion in FY '08.
In observance of the Christmas and New Year's holidays, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish from Dec. 28 through Jan. 3. The next issue will be dated Dec. 27, and the next issue after that will be dated Jan. 4.
MORE FUNDING: Harris Corp. said Dec. 21 that the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command boosted the ceiling value of a five-year contract announced in March 2005 from $75 million to $586 million. Harris is supplying the Marines with high-frequency AN/PRC-150(C) Falcon(R) II radio systems for tactical, secure, and joint communications applications (DAILY, March 14). It is the only such secure radio that has been certified for transmission of U.S. classified information.
