NASA's Mars Scout program is seeking more money in its fiscal 2007 budget request to allow for the per-mission cost cap to be raised from its original level of $325 million to a level above $400 million. "I've recognized that that is an inadequate amount of money to get a reasonable-risk mission to Mars," Mars Exploration Program Director Doug McCuistion told The DAILY. "It's just not as cheap as flying low-Earth orbit stuff. And therefore I intend to increase the cap over what it was."
Kimberly Johnson, Airports editor for our sister publication Aviation Daily, has embedded in Iraq with the 2nd Marine Division for three months. She is reporting for The DAILY from there, covering the performance of specific weapon systems, the realities of warfare in Iraq and other topics important to our readers. She also writes and takes photographs for "Mother of All Blogs," a Web journal about her experiences. It is located at http://www.moab-iraq.blogspot.com.
Sikorsky Aircraft celebrated the delivery of its first new production MH-60R helicopter to the U.S. Navy on Aug. 19 in a ceremony at the company's Stratford, Conn., facility.
DESTROYERS ON THE WAY: Taiwan's navy expects to receive two of four Kidd-class destroyers bought from the United States by the end of 2005, a navy official says. Taiwan bought all four destroyers in 2003 for TWD $24 billion (USD $745.5 million). Military officers and repair and maintenance technicians are being trained in the U.S. to serve on the ships, which are undergoing sea trials and weapon system tests, says Rear Adm. Lee Hao, Taiwan's deputy chief of staff for combat readiness and training.
Britain's Office of Fair Trading has been asked to investigate Lockheed Martin U.K. Holdings' purchase of United Kingdom-based Insys Group Ltd. on national security grounds, the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry said Aug. 18. Lockheed Martin said Aug. 16 that it agreed to buy Insys, which supplies military communications systems, weapon systems and advanced analysis services. Financial terms were not disclosed. The purchase is expected to close later this year (DAILY, Aug. 17).
APPROVED: Intelsat said it has completed laboratory analysis and testing of Hughes Network Systems' DW7000 satellite broadband router and will add it to the portfolio of broadband technologies it offers its customers. The router has a "balance of high performance and favorable economics," Intelsat Chief Operating Officer Ramu Potarazu said in a statement.
Information technology and networking company CACI International Inc. of Arlington, Va., said Aug. 18 that it registered record revenue and income for both its fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2005, which ended June 30. The company reported fourth quarter revenue jumped 20%, from $358.3 million a year ago to $429.8 million. Operating income climbed 13%, to $40.3 million, from $35.8 million in the same period a year ago. Fourth quarter net income was $23.4 million, up 13% from net income of $20.7 million in the fourth quarter of FY '04.
POWER SUPPLIES: Behlman Electronics Inc., an Orbit International Corp. subsidiary, said Aug. 18 that it has received an order worth $365,000 for power supplies used on the Air Force's RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft. This follow-on order brings the company's total Rivet Joint power supply order total to $700,000 since 2003, the company said.
A new high-fidelity night vision goggle simulation system has been incorporated into F-16 fighter training at Luke Air force Base in Glendale, Ariz., system co-developer Silicon Graphics announced Aug. 16. Silicon Graphics teamed with Lockheed Martin Services Inc. and MultiGen-Paradigm to provide simulators that precisely depict what F-16 pilots see through night vision goggles when they fly night-time missions. NVGs limit pilots' fields of view, forcing them to scan constantly.
Given the need to further modify the space shuttle's external tank to eliminate sources of foam debris, NASA announced it will not be able to launch STS-121 until next March at the earliest. NASA is skipping launch opportunities in September, November and January to provide the necessary time for tank repairs. The new planning date for the flight is March 4, 2006, according to Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's newly appointed associate administrator for Space Operations.
Swiss company Leica Geosystems said Aug. 18 that it has delivered seven LTD800 laser trackers, used for industrial measurement and inspection, to Northrop Grumman for use on the tools which will build the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The trackers also will be used to measure and monitor the structure of the aircraft's center fuselage in the production phase and to map critical joints, the company said.
General Dynamics Land Systems has been awarded the $15.6 million final increment of a $62.5 million contract for materials used in production of 92 Abrams Integrated Management tanks, the company said. The final increment marks an increase in the Army's buy to 92, up from the original estimate of 75. AIM is a joint effort to refurbish M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks. General Dynamics is working with the U.S. Army Project Manager for Combat Systems, TACOM Life Cycle Management Command and the Anniston Army Depot on the project.
British and U.S. air force squadrons are taking part in a joint training exercise in England featuring a bombing and strafing competition, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence said Aug. 18. Exercise Excalibur has been taking place at the Wainfleet and Holbeach air weapons ranges. Participating aircraft include two squadrons of RAF Jaguars from Nos. 6 and 41 Squadrons based at RAF Coltishall; U.S. Air Force F-15s based at RAF Lakenheath; 12 U.S. Air Force F-16s; and four U.S. Air Force A-10 aircraft from Spangdahlem, Germany, and Aviano, Italy.
Aviation Technology Group said Aug. 18 that the development of the Javelin prototype aircraft continues despite a "nosewheel shimmy" detected during a recent high-speed taxi test. A new nose landing gear fitting is being designed to correct the problem and will be installed in the first week of September, the company said, with more taxi tests to follow. CEO George Bye said the issue showed the company's emphasis on safety. "I am proud of our team and remain confident the Javelin will safely fly soon," he said in a statement.
Space Adventures Ltd. has partnered with Tokyo-based travel agency JTB Corp. to market the company's space tourism flights in Japan, the company announced Aug. 18. JTB will market all of Space Adventures' flights, including the proposed Soyuz trip around the moon that the company hopes to launch by the end of the decade (DAILY, Aug. 12). Two seats will be sold on the specially modified Soyuz for $100 million each.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The U.S. Missile Defense Agency plans to decide next May on the platform that would be used for a sea-based variant of the Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI). Although KEI is initially intended to be a mobile ground-based system, MDA is considering using cruisers, destroyers, container ships or submarines for an eventual sea-based version, said Kevin Robinson, KEI's chief engineer.
ANTI-AIRCRAFT SYSTEM: Norway-based Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace said Aug. 17 that it has signed a contract with the Norwegian air force to supply a Link 16 tactical data link for the NASAMS II anti-aircraft system. The contract is worth NOK 48 million (USD $7.3 million). The Link 16 will be the first for land-based units in Norway's military and allow its anti-aircraft system to be fully integrated with other NATO systems, the company said.
Jordan is buying two Ilyushin Il-76MF military transport aircraft from Russia, export agency Rosoboronexport said Aug. 17. The Il-76MF is a derivative of the Il-76 and is equipped with new turbofan engines that have more thrust but require less fuel, and meet International Civil Aviation Organization noise and emission requirements.
Uncharacteristically bad weather at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California has delayed the return of space shuttle Discovery to its home at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After two days of thunderstorm delays, NASA is scheduled to try again at roughly 9:15 a.m. Aug. 19 to fly Discovery home atop its modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft, according to spokesman Allard Beutel. Discovery landed at Dryden on Aug. 9 after being waved off from KSC by bad weather.
Northrop Grumman on Aug. 18 announced a $19 million contract under the U.S. Air Force's Network Centric Solutions (NETCENTS) program to integrate the service's telephone and network operations.
NASA CONTRACT: NASA has awarded a contract to Jacobs Sverdrup, a subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., to provide engineering, technical, science, propulsion, program management and business services for Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and NASA headquarters in Washington. The one-year base contract begins Oct. 15 and has four one-year options, giving it a maximum possible value of $500 million.
Lockheed Martin said it has demonstrated a technological advance by integrating a boosted penetrator warhead with a long-range cruise missile that can be used to strike hardened or buried targets. In a test at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, the penetrator was fired from a missile body using a small discharge pressurization device.
