PATRIOT FRATRICIDE: U.S. Central Command is blaming a faulty identification-friend-or-foe transponder on a British Tornado GR-4 fighter jet for the aircraft's March 22, 2003, shoot-down by a U.S. Patriot missile unit. "The investigation board determined that the Patriot crew fired in perceived self-defense in accordance with existing procedures and rules of engagement," Central Command says in a statement. The command has not yet announced the results of another friendly-fire incident, in which a Patriot battery shot down a U.S. Navy F/A-18C Hornet.
Boeing is on track to launch the next Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), called GOES-N, for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from Cape Canaveral on Dec. 1, according to Mark Spiwak, director of NASA/NOAA programs for Boeing Satellite Systems.
MORE FOR MEP: Fifty-five senators have asked Department of Commerce Secretary Donald Evans to restore funds to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program, which assists defense contractors and others with technical and business support. The senators are hoping to recover funding lost in fiscal 2004. The appropriated level of $39.6 million - $63 million less than the previous year - is not sufficient to maintain the national network of MEP centers, the lawmakers wrote in a May 13 letter.
MOON TO MARS: The President's Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration ("Moon, Mars and Beyond" commission) hopes to have its final report delivered to the president in early to mid June, according to commission spokeswoman Susan Flowers. By law, the report is due no later than June 7, but it won't be delivered to President Bush until time can be found on his schedule. Commission Chairman E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr. and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe will deliver the report personally.
To adapt to post-Cold War needs for U.S. strategic strike forces, the Department of Defense (DOD) will have to create systems and processes that will provide a more flexible, integrated and reliable set of strike options on a global scale, according to a Defense Science Board (DSB) report. The report, "Future Strategic Strike Forces," made recommendations for new capabilities by 2030 relating to command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), battle damage assessment (BDA), delivery systems and payloads.
TOP-MOUNTED RADAR: Putting the radar for NATO's Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system on top of the Airbus A321 instead of on the bottom would save money and reduce the risk of schedule delays, says Alan Doshier of Northrop Grumman Corp. That would require fewer modifications to the plane, which is the primary platform for the AGS, he said. Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) lead the industry team that recently won the AGS competition (DAILY, April 19).
LOSS FOR BOEING: Tanker Deal: Boeing estimates that losing $23.5 billion Air Force 767 tanker lease deal could cost it more $300 million in special charges and might kill the 767 program. The deal looks shakier after a recent Defense Science Board (DSB) report criticized the proposal to lease 100 refueling tankers (DAILY, May 14.). "On a consolidated basis, our potential termination charges would be $270 million as of March 31, 2004" ($184 million at Boeing Commercial Airplanes and $86 million at Integrated Defense Systems).
SHUTDOWN: A Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion spokesman said May 13 the company will shut down its San Jose, Calif., plant over the next year. Operations in space propulsion and liquid and hypersonic propulsion there will be shifted, program by program, to the company's plant in West Palm Beach, Fla., he said.
A report by an advocacy group finds that the national missile defense system scheduled for deployment this year is not likely to be effective against a real missile threat. "By deploying a missile defense before it is tested in a combat-realistic way, the administration seems intent on making political points at the expense of developing a working defense for the United States," Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said in a statement May 13.
The number of payload launches projected for the next 10 years is down 14 percent from last year and down for the third year in a row, a consultant's annual report shows. The Teal Group projects 1,209 payloads from more than 100 prime contractors will be launched in 2004-2013, down from 1,410 projected in last year's report. "What is noticeable is the continuing decline in the number of commercial payloads relative to government payloads," said Marco Caceres, lead analyst for the report.
The House Armed Services Committee voted 60 to 0 on May 13 to authorize $422.2 billion for the Depart-ment of Defense after a day of deliberations in which the panel recommended more money for force protection, science and technology programs and munitions. The House is expected to consider the measure next week. The committee authorized $25 billion in supplemental funding for military operations in Iraq and a proposed supplemental "bridge fund" that would provide money for at least the first quarter of the next fiscal year.
Northrop Grumman expects sales in 2005 to grow more than 7 percent over 2004 sales, said Chuck Noski, Northrop Grumman's corporate vice president and chief financial officer. Noski spoke May 12 at the company's annual conference for institutional investors in New York City. In 2005, the company anticipates sales of approximately $30 billion, while the guidance for 2004 is $28 billion in sales. Also in 2005, the company expects continued margin expansion and solid double-digit growth in earnings per share.
Conceived more than two decades ago, the Eurofighter Typhoon is finally starting to take the field as Europe's next-generation fighter. But the aircraft is still being defined in many ways.
Demand for satellite services exploded in the early months of 2004, with major providers DirecTV and EchoStar adding nearly 9,000 net new subscribers every day for the first quarter, according to Richard DalBello, president of the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA).
Arianespace has signed a customer for the first launch of a Russian Soyuz vehicle from the company's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and expects to announce its first customer for the smaller Vega launch vehicle "quite soon," according to company CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall.
The Department of Defense disagreed with a recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report stating that the Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP) provides mixed visibility over DOD's projected spending for the current budget year and at least four succeeding years, and has too many programs for the available dollars. This situation often leads to program instability, costly program stretch-outs, and delayed program termination decisions, the report, issued May 7, said.
The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has received 49 requests for technical assistance with various NASA projects since its establishment six months ago, according to NESC Director Ralph Roe. The NESC is an independent organization chartered in the wake of the Columbia accident to coordinate and conduct technical and safety assessments of high-risk NASA programs (DAILY, July 17, 2003). The center has approximately 60 full-time employees spread out over the agency's 10 field centers.
To begin procurement for the Air Force of Boeing 767 tanker aircraft, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) voted to add $98.5 million in its mark-up of the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill, which it approved May 13. President Bush's budget request sought no procurement funds for the aircraft, which the Air Force had planned to lease from Boeing, and wouldn't have had to pay for until delivery in 2006, a Boeing representative told The DAILY.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard's government has proposed a $1.8 billion increase in the nation's defense budget over the next four years to deal with defense threats, terrorism and Iraq. The $16.35 billion budget proposed for 2004-05 includes increases in four key initiatives - air operations, counter-terrorism, logistics support and military operations abroad, the Australian Department of Defence said.
The new chief of Russia's Federal Space Agency says he supports the concept of dual-use satellites for both military and civilian purposes. "We have to follow the Americans' example. They have about 90 percent dual-use spacecraft of their total," Col.-Gen. Anatoly Perminov told reporters at the Berlin Airshow.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Senate appropriators on May 12 that the $25 billion reserve fund for military operations in Iraq would be used for fuel, equipment maintenance and communications equipment, and that the Pentagon likely would seek additional funding next year. "We are anticipating submitting a full fiscal year 2005 supplemental appropriation request ... when we can better estimate exact costs," Rumsfeld told the panel.
SPACEDEV, Poway, Calif. Founding chairman and chief executive Jim Benson, has been selected by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics San Diego (AIAA) to receive the AIAA award for "Outstanding Contribution to Aerospace Management" for his work at SpaceDev. NORTHROP GRUMMAN, Herndon, Va. The U.S. Navy has presented George H. Berry, a manager of business development for the company's Information Technology sector, the Navy Superior Public Service Award, the service's second-highest civilian award.
Iraq's Coalition Provisional Authority wants a satellite tracking system to help blunt any attacks on the country's oil pipelines. A contract, potentially worth $16 million, could be awarded in early June. The idea is to outfit pipeline patrol vehicles with devices that would allow them to be tracked by satellite and to alert a control center of trouble, either by push-button or voice, said Bill Moxham of the CPA.
The U.S. government is exploring the possibility of having Russia supply radars or targets for use with American missile defenses, a congressman said May 12.
