Hughes Network Systems: Global Leader in Broadband Satellite Services and Networks
10.01.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global leader in providing broadband satellite networks and services for large enterprises, governments, small businesses, and consumers. Headquartered in Germantown, Maryland, U.S.A., Hughes has shipped over 1.9... read more 

Missile Defense Testing, GMD Studies Sought In Senate Bill
7.13.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
The defense policy bill the Senate is expected to debate this month calls for the Pentagon to craft detailed plans for two much-debated aspects of the Ballistic Missile Defense System: its testing regimen and its ground-based missile interceptor sites. The... read more 

U.S. Solid Rocket Motor Industry Capable But Needs Investment: Report
7.13.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Suppliers and contractors in the United States are capable of meeting the nation's needs for solid rocket motors (SRM) but challenges remain, including the need for increased public and private investment and waning research, development and production... read more 

Lockheed Martin Official Voices Optimism On Crucial Cruise Missile Test
7.13.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Facing a series of do-or-die reliability tests later this summer, a Lockheed Martin [LMT] official expressed confidence in an Air Force cruise missile program that has come under increased scrutiny after a series of flight test failures. David Van Buren, the... read more 

Kaminski, Lyles, Appointed To Defense Science Board
7.13.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
The Defense Department yesterday announced the appointments of Paul Kaminski as chairman of the Defense Science Board for a term effective immediately through Dec. 31, 2011, and retired Air Force Gen. Lester Lyles as vice chairman for a term effective... read more 

Briefs
7.13.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
The DoD appointed Regina Dugan as the 19th director of DARPA. Prior to this appointment, Dugan held several key positions in industry, most recently as president and chief executive officer of RedXDefense, LLC, which she co-founded in 2005, a company that... read more 

SMD Report Observes Independence Day
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
As we do each year, we shall observe the Independence Day holiday... read more 

Senators Warning: Changes In Ares I Rocket Program Must Undergo Congressional Review
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Obama Must Complete All Shuttle Missions, Even If That Means Funding, Flights In Fiscal 2011; And Don't Fund Shuttle Flights By Short-Changing Other Programs Senate Bill Lashes NASA For Procurement Cost Overruns, Delays; Space Agency Must Tighten Rules... read more 

Obama Missile Defense Cuts Prevail In Both Senate, House
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Funding Restoration Amendments Are Rejected Even More Cuts May Gouge Missile Defense Programs In Future Years, Lawmaker Warns Both the entire House and a key Senate panel backed President Obama's quest to slash $1.2 billion from ballistic missile programs, as... read more 

Senate Defense Authorization Bill Leaves European Missile Defense Program With No Construction Funds, Chairman Levin Says
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
But Defense Measure Also Encourages Talks With Russians Over Possible Joint Radar The pending Senate defense authorization bill leaves the European Missile Defense (EMD) program with just $51 million for the next fiscal year, which critics of the measure say... read more 

Two NASA Lunar Spacecraft Operating Well; Poised For Moon-Mapping And Lunar-Crash Missions
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Lunar Impacts Set For Oct. 9 Two NASA spacecraft are healthy and ramping up their systems, poised for pioneering lunar missions that will net key information for future manned U.S. explorations and settlements on the moon. One craft is the Lunar... read more 

Senate Appropriators Excoriate NPOESS, Voice 'Lack Of Confidence' In Program Management, But Provide Full Funding
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Obama Administration Isn't Seizing Control Of NPOESS To Fix Problems, Lawmakers Say The Senate Appropriations Committee expressed exasperation with the long-troubled National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, or NPOESS, but provided... read more 

Schwartz Mulls Aircraft-Mounted Air Launched Hit-To-Kill Missile Defense Systems
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz is examining the feasibility of missile defense systems mounted on aircraft, such as strike fighters. Interest in the Air Launched Hit-to-Kill systems... read more 

Minot Nukes Force Passes Inspection
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Nuclear forces at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., passed inspections with the highest possible score. That's a reversal from the situation two years ago, when six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles were on-loaded to a plane and mistakenly flown to Barksdale Air... read more 

Adm. Mullen Confident United States Can Shoot Down North Korean Missiles
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
North Korea May Launch Taepo Dong-2 Missile On Saturday, Perhaps Toward Hawaii: Reports U.S. missile defense systems very likely can demolish any missile that North Korea launches to hit U.S. territory, said Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs... read more 

GOES-O Satellite Launched To Orbit Atop Delta IV Rocket
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket roared from Space Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Saturday evening, to place a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O, into orbit. Ironically, that liftoff of... read more 

GPS IIF Satellite Journeys Nationwide To Test Transit, Launch Site, Ground Control
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
A Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellite called SV-2 took a transcontinental flight on a C-17 from California to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., but only for a visit, not for a launch into space. The navigation satellite instead will be used as... read more 

NASA's Shuttle and Rocket Launch Schedule
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Updated -- June 26, 2009 - 7:15 p.m. EDT Legend: + Targeted For | * No Earlier Than (Tentative) |** To Be Determined 2009 Launches Date: June 27 Mission: GOES-O Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta IV Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station ... read more 

NASA Gives Wackenhut $1.2 Billion 10-Year Security Contract After Lawsuit
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
NASA gave Wackenhut Services Inc. a $1.2 billion contract to provide security services at NASA installations, after Wackenhut successfully sued the space agency when it earlier had awarded the contract to a rival firm, Coastal International Security. Further... read more 

European Space Agency Plans Ground Station In Argentina
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Making Another ESA Facility In South America, After Spaceport The European Space Agency (ESA) announced plans for a ground station to be built in South America, assuming negotiations are successful. The ESA station would be built in Malargue, Argentina, where... read more 

Space Tracking And Surveillance System Satellite Delivered To Canaveral For Launch Prep
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
The first Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) satellite arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., for launch preparation, Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC] announced. "This delivery is a significant milestone in the development of our... read more 

Salt Provides Clues For NASA Cassini Mission
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Salt may signal that an underground ocean lurks inside a moon circling Saturn, according to NASA. The Cassini spacecraft discovered sodium, or salt, for the first time in grains of ice from the outermost Saturnian ring, leading researchers to deduce that... read more 

NASA Seeks Input On Cataloguing Documents Of Wernher Von Braun
6.29.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
NASA requested suggestions on how to organize documents from from spaceflight pioneer Wernher von Braun into an electronic, searchable database or other system. The space agency would welcome thoughts from the public, academia, and industry. Von Braun was the... read more 

Double Lunar Craft Launched On Atlas V From Cape Canaveral Air Force Base
6.22.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
First ASA Mission To Moon In A Decade NASA launched an Atlas V heavy lifter rocket carrying two lunar spacecraft, the first U.S. moon mission in a decade and a happy event for an agency gamely facing challenges. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO... read more 

NASA Short Of Funds Needed To Fund Orion-Ares, Other Assigned Missions
6.22.2009 | N/A | Staff Writer
Disrupting Constellation Program Spacecraft Development Could Mean More Job Losses, On Top Of Plunging Space Shuttle Employment Underfunding Can Threaten Astronauts' Lives NASA, the largest space agency on the planet, has been short-changed of funds... read more