Government/Military

Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER) completed an integration flight test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT] announced. The missile achieved safe separation from the B-1B launch aircraft, and successfully navigated through a preplanned route, striking its intended target. The flight test objectives were to validate new hardware and software...

Problem In Russian Rocket Forces Delay In Orbiting Craft Russians decided to delay until next year a launch of the European GOCE Earth explorer satellite on a Rockot launch vehicle, pending a probe into a failed system, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced. Russians are examining a failure in the guidance and navigation system of...

A Tomahawk Block IV missile launched from a Virginia Class submarine, completing integration of the weapon onto the newest class of fast-attack submarines, Raytheon Co. [RTN] announced. Other classes of Navy vessels already deploy the missiles. "Integration of the Tomahawk Block IV on the Virginia class submarine provides the fleet with a powerful combination of...

A Zefiro 9-A motor completed its first firing test at the Salto di Quirra Inter-force Test Range in Sardinia (Italy), the European Space Agency announced. This was the penultimate firing test for the engine prior to the Vega launcher’s qualification flight, scheduled to take place by the end of next year. The Zefiro 9-A (Z9-A)...

Northrop Given $206 Million Air Force Space And Missile Contract For Support Services The Air Force gave Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC] a contract worth up to $206 million to provide support to space-related programs. Northrop will provide technical support for the operational Defense Support Program (DSP) spacecraft, primary infrared sensor and mission analysis, under the...

Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc. [HON] filed a protest last week with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), objecting to NASA awarding a $1.26 billion contract to ITT Corp. [ITT]. NASA selected ITT to perform telemetry, tracking and command services for near-Earth missions under a Space Communications Network Services contract. (Please see Space & Missile Defense Report,...

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) called for cutting defense spending by 25 percent, or roughly $150 billion, with cuts centered mainly on weapons procurement programs and personnel end-strength reductions. In an interview with the South Coast Standard-Times, Frank was quoted as saying the Department of Defense must be forced to choose which weapons programs it will...

By Marina Malenic The Air Force is creating a new major command organization with authority over all air-breathing nuclear assets, Air Force leaders said. According to a nuclear "roadmap" unveiled at a Pentagon press briefing, the service will establish the Global Strike Command by next September under a three-star billet. "In the 1990s, the Air...

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has begun environmental testing in a thermal vacuum that simulates the harsh rigors of space, NASA announced. Built at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the LRO has been lifted into a four-story thermal vacuum chamber for a test that will last about five weeks. Once sealed in...

It’s low mileage, it provides a comfortable set of wheels for occupants, but it only goes 6 mph. And where this ride will go on off-road trips is truly out of this world. NASA is testing a luxe moon buggy that never will get a speeding ticket. The Small Pressurized Rover, or SPR, is as...