NASA Rocket Delayed. The first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule is being delayed due to production glitches, agency officials told reporters May 12. Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), which had been planned for November 2018, will now take place sometime in 2019, according to Robert Lightfoot, NASA’s acting administrator, and William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for human exploration and operations. Gerstenmaier said that ramping up the industrial base to build SLS and Orion has proven more challenging than expected. The delay also could push back the second flight, EM-2, now slated for August 2021.
… Crew Study. The NASA officials also revealed that EM-1 will remain uncrewed. A nearly three-month study sought by the White House found that it would be technically feasible to make EM-1 a crewed mission but that it would make more sense to stick with NASA’s plan to wait until EM-2 to put people onboard. Putting a crew on EM-1 would have delayed the mission further and would have required an additional $600 million to $900 million.
Lincoln Redelivered. Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries redelivered the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) to the U.S. Navy after completing successful sea trails that follow the multi-year refueling refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) period at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. Sea trials tests the carrier’s systems and operations at sea, with a team including sailors, shipbuilders, and government representatives. The RCOH process is only performed once is a carrier’s 50 year lifespan, upgrading almost all spaces and systems.
…LHA-7 Launch. Separately, HII launched the amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA-7) from its floating dry dock 13 weeks ahead of schedule. The Tripoli is the second of the America-class amphibious assault ships. The third ship, Bougainville (LHA-8) is set to start construction in late 2018.
USS Essex. The USS Essex (LHD-2), a Wasp-class multi-purpose amphibious assault ship, returns to the ocean for sea trials following the end of a two year post-deployment planned maintenance available that started in May 2016. During sea trials the ship’s systems, equipment, and crew will be the subject of testing and evaluation. “More than two years of detailed planning and close coordination with both uniformed and civilian partners has enabled Essex to begin sea trials a day ahead of schedule and under budget,” Capt. Brian Quin, Commanding Officer of the Essex, says in a statement.
Expeditionary Fast Transport. The U.S. Navy is set to christen the newest Expeditionary Fast Transport, the future USNS City of Bismark (T-EPF 9) at a ceremony at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala. on May 13. The ship’s sponsor will be the former California congresswoman Jane Harman. The EPF is designed to transport 600 tons of military cargo up to 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. It can operate in shallow-draft posts and waterways, interface with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities, and on/off-loading a combat-loaded M1A2 Abrams battle tank. It also includes a flight deck for helicopter operations and an off-load ramp.
Space Hearings. Military space will soon be the focus of hearings on both sides of Capitol Hill. On May 17, four Air Force officials, including Heather Wilson, the newly confirmed secretary, are scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee about “military space organization, policy and programs.” They will be joined by a representative of the Government Accountability Office. On May 19, officials from Air Force Space Command, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and U.S. Strategic Command are slated to appear before the House Armed Services Committee to discuss “fiscal year 2018 priorities and posture of the national security space enterprise.”
Inmarsat Launch. Inmarsat’s fourth Global Xpress satellite is scheduled to lift off May 15 at 7:20 p.m. Eastern time aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four Boeing-built satellites are designed to provide high-speed communications and have a commercial life of 15 years each. The first was launched in 2013, and the second and third were launched in 2015.
CSEL Protest. The Government Accountability Office has dismissed a protest of the Air Force’s Next Generation Cryptographic Architecture on the Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) program, saying the challenge is “academic” because the service plans to take corrective action. General Dynamics Mission Systems had challenged a sole-source contract award to Boeing.
Railgun Test. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced that its hypersonic projectiles with an enhanced Guidance Electronics Unit (GEU) were successfully tested during multiple firings from the organization’s three mega-joule (3 MJ) Blitzer™ railgun system. The enhanced GEU completes testing at launch accelerations over 30,000 g-forces at the Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. “We’re continuing to test at an impressive pace, building on the successes over the past year to advance both our Blitzer railgun systems and hypersonic projectile capabilities,” says Nick Bucci, vice president Missile Defense and Space Systems at GA-EMS. “We are on track to conduct another series of tests using the Blitzer 10 MJ railgun system later this year. With each new firing, we continue maturing the technologies and performing risk reduction toward a multi-mission railgun weapon system that supports future operation on land and at sea.”
…Additional Capabilities. The GEU tests also successfully demonstrated a continuous two-way data link between the in-flight projectiles and the ground station over the Dugway Proving Ground open range. In addition to the GEU, a new lightweight composite sabot was tested, demonstrating successful sabot separation and in-bore structural integrity at the high acceleration levels. GA-EMS has internally funded the Blitzer railgun systems and hypersonic projectile development. Blitzer railguns are test assets that include a launcher, high density pulsed power, and weapon fire control system. GA-EMS recently announces the development and completion of the High Energy Pulsed Power Container (HEPPC) which provides twice the energy density of existing pulsed power systems. The HEPPC is intended to reduce the footprint for pulsed power required to launch projectiles, offering greater flexibility for future Navy and Army railgun applications.
Vehicle Navigation. NovAtel introduced a new navigation technology for fixed wheel land vehicles that uses both global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and inertial navigation system (INS) technologies. SPAN Land Vehicle optimizes integrated GNSS + INS performance for land vehicles during periods of extended GNSS outage, in low dynamic operating environments, or in dense urban canyons. SPAN Land Vehicle ensures that accurate position, velocity and attitude is maintained during such difficult operating environments. NovAtel uses intelligent vehicle dynamics modelling and its patented Antenna Phase Windup technology to achieve the exceptional performance of SPAN Land Vehicle. The intelligent vehicle modelling identified Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) errors in the integrated GNSS + INS system that accumulate after extended GNSS outages, and reduces the impact of those errors within the SPAN solution. NovAtel’s Antenna Phase Windup technology is used to sense changes in direction, and when combined with intelligent vehicle modelling, corrects for IMU errors in attitude (roll, pitch, yaw).
Marine Radar. Northrop Grumman delivered the first low-rate, initial-production (LRIP) AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) system to the Marine Corps. G/ATOR successfully completed the system acceptance test procedure – the last of the required milestones in the production test phase – ahead of schedule, enabling the company to deliver the system to the Marines to support their fielding schedule. The initial LRIP contract was awarded in October 2014. Five additional systems will be delivered under this award. “Today’s threat environment, and the threat environment of the future, demands the unprecedented level of protection offered by the G/ATOR system,” says Roshan Roeder, vice president of mission solutions for Northrop Grumman. “Through our strong partnership with the Marine Corps, Northrop Grumman is providing warfighters with capabilities that can outmatch any other system.” G/ATOR replaces five legacy systems operated by the Marines, providing improvements in performance when compared with the legacy radar families in each of its modes. Software loads optimize the multi-mission capabilities of the radar to perform each mission. When all modes are fully implemented, an operator will be able to switch modes at the press of a button. The system has been designed to be light and compact for deployment, and for rapid emplacement by helicopter or vehicle. Its system architecture allows it to interface directly with multiple types of command and control systems on a plug-and-fight basis.
F/A-18 Maintenance. The U.S. Navy awarded Boeing an $89 million modification to an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for additional depot-level maintenance support and sustainment for the F/A-18 A/B/C/D/E and EA-18G. This support includes the performance of High Flight Hour (HFH) inspections, HFH recurring inspections, additional inspections, modifications, and liaison engineering.
P-8A Trainers. The U.S. Navy awards Boeing a $42.5 million modification to a firm-price incentive contract, providing for the procurement of eight deployable mission readiness trainers and associated mode control panels, program management, and engineering support for the P-8A maritime aircraft. Full contract funds were obligated at award time from Fiscal 2015 Navy aircraft procurement funds, which will expire at the end of the year. The work is expected to be finished by Oct. 2021.
Cyber Incentive Suggestion. Steven Chabinsky, a lawyer with White & Case and a former FBI official, suggests to a Senate panel that the federal government should set aside $60 billion, about 10 percent of the Pentagon’s budget, to put against the nation’s “higher level cybersecurity solutions.” He tells the Homeland Security Committee that “Financially incentivizing the private sector to solve the problem should be considered a budget priority,” adding that the government should issue a Request for Proposal for innovative solutions. He also says the government should pay the private sector to provide cyber defenses for the country since it is on the “front lines of cybersecurity.”
L3 Cash Use. L3 Technologies has authorized a new share repurchase program for up to an additional $1.5 billion of the company’s common stock. The new authorization is the company’s eighth repurchase program. “We are pleased that L3’s strong operational performance, robust balance sheet and cash flow allow us to deliver value to our shareholders through this new share repurchase program and our quarterly dividend,” says Michael Strianese, L3’s chairman and CEO. “Concurrently, we are also investing in growth and technology initiatives to further strengthen our leading positions in core markets we serve.” Earlier this year L3 increased its quarterly dividend a nickel to 75 cents per share.
IDEA BAA from TSA. The Transportation Security Administration has issued a new Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) through its Innovation Task Force seeking “forward looking solutions to increase the probability of achieving enhanced security effectiveness, threat detection, operational efficiency, and passenger satisfaction across the transportation security ecosystems.” The Innovative Demonstration for Enterprise Advancement, or IDEA, BAA will provide the agency an overview of market capabilities and help it identify vendors that can help it improve the transportation security system. The scope of the BAA includes near-term solutions that are ready to be put into operation by the task force, and long-term solutions aimed at “moving toward a system-of-systems approach with an open architecture, seamless passenger experience, and improved effectiveness.”
NATO Assurance. Canadian military equipment in support of “Operation Reassurance” arrived in the Port of Riga, Latvia, on Saturday as preparations continue for the June deployment of a multinational battlegroup as part of NATO’s enhanced forward presence in that country. Some of the military kit will be utilized during the construction of facilities such as accommodation and vehicle maintenance bays at Camp Adazi, where the multinational battlegroup will be based. Other gear such as logistics and communications equipment, combat service support vehicles, and Light Armoured Vehicles will be used by Canadian soldiers once they deploy next month. Canada is leading the establishment of a multinational NATO battlegroup in Latvia — one of four such battlegroups deployed in the Baltic States and Poland — in support of NATO’s strengthened deterrence and defensive posture against Russian taunts. The battlegroup will be comprised of military personnel from Albania, Canada, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, and Spain. The battlegroup aims to preserve stability and prevent conflict, while sending an unmistakable message: NATO stands as one. “Putting all this together in a very short timeframe is an impressive task,” says Canadian Col. Josh Major, commander of Joint Task Force – Europe. “Latvian and Canadian militaries will be working closely together to ensure that Camp Adazi will be ready to receive the 1,200 Alliance troops that make up the Canadian-led battlegroup.” As part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence, Canada will contribute up to 455 personnel, including a battlegroup headquarters element, a mechanized infantry company, combat service support, vehicles, and equipment based at Camp Adazi in Latvia.