The Air Force handed a $1.5 billion, year-long space launch ranges support contract to Raytheon and General Dynamics with nine additional one-year options, the companies announced on Jan. 9. Under the Launch and Test Range System Integrated Support contract, the two companies will be responsible for operating and maintaining ranges at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., and Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. The joint venture, dubbed “Range Generation Next,”deliver efficiencies and economies of scale that could not be obtained under separate contracts,” said Raytheon intel and information services president Lynn Dugle. The team also will be responsible for delivering depot maintenance and infrastructure sustainment to enable space launch, missile and air-vehicle testing, and telemetry for defense and commercial space missions and ICBM test launches, according to the release.
The Smithsonian’s announcement that an F-117A Nighthawk, tail number 85-0818, is headed to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, or NASM, is welcome news. The acquisition of this Nighthawk fills a long-standing historical gap—indeed, need—in the collections of what is generally considered the world’s premier air and space…
