Today marks the final week counting down to the scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour, whose seven-member crew of space sailors is yet another “purple” multi-service representation, including a Navy SEAL. Endeavour is scheduled for a 7:17 a.m. EDT liftoff on Saturday, June 13, from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The 16-day mission of STS-127 marks the final flight hauling parts of Japan’s Kibo Laboratory to the International Space Station. One of the mission specialists is Navy Cmdr. Christopher Cassidy(below), a SEAL and decorated Afghanistan veteran who will ride Endeavour on his first flight into space. Hooyah!…
Pilots in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be able to see through the walls and floor of their own plane, thanks to a new high-tech helmet that’ll make NVGs seem like your grand daddy’s bifocals. Check out this recently released video from Northrop Grumman that shows off the new system. (Jump ahead to about the 3:50 minute point in the 6 minute video to see the helmet part.) [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwvnhFgzIKI[/youtube]
What does complacency sound like? I think I might have a transcript of it on my desk. We had a story in this week’s paper about a a couple of guys in a Super Hornet who completely missed the target range and ended up mistakenly dropping a 500-pound bomb in a national forest in Florida. The funny thing that didn’t make it into that story is the back-and-forth chatter between the pilot and NFO as they were getting ready for a COMPTUEX training run last May: Pilot: I’m gonna waypoint designate 47, is that cool? NFO: Yeah! Pilot: Yeah! Work…
At Tuesday’s hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., asked Adm. James Stavridis if the Navy planned on going back to the Vieques. The small Puerto Rican island was home to an integrated Navy training range until 2003, when it was shut down following a fatal bombing accident and heavy protests by the locals. Inhofe, who waged a very public battle to keep the base open, along with Naval Station Roosevelt Roads on Puerto Rico, brought it up again with Stavridis, the head of U.S. Southern Command and nominee to run European Command. “I’m getting people…
