Airmen and cohorts in industry and NASA combined at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to launch a Delta II expendable launch vehicle carrying the OSTM/Jason 2 satellite into orbit June 20. OSTM stands for Ocean Surface Topography Mission and describes the spacecraft’s primary mission, that is, to measure and gather data about ocean topography. The OSTM payload, aboard the low-Earth orbiting host Jason 2 satellite, is a cooperative venture among NOAA, NASA, and French and European research agencies. (Vandenberg report)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.