spacetoday.net: News briefs: October 23

Posted: Wed, Oct 24, 2001, 12:53 PM ET (1653 GMT)
Northrop Grumman announced this week that it is creating a Space Systems Division after acquiring a division of Aerojet. The Space Systems Division will combine the Electronics and Information Systems division of Aerojet, acquired from GenCorp for $315 million, with existing Northrop Grumman units. The division will work on space sensors and ground systems for projects such as the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) missile warning systems... An experimental Indian satellite launched Monday could be used for military purposes, New Scientist reported Tuesday. The Technology Experimental Satellite (TES) features a camera capable of taking images with a resolution of one meter, several times better than existing Indian remote sensing spacecraft. The article speculates that India may use the spacecraft to monitor the disputed Kashmir region. Indian officials also announced Tuesday that they are developing a high-performance cryogenic rocket engine that would be used to launch geosynchronous communications satellites... The web site of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has been offline since Friday, October 19, NASA Watch revealed. No reason for the outage has been given, although NASA Watch said that center director Don Campbell had given the order to "turn Glenn off" and would be giving a state of the center address on Wednesday. NASA center web sites and other computer systems are often the target of computer vandals, who use denial of service and other methods to make such systems inaccessible.