WASHINGTON Selection of a contractor to build the U.S. Air Force and Navy's long-delayed, new primary training aircraft has been slipped another six months, and the entire program stretched an additional eight years to cut short-term expenses.

WASHINGTON HONG KONG Any uncertainty about the Long March booster after last month's Apstar-2 loss did not prevent government negotiators from initialing a new space launch agreement that could expand the commercial Long March business for U.S. users.

WASHINGTON Russian space commerce is taking a step forward with Societe Europeenne des Satellites' (SES) decision to launch its Astra 1F direct broadcast TV satellite on a Proton rocket in March, 1996. The satellite, a Hughes Aircraft HS 601, will be launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome into geosynchronous orbit, sharing a slot at 19.2 deg.