WASHINGTON If you want to know what’s wrong with the U.S. aerospace industry, ask Sandra Goins. In 1996, Goins, who lives in Seattle with her husband and two children, had been working in a document copying center at Boeing for eight years when she decided to apply for a technical apprenticeship in a program jointly run by the company and the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).

WASHINGTON The U.S. Defense Dept, is spearheading an interagency efficiency drive that could see hypersonic weapons technology evolving into airbreathing first stages for space launch vehicles. Ultimately, the push could extend into other dual-use items like sensors, communications and space nuclear power.

WASHINGTON NASA’S Space Launch Initiative (SLI) office plans to present top agency management with a list of options next month for getting humans to and from the International Space Station, including the use of expendable rockets to launch reusable crew vehicles.

Nashville Tenn The U.S. Army is looking to expand its arsenal of UAVs through the addition of unmanned Cobra helicopters, Predator-Bs, A-160 Hummingbirds and other systems. Much of the flurry of UAV activity is focused on experimenting with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) systems and weaponizing the aircraft.

LONDON The British Defense Ministry will soon begin to evaluate whether its ambition to field quickly a key unmanned aerial vehicle system is achievable—and affordable. Bids were submitted on Mar. 14 for the 600-million-pound ($874-million) Watchkeeper program.