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News briefs: July 15
Posted: Tue, Jul 16, 2002, 7:39 AM ET (1139 GMT)
- The search for a Russian spacecraft launched on a suborbital flight continued Monday without success, the AP reported. Demonstrator-2, launched from a Russian sub on Friday to test an inflatable reentry and landing system, was supposed to land on the Kamchatka Peninsula, but searches have failed to turn up the spacecraft. The first spacecraft to use the technology, launched in early 2000, was never fully recovered, likely because scavengers found the spacecraft first.
- The name "US Space Command" will be eliminated when the military command merges with the US Strategic Command later this year, Space News reported Monday. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced in a July 11 memo that the merged command will retain the US Strategic Command name. The headquarters of the command has not been announced, but will likely be at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, current headquarters of Strategic Command.
- Hughes Electronics reported higher second-quarter earnings than expected on Tuesday. The company said it had earnings of $123.1 million (EBITDA) in the second quarter, compared to $82 million a year ago and higher than the $80-110 million range of previous expectations. Subscriber growth in Hughes's DIRECTV service was lower than expected — 202,000 compared to 225,000-250,000; company officials blamed the shortfall on the elimination of the lowest-tier pricing plan and a change in how the service was sold through retailers.
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