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Author: aiaaorg
General Atomics Preparing for Massive MQ-9B Sale to Saudi Arabia
Defense News reports, “General Atomics is preparing to offer a package deal to Saudi Arabia to acquire a number of MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, company executives said in an interview at the IDEX arms fair in Abu Dhabi. “We are still in the very early stages but are pursuing this hard as there is a huge interest coming from Saudi regarding the MQ-9B — we expect they have significant requirements [for these drones] that could result in many of tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S. if we were to close that sale,” Dave Alexander, president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, told Defense News.”
Full Story (Defense News)
Blue Origin to Launch 10th Crewed New Shepard Private Astronaut Mission
Aviation Week reports, “Blue Origin has announced plans for a 10th crewed New Shepard suborbital rocket mission with six private astronauts. A date for the launch of the reusable New Shepard with its crew capsule from the company’s West Texas launch site will be announced soon, the company’s Feb. 18 announcement says.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
FAA Certification Frees Archer Aviation to Assemble eVTOL Pilot Team
Aerotime reports, “The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given Archer Aviation the green light to begin assembling a team of pilots to fly its future fleet of electric vehicle takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Archer Aviation announced on February 18, 2025, that the eVTOL developer had received its Part 141 certificate from the FAA signifying that it is a formally recognized and regulated institution for pilot training.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Rocket Lab Successfully Launches BlackSky Gen-3 Satellite
Spaceflight Now reports, “Update 7:16 p.m. EST (0016 UTC): Rocket Lab confirms a successful payload deployment. Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) completed its second Electron rocket of the month and its 60th to date. The flight carried with it the first of BlackSky’s Gen-3 Earth imaging and analytics gathering satellites. Liftoff of the mission, dubbed ‘Fasten Your Space Belts,’ from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand happened at 12:17 p.m. NZDT on Feb. 19 (6:17 p.m. EST, 2317 UCT on Feb. 18).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
General Atomics to Reveal New ‘Super Wide Area’ Sensor for ‘Iron Dome for America’
Breaking Defense reports, “General Atomics is ready to step in the ring to compete for contracts to build President Donald Trump’s ‘Iron Dome for America’ with a new technology the company believes can radically contain the costs of the project, the head of General Atomics’ aeronautics unit said. The special sauce, Dave Alexander told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview, is a long-range, high resolution sensor that has been under development for about a decade, has a “super wide area” of coverage, and is ready for production.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lander Now in Lunar Orbit
Spaceflight Now reports, “A robotic lander from Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is now in orbit around the Moon and going through its final preparations to land in the coming weeks. On Thursday, the company announced that its Blue Ghost lander fired its main engine and thrusters for four minutes and 15 seconds in a maneuver called the Lunar Orbit Insertion, which put it in an elliptical orbit around the Moon.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Piper Aircraft Deliveries Increase 20 Percent in 2024
Flying Magazine reports, “Piper Aircraft deliveries rose 20 percent in 2024 compared with the previous year, with 291 aircraft, the manufacturer said Thursday. The increase, according to the company, was in part tied to the success of the M700 Fury, the company’s 300-knot turboprop that debuted in March.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
Video
Piper Introduces the M700 Fury
(Piper Aircraft, Inc.; YouTube)
Japan’s Resilience Lander Set for Lunar Flyby
SPACE reports, “The second lunar lander from Japanese space exploration company ispace is ready for a flyby of the moon as part of its elongated moon landing journey. ispace’s Resilience lander launched on Jan. 15 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, along with Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander. It is taking an energy-efficient, circuitous route to the moon, and only last week performed a crucial maneuver to raise its orbit and set up the lunar flyby.”
Full Story (SPACE)
My Daily Launch Holiday Message
In observance of the U.S. federal Presidents’ Day holiday, My Daily Launch will not publish on Monday, 17 February. Service will resume on Tuesday, 18 January.
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