The New York Times reports, “A rocket built by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company appeared to launch perfectly on Sunday, its booster even landing successfully on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. A few hours later, however, it became clear that all had not gone well. The massive New Glenn rocket had failed in its primary task: putting a commercial satellite into the proper orbit. This is a setback not only for Blue Origin, but also possibly NASA. Although the space agency played no role in Sunday’s mission, it is counting on Blue Origin to support the Artemis moon program.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)
Author: Lawrence Garrett
MQ-9B Passes Key Icing Tests, Boosting Operational Flexibility
Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has conducted a series of flight tests aimed at certifying the MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for Flight Into Known Icing (FIKI). The flight tests began last year, and all planned testing was successfully completed in early April from GA-ASI’s Flight Test & Training Center (FTTC) near Grand Forks, North Dakota, using a company-owned MQ-9B.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)
Today is the Last Day to Save on ASCEND 2026 Registration
FROM THE INSTITUTE
ASCEND 2026 is where the global space community comes together to turn bold ideas into real outcomes. Bringing together 2,000+ leaders from industry, government, and academia, ASCEND covers everything from space economy and national security to lunar exploration and next-gen technology—across 130 sessions and 190 technical papers. Powered by AIAA and backed by partners including Lockheed Martin and the ISS National Laboratory, this is the event that drives the space sector forward. Secure your seat today, before rates go up.
NASA Shuts Down Voyager 1 Instrument to Extend Mission
SatNews reports, “On Friday, April 17, 2026, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) sent commands to deactivate one of the few remaining science instruments aboard Voyager 1. The decision to shut down the Low-energy Charged Particles (LECP) experiment was made to conserve the spacecraft’s dwindling power reserves, ensuring that the most distant human-made object can continue its historic journey through interstellar space for as long as possible.”
Full Story (SatNews)
AIR Lifts Off With First Flight of Heavy-Lift Cargo Drone
Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “AIR has successfully completed the first flight of its Production AIR Cargo-Heavy Lift UAS, a VTOL platform designed with a payload capacity of approximately 550 lbs and a 70-cubic-foot cargo bay.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)
Video
AIR Cargo Drone Takes Flight
AIR eVTOL; YouTube; Framegrab
AIAA Announces 2026 Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2026 – Wichita, Kansas – AIAA announced the winners of the 30th Annual AIAA Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition:
- First Place ($3,000): University of Ljubljana
- Second Place ($2,000): University of Washington-Seattle
- Third Place ($1,500): University of California, Los Angeles
- Best Report Score ($100): University of Southern California
- Stan Powell Award for Lessons Learned: Washington University in St. Louis
Complete results are posted at aiaa.org/dbf.
This year, 1,179 students on 89 university teams attended the fly-off onsite. The fly-off was hosted by AIAA Corporate Member Textron Aviation in Wichita, Kansas. Teams represented 12 countries during the fly-off weekend, including the U.S. with 31 states and Washington, D.C.
This year’s flight objective was to design, build, and test a banner-towing bush plane, conducting charter flights for passengers (rubber ducks) and cargo (hockey pucks) to pay for the airplane and start a banner towing business. Recordings of the livestream video of the fly-off is available on AIAA’s YouTube channel.
“DBF is our aeronautics highlight of the year,” said AIAA CEO Clay Mowry. “The students’ passion for DBF reflects the promising future of flight and the next generation of aerospace professionals. DBF is a team sport. Our competitors are gaining hands-on experiences that make them even more attractive to potential employers. DBF teams are tackling the engineering challenges of flight, solving problems, and dealing with setbacks. Most importantly, they’re showing incredible resilience over the course of four days. Congratulations to all of the students who flew during this 30th year of DBF!”
Russ Althof, director of the DBF Organizing Committee, said, “We owe our thanks for the success of the DBF Competition to the efforts of many volunteers from Textron Aviation, RTX, and the AIAA sponsoring Technical Committees: Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Flight Test, and Design Engineering. These volunteers collectively set the rules for the contest, gather entries, judge the written reports, and execute the fly-off.”
Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270
About AIAA
AIAA is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With more than 33,000 individual members from 91 countries, and over 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. Visit www.aiaa.org or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
New Glenn Booster Completes Hot Fire as Blue Origin Eyes Sunday Launch
Spaceflight Now reports, “Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket roared to life in a critical pre-launch demonstration of its main engines Thursday, less than an hour after the Sun crested over the horizon in Florida. The seven BE-4 engines fired for about 20 seconds, at 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 UTC). Engineers will now pore through the data and if everything looks good, the launch with AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird-7 satellite could take place as soon as Sunday, April 19.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Air Combat Command Tests Anduril’s YFQ-44A CCA Prototype
Defense Daily reports, “Last week, the Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) at Nellis AFB, Nev., tested an Anduril Industries YFQ-44A Fury prototype Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which flew from a company site in southern California to Edwards AFB, Calif., for the testing and back again, Anduril said on Thursday.”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
AIAA Design/Build/Fly Livestream Planned for 17–19 April
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The DBF experience won’t only be witnessed by those on the ground. AIAA is bringing the energy of the competition beyond the Kansas sky and into living rooms, labs, and classrooms worldwide. Viewers can tune into a livestream on AIAA’s YouTube channel on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 17–19 April, to witness the takeoffs, the tense moments, the triumphs, and the heartbreaks in real time.
New AIAA Position Paper on ITAR Reforms to Promote and Support a Robust Academic Pipeline
FROM THE INSTITUTE
Earlier this year, the AIAA Board of Trustees approved a new position paper on ITAR that offers recommendations to enhance ITAR and promote a robust academic pipeline. While ITAR is essential for safeguarding national security, when outdated definitions limit safe academic activities, they can inadvertently undermine the very system they’re intended to protect. AIAA’s stance embodies a straightforward principle: security and innovation are not opposing forces. When policies are well balanced, they can enhance each other.