CBS News reports, “With an exhilarating launch behind them, NASA’s Artemis II astronauts are turning their attention to the next big challenge of their historic mission: a ‘crazy first day’ in space. The crew is spending about 24 hours orbiting the Earth while they put their Orion capsule through its paces before finally heading for the moon. Their spectacular launch Wednesday evening marked the first piloted moonshot since the end of the Apollo program 53 years ago.”
Full Story (CBS News)
Author: Lawrence Garrett
RTX’s Pratt & Whitney Lands $3.8B F135 Production Contract
Airforce Technology reports, “Pratt & Whitney, part of RTX, has received a contract modification worth $3.8bn for the production of lots 18 and 19 of the F135 engine. The engine powers all three models of the F-35 Lightning II, which recently exceeded one million engine flight hours.”
Full Story (Airforce Technology)
SpaceX Secures SDA-4 Launch Task Order from U.S. Space Force
Defense Daily reports, “SpaceX has received a more than $178 million task order from U.S. Space Force’s Systems Command (SSC) for two National Security Space Launch Phase 3, Lane 1 launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., and Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., for the Space Development Agency-4 (SDA-4) mission in fiscal 2027. The latter includes ‘dozens of missile tracking satellites’ by Sierra Space, SSC said on Tuesday.”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
NASA Prepares 322-Foot SLS Rocket for Artemis II Moon Flyby
The Wall Street Journal reports, “NASA’s Artemis II mission is designed to power a crew of four astronauts out to the moon, zip them around it and safely bring them back to Earth. It is a big test for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and a swarm of contractors, including Boeing, which developed the core stage of Artemis’s towering Space Launch System rocket, and Lockheed Martin, the company behind the Orion crew capsule.”
Full Story (Wall Street Journal – Subscription Publication)
Navy Issues Final RFP for T-45 Goshawk Trainer Replacement
Defense Daily reports, “The Navy issued its final Request for Proposals (RFP) on March 26 for its Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) that aims to succeed the current T-45 Goshawk trainer aircraft. The requirement for UJTS is to provide intermediate and advanced training for undergraduate U.S. Navy and Marine Corps jet aviators and flight officers.”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
AIAA Anticipates Artemis II Launch with Collection of Technical Papers
As NASA counts down to the Artemis II launch, AIAA is pleased to release the most recent technical content published on the Artemis program from the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets and meeting papers at AIAA SciTech Forum (2024–2026). These original research results and technological progress on Artemis have been published in AIAA’s Aerospace Research Central (ARC). The Artemis II collection is complimentary this year as we celebrate the Artemis II mission.
April-June 2026 Issue of Aerospace America Now Live
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The April-June 2026 issue of Aerospace America is now live. Don’t miss the cover story, “The New Space Race” by Leonard David and Aerospace America Associate Editor Cat Hofacker. The U.S. is once again trying to beat another nation to landing astronauts on the moon, and NASA officials and U.S. lawmakers say the stakes are even higher than they were in the 1960s. David and Hofacker explore the implications of this 21st century space race.
Full Story (Aerospace America)
To read this story and all other exclusive content, log in to the Aerospace America website.
Falcon 9 Launches 119 Payloads into Orbit on Transporter-16 Mission
Via Satellite reports, “SpaceX launched 119 payloads into Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) at 4:02 a.m. PT on Transporter-16, a dedicated smallsat rideshare mission, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday morning. The mission was the first stage booster’s 12thflight. It landed vertically on a droneship in the Pacific Ocean after releasing its payloads.”
Full Story (Via Satellite)
Video
SpaceX launches 119 payloads on Transporter-16 mission. (Launch occurs at the 0:10 mark)
VideoFromSpace; YouTube
NASA Advances X-59 Testing After Resolving Cockpit Alert Issue
Aviation Week reports, “The cockpit warning light that cut short the second flight of NASA’s X-59 low-boom supersonic flight demonstrator on March 20 proved to be a false positive and the aircraft resumed envelope expansion testing with back-to-back flights on March 26 and 27. The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works-built X-59 was forced to return to base at Edwards AFB, California, after only 9 min. of a planned hour-long flight on March 20 when NASA Test Pilot Jim Less saw a vehicle system warning in the cockpit.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Call for Content Now Open for AIAA SciTech Forum
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The Institute is requesting technical paper abstracts and session proposals for AIAA SciTech Forum 2027. Share your ideas and contribute to shaping the 2027 forum program. Deadline: 21 May 2026.