Air Force Times reports that the F-15EX Eagle II on Friday successfully fired “an AIM-120D missile at a BQM-167 target drone over the Gulf of Mexico.” The F-15EX, “which was taking part in an air-to-air weapons system evaluation program known as Combat Archer, found the drone with its sensors, tracked it and fired the missile at

Aerospace’s Best and Brightest to be Honored at AIAA Awards Gala February 1, 2022 – Reston, Va. –The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of its most prestigious awards, the AIAA Premier Awards, recognizing the most influential and inspiring individuals in aerospace, whose outstanding contributions merit the

Three Honorary Fellows and 28 Fellows Elected February 1, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) proudly congratulates its newly elected Class of 2022 Honorary Fellows and Fellows. The three new Honorary Fellows and 28 new Fellows will be inducted at a ceremony Tuesday, 26 April, in Arlington, Virginia. AIAA

24HTECH Asia reports that Hyundai Motor Group appointed Dr. Jaiwon Shin “as executive vice president and head of its newly established Urban Air Mobility Division.” Dr. Shin is a “Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society of Britain.” Full Story (24HTECH Asia)

CBS News reported that United Airlines “has launched a program to train the next generation of pilots, including promoting other workers to fill those vacancies.” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said, “We’ve got over 100 regional aircraft that effectively aren’t flying because there are not enough pilots to fly them.” CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg

Bloomberg reports that the US Air Force’s “latest schedule for fixing, verifying and installing improved versions of key equipment on its refueling tankers built by Boeing Co. shows the work won’t be complete before early 2026, or 15 years after the company won the contract.” Full Story (Bloomberg)

Spaceflight Now reports that SpaceX “scrubbed the planned launch of an Italian radar remote sensing satellite Thursday due to dismal weather at Cape Canaveral.” The Falcon 9 rocket is to launch at 6:11 p.m. EST Friday. The rocket is to carry a COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) radar surveillance satellite “into a polar orbit for the Italian

The AP reports that Boom Supersonic “announced Wednesday that it has chosen a North Carolina airport as the manufacturing site for next-generation supersonic passenger jets.” Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro will be the home for Boom Supersonic’s “first full-scale manufacturing plant, including the final assembly line, testing and delivery center for its proposed Overture supersonic airliner.”

Florida Today reports that US Space Force calculations “show a downgraded forecast for SpaceX’s next launch from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, a mission that will include sonic booms as the Falcon 9 booster returns to the Space Coast for landing.” The weather could “begin to clear before the liftoff window at 6:11 p.m. EST Thursday.” The

Aviation International News reports that Airbus “is launching its own cargo airline operation to capitalize on rising air freight demand and the ability of its Beluga transporters to carry super-sized loads.” By 2024, “the new Airbus Beluga Transport service will use five of the A300-600-based BelugaST widebodies for ad hoc charters carrying large, heavy items

Space News reports that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “will move its next Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) weather satellite into position over the Western United States soon after launch to speed up data delivery to the National Weather Service.” After the GOES-18 satellite is deployed into geostationary transfer orbit, “the satellite will spend

SPACE reports that the Dragon CRS-24 “cargo ship splashed down today (Jan. 24) in the Atlantic Ocean at 4:05 p.m. EST (2105 GMT), off the coast of Florida near Panama City.” The SpaceX cargo ship “returned nearly 5,000 pounds (2,267 kilograms) of science to Earth, including a ‘cytoskeleton’ that studies cell signaling in humans, and returning

Aviation Week reports that Ethiopian Airlines “has confirmed that its Boeing 737 MAXs will return to the skies in the coming days, nearly three years after the carrier’s fatal accident involving the type.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

The Hill reported that scientists “have created the largest and most detailed 3D map of the universe using an instrument that has mapped out more galaxies than all other three-dimensional surveys combined.” The map “was created by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which is managed by the United States Department of Energy’s Berkeley Lab.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that The Boeing Company is investing another $450 million into Wisk, its joint venture with Kitty Hawk Corp. aiming to develop pilotless air-taxis. The Journal says Airbus and Embraer have their own air taxi units. Full Story (Wall Street Journal)

Listen to this week’s (1/21) Aviation Week Check 6 Podcast about the 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum held during January in San Diego and online.

Florida Today reports that a “nearly 200-foot Atlas V rocket rolled to its pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, setting the stage for liftoff from Launch Complex 41 a little more than 24 hours later.” Just before noon, United Launch Alliance confirmed that the “rocket’s mobile platform secured itself on four “piers”

Aviation Week reports that Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Innovation “electric aircraft has secured the world electric aircraft speed record following verification by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).” Full Story (Aviation Week)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 21, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the undergraduate, team, and graduate winners of the 2022 International Student Conference, held during the 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum, San Diego, 3–7 January. Sixteen technical paper first-place finalists from all seven 2021 AIAA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE University of Melbourne Hosted 2021 AIAA Region VII Student Conference January 21, 2022 – Reston, Va. – To wrap up the 2021 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Regional Student Conferences, the University of Melbourne hosted the Region VII Student Conference virtually, 29-30 November 2021. Winners were selected in three categories:

Aviation Today interviews Avionics International CEO and co-founder Rani Plaut on the company’s “approach to designing its personal aerial vehicle and achieving FAA certification by the end of 2023.” AIR has already “received pre-orders for over 50 units” of its AIR ONE eVTOL. Full Story (Aviation Today)

SPACE reports that the James Webb Space Telescope has deployed all 18 primary mirror segments and the secondary mirror as of Wednesday. Full Story (SPACE)

CNBC reports that space infrastructure companies “received $14.5 billion of private investment in 2021, a new annual record that was up more than 50% from 2020.” Full Story (CNBC)

Aviation Week reports that Lockheed Martin “says it has completed a series of mission profile tests of the Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant rotorcraft demonstrator as the U.S. Army continues evaluating competing bids for the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) contract.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

Space News reported that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to “send to orbit a spacecraft powered by a nuclear propulsion system.” The technology “could give the U.S. military an advantage over enemies by making satellites more maneuverable and less vulnerable to attack.” DARPA’s Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) spacecraft is scheduled

Reuters rreported that the Philippines “is buying 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from Poland-based Sikorsky Aircraft subsidiary PZL Mielec to beef up its existing fleet of 12.” A notice of award was issued December 28 “for the purchase of brand new helicopters under a project that comes with logistics support and a training package for pilots

Aviation International News reports that Tupolev performed the first flight of the first new-production Tu-160M strategic bomber Wednesday. The flight “was undertaken at the Kazan Aviation Plant airfield, and lasted for around 30 minutes.” The first two new-production aircraft are to be handed over to the Russian air force in 2022. The Tu-160M features a

Space News reports that a SpaceX Falcon 9 “placed more than 100 smallsats into orbit Jan. 13 as the company accelerates the pace of its dedicated rideshare missions.” Thursday’s launch was dubbed Transporter-3. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 “lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 10:25 a.m. Eastern.” The

Aviation Week reports that a “long-range infrared search and track (IRST) sensor, manned-unmanned teaming capability and a Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted display are on a list of new upgrades by third-party vendors sought by the U.S. Air Force for the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that Virgin Orbit “is set to fire seven satellites into space later today, when RAF pilot [Matthew Stannard] ‘Stanny’ unleashes the LauncherOne rocket from a Boeing 747.” The jet “will fly up to 35,000ft over the Pacific Ocean for an hour, before deploying the Launcher One rocket and roughly 660lb of satellites

CNET News reports that NASA’s InSight lander “went into safe mode – a mode designed to protect the lander – on Jan. 7 after a dust storm reduced sunlight to the solar-powered machine.” NASA JPL said Tuesday, “The mission’s team reestablished contact with InSight Jan. 10, finding that its power was holding steady and, while low,

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company “bounced back to win the traditional annual order race against Airbus SE (AIR.PA) on an adjusted basis, but its European rival remained the world’s largest planemaker based on the number of jets delivered, data showed on Tuesday.” Shares in Boeing “rose around 2% after the closely watched data showed it

Aviation Week reports that the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray “program used 2021 to prove its prototype of the unmanned refueling aircraft can perform the basics for the U.S. Navy, and now is looking to ramp up production under the initial engineering and manufacturing development contract and put those aircraft to the test.” More Info (Aviation Week)

CNN reports 2022 “promises to be yet another year solidifying the private sector’s grip on modern space travel.” SpaceX is planning “to put its colossal 400-foot-tall Starship rocket – intended to eventually reach Mars – into Earth’s orbit for the first time.” The article also mentions concerns over the overcrowding of space with debris and satellites.

CNET News reported that NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter “is getting ready to take its first flight of the year, and its 19th flight overall. The Ingenuity team anticipates takeoff could be tough due to the terrain it’s sitting on.” The flight is “scheduled to take place no earlier than Friday.” Full Story (Air Force Magazine)

Air Force Magazine reported that The Boeing Company “has revealed an updated concept for its Valkyrie reusable, unmanned hypersonic aircraft that indicates new design approaches for inlets and shaping.” The revised Valkyrie was shown “in the form of a model at [last] week’s American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics [SciTech] meeting in San Diego.” The aircraft

SPACE reports that the James Webb Space Telescope deployed its Aft Deployable Instrument Radiator (ADIR) Thursday at about 8:38 a.m. EST. The ADIR “is a 4 foot (1.2 meters) by 8 foot (2.4 m) panel attached to the back of the observatory and connected by aluminum foil straps to Webb’s instruments. The radiator is covered in

Aviation Today reports that “FAA Special Airworthiness Certification and U.S. Air Force Airworthiness Approval were both awarded to Joby Aviation for the company’s second pre-production prototype aircraft.” Due to the certification, Joby “will be able to ramp up flight testing in 2022 and continue working towards a commercial operations launch date in 2024.” Full Story (Aviation

Aviation Week reports that Lockheed Martin “is poised to start structural tests of the X-59 Low Boom Supersonic Demonstrator at its Fort Worth facility as part of final preparations for flight tests later this year in Palmdale, California.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

CNN reports that the out-of-control Persei rocket booster “has re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, according to the latest estimate from US Space Command, which has been tracking its descent.” The Persei booster was tested from an Angara-A5 heavy-lift rocket launched “from the Plesetsk spaceport in Russia’s northwestern Arkhangelsk region on Monday.” US Space Command “said the

Aviation International News reports that EHang “has received the first order for its VT-30 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle, with Japan’s Okayama Kurashiki Mizushima Aero & Space Industry Cluster Study Group (MASC) committing to exploring use cases for the two-seat eVTOL aircraft, as well as the Chinese manufacturer’s EH216 model.” Full Story (Aviation International News)

Space News reports that Indian space agency ISRO Chairman K. Sivan “says he expects much more in 2022, including an uncrewed test flight for its human spaceflight program.” Sivan wrote, “There is a feeling that very little happened in ISRO during 2021. That feeling is primarily due to less number of launches.” ISRO “carried out

SPACE reports that China’s Tianwen 1 spacecraft “at Mars pulled a big New Year’s surprise with stunning new images captured by a small camera that flew free of the orbiter to snap epic selfies above the Red Planet.” The images “published by the China National Space Administration show Tianwen 1 above Mars’ north pole, with its

Breaking Defense reports that Lockheed Martin “delivered three more F-35s than planned in 2021, handing over a total of 142 Joint Strike Fighters to US and international customers as the company continues to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.” In a statement to Breaking Defense, Bridget Lauderdale, Vice President of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Program, said that the

Space News reported that China “has informed the United Nations that its crewed space station twice maneuvered to avoid potential collisions with SpaceX Starlink satellites earlier this year.” A notification “dated Dec. 6 by China under Article V of the Outer Space Treaty stated that the Tianhe space station module conducted preventive collision avoidance due

BBC News reported that Indonesia “has lifted a ban on the Boeing 737 Max, more than three years after the Lion Air disaster that saw the loss of all 189 people on board.” Full Story (BBC News)

Lecture will be Delivered on 5 January, During 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum January 3, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2022 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research is awarded to Anthony M. Waas, the Richard A. Auhll Department Chair of Aerospace Engineering at the University

Lecture will be Delivered on 3 January, During 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum December 30, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2022 AIAA Durand Lectureship for Public Service is awarded to William H. Gerstenmaier, Vice President, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX. Gerstenmaier will deliver his

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 27, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement on the passage of the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act: “AIAA applauds the passage of this important legislation, which includes roughly $740 billion in discretionary funds for the Department

For Immediate Release December 25, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement: “On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the entire James Webb