GovCon Wire reports that the US Air Force “has issued a broad agency announcement to seek technical proposals for a potential $400M program that aims to advance prototyping and experimentation work on Skyborg unmanned air vehicles.” The “notice posted Friday says the Skyborg Protoyping, Experimentation and Autonomy Development program aims to develop low-cost UAVs designed to

Space News reports that a US Naval Research Laboratory “experiment to capture solar power in space for use on Earth is now in orbit and ready to be tested.” The experiment launched aboard the X-37B spaceplane on May 17. The “technology aboard the plane is a ‘photovoltaic radio-frequency antenna module’ to be tested as part

AIAA is grateful for John Langford’s leadership as AIAA president during his 2018–2020 term, which ended this week.

May 19, 2020 – Reston, Va. – The new president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Basil Hassan, begins his 2020–2022 term this week. Hassan is director of the Chief Research Office at Sandia National Laboratories. “We are pleased to welcome Basil Hassan as AIAA’s new president,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive

CNET News reports that the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, scheduled for Sunday, has been rescheduled to 3:10 a.m. Tuesday. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk “said the first VisorSats would be included in the batch of 60 satellites” set to launch aboard the Falcon 9 rocket. It is “not clear how many of the satellites

Aviation Today reported that the US Navy “has completed calibration testing of the Leonardo Osprey 30 AN/ZPY-8 radar for the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout drone and is to finish flight testing of the radar by December, as the Fire Scout moves toward planned deployment next year.” The Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) AN/ZPY-8 radar “uses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Michele McDonald 703.264.7542 [email protected] May 15, 2020 – Reston, Va. –The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) applauds NASA’s announcement of the Artemis Accords, a set of common principles created to govern the civil exploration and use of outer space. “The Artemis Accords will provide the framework needed to build

SPACE reports SpaceX’s Demo-2 mission launch, scheduled for May 27, “is less than two weeks from launching NASA astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time, but some big obstacles still stand in the way.” Director of NASA’s Spaceflight Division Phil McAlister told NASA Advisory Council’s Human Exploration and Operation Committee, “We are still

Aviation Today reports that the Federal Aviation Administration “is planning to have remote ID service for drones – a foundational component of integrating unmanned aircraft into the national airspace – up and running by sometime next year, according to documents viewed by Avionics International.” Through the “remote ID system described in the agency’s proposed remote

Aviation International News reports that two Bell Boeing MV-22B Block C Ospreys “were delivered to Japan on May 8 to be prepared for hand-over to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).” The Ospreys “are to operate from a new base being built at Saga airport on Kyushu island, but in the meantime, they will operate from

Space News reports that Planet “announced that its next six SkySat satellites will fly to low Earth orbit on SpaceX Starlink missions scheduled later this summer.” The “six SkySats will be evenly split across two launches on SpaceX’s Falcon 9, Planet said May 13 in a news release.” The “first three – SkySats 16-18 –

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Michele McDonald 703.264.7542 [email protected] May 14, 2020 – Reston, Va. –The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enable the two preeminent professional aerospace societies to collaborate on future endeavors. “AIAA looks forward to collaborating with

SPACE reports that a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket “is scheduled to launch the company’s Crew Dragon capsule on May 27 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, sending NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station (ISS).” However, Demo-2 “is far from a climax; as its name suggests, it’s a

Aviation International News reports that Gulfstream Aerospace can “begin deliveries of the fly-by-wire G600 to customers in Europe, following EASA certification of the large-cabin jet, the Savannah, Georgia-based aircraft manufacturer announced” Monday. According “to Gulfstream, the G600 can fly 5,500 nm at its Mach 0.90 high-speed cruise or 6,500 nm at its Mach 0.85 long-range

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Michele McDonald 703.264.7542 [email protected] May 13, 2020 – Reston, Va. –The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the winners of technical excellence awards to be presented during the 2020 AIAA AVIATION Forum, which will be held online 15–19 June. The following aerospace professionals will be recognized for

Florida Today reports that United Launch Alliance (ULA) and SpaceX both plan to launch rockets this weekend “if schedules hold.” The ULA Atlas V Rocket, carrying the X-37B spaceplane, is scheduled to launch “between 6:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday,” from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 41. On Sunday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket “is slated to

Aviation Today reports that Uber is developing a design of Skyports “despite a dearth of industry standards and regulations” for urban air mobility. Uber, through Uber Elevate, “is working with at least eight developers of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, to be used for urban aviation in concert with cars, scooters and other modes

ExecutiveGov reported that NASA “is awarding six U.S. universities roughly $2.4 [million] in funding under the Artemis Student Challenges with the aim of generating student interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as in the Artemis mission, the NASA-led spaceflight program whose goal is to return humans to the moon.” The

Bloomberg reports that Lockheed Martin and the US military “have eliminated all of the [F-35’s] deficiencies believed to endanger pilots and about 90% of other serious flaws that could hamper missions.” According to US Department of Defense data compiled by the Government Accountability Office, “that’s down from 111 ‘Category 1’ safety-of-flight and mission-impeding deficiencies in

Webinar will be held on 7 May 2020, 1400-1600 hrs

On 30 March, the FAA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding noise standards of supersonic airplanes during landing and takeoff. The proposal would establish subsonic landing and takeoff cycle standards for supersonic airplanes with a maximum takeoff weight no greater than 150,000 pounds and a maximum operating cruise speed of Mach 1.8. Those interested in

Foreign Investment: Tools for Small Businesses and How DoD Can Help

Airforce Technology reports that Lockheed Martin Skunk Works “has partnered with the US Air Force (USAF) Test Pilot School to demonstrate an autonomous intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system to advance troop effectiveness in denied communications environments.” The “autonomous ISR system is integrated into an F-16 using a pod solution developed by Lockheed Martin. This

Aerospace America reported that in Amanda’s Miller’s telephone interview with University of Colorado, Boulder aerospace and engineering sciences Professor Scott Palo – who chairs AIAA’s Small Satellite Technical Committee – the two discussed his work with University of Colorado graduate students on the development of the MAXWELL cubesat. In his basement, Palo “has hooked up

Space News reports that NASA “is finalizing a plan to gradually reopen its field centers once the peak of the coronavirus pandemic passes, but agency leadership said that would be a slow process that would vary based on the conditions at each center.” During an “online town hall meeting broadcast on NASA TV May 6, NASA

GPS World reports that on Wednesday, the FAA “announced the eight companies that will assist the federal government in establishing requirements for future suppliers of Remote Identification (Remote ID).” The eight companies chosen are: Airbus, AirMap, Amazon, Intel, One Sky, Skyward, T-Mobile, and Wing. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said, “The FAA will be able to

Space News reports that the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package instrument on NASA’s InSight Mars lander “has struggled for more than a year to make its way into the Martian surface,” but the instrument “is now making steady, but slow progress with the help of the lander’s robotic arm.” The instrument “was to deploy a

Aviation Today reports that with the US “government and military eager for a profitable domestic small UAS industry to emerge, software developer Auterion seeks to be part of the solution by bringing together the fragmented industry around its hardware and software solutions, built off of the open-source PX4 ecosystem used by millions of drones flying

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company Airpower Teaming System Program Director Shane Arnott said that the firm “sees mass production of its unmanned, fighter-like jet developed in Australia likely happening by the middle of the decade.” Arnott “said up to 16 of the Loyal Wingman drones could be teamed with a manned aircraft for missions and

ExecutiveGov reports that the US Air Force “has commenced a program to foster industrial collaboration for further promotion of the vertical flight aircraft market. USAF said Friday that it virtually launched the Agility Prime program to promote the emerging market that the military is interested in adopting.” Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology

SPACE reported that on May 1, the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo suborbital spacecraft, called VSS Unity, “conducted its first unpowered glide flight [from] Spaceport America…notching a milestone on the path to commercial operations, Virgin Galactic representatives announced.” Unity’s “test campaign had been based in Mojave until February of this year, when the vehicle arrived at Spaceport America

Aviation International News reported that on Thursday, The Boeing Company “conducted what it called a productive and successful first flight of the second 777X airplane.” Crews “have flown the first airplane nearly 100 hours at a variety of flaps settings, speeds, altitudes, and systems settings as part of the initial evaluation of the flight envelope.

The Hill reports that the US Navy’s Blue Angels and the US Air Force’s Thunderbirds will honor first responders on Saturday, May 2, by performing formation flights over Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia. The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds, the US military’s flight demonstration squadrons, made their first joint flight over New York, New Jersey

Aerospace America reports that “in its desire to return Americans to the moon, NASA has selected three distinct lander designs for further work, indicating the agency is embracing flexibility as it works toward the first landing, scheduled for 2024, and others to follow.” NASA “awarded a combined $967 million to Blue Origin, Dynetics and SpaceX to

AIAA applauds NASA’s selection of Blue Origin, Dynetics and SpaceX to develop…

SPACE reports that NASA officials announced Wednesday that the Mars helicopter – which will launch with NASA’s Perseverance rover in the summer – will be named Ingenuity. Alabama 11th grader Vaneeza Rupani submitted the name “as part of NASA’s ‘Name the Rover’ contest for Mars 2020. ‘Perseverance’ won that competition, of course, but agency officials

FlightGlobal reports that the US Air Force (USAF) “is conducting market research in search of companies capable of helping to build an air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile.” The USAF said that the goal of the Future Hypersonics Program is to develop a “solid-rocket boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic conventional cruise missile, air-launched from existing fighter [or] bomber aircraft.” The

Aviation Today reports that at the Agility Prime virtual kickoff event, “speakers from across NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration underlined the military and economic importance of U.S. leadership in the development of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs.” USAF Secretary Barbara Barrett, Assistant Secretary of

Spaceflight Now reports that the US Space Force (USSF) “expects to complete design validation on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket by July, ahead of the launch of the military’s first high-priority national security mission on the heavy-lifter late this year.” The mission, called USSF-44, involves the launch of “two payloads into a circular geosynchronous orbit more than

SPACE reports that SpaceX’s Starship SN4 prototype “just passed a crucial pressure test, likely setting the stage for a test flight in the near future.” Starship SN4 “survived a ‘cryo pressure test’ late Sunday night (April 26) at SpaceX’s South Texas site…company founder and CEO Elon Musk announced.” Full Story (SPACE)

BBC News Online (UK) reports that DJI has released a consumer UAV that warns users of “nearby planes and helicopters via its controller.” However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on DJI’s supply chain, the DJI Mavic-2 UAV will only be equipped with this feature in North America to begin with, and the

AIAA mourns the passing of AIAA Honorary Fellow and former NASA Administrator James M. Beggs, 94, who died on 23 April 2020.

Air Cargo Week reports that on Sunday, Boeing “completed another COVID-19 transport mission, using a Boeing Dreamlifter to bring personal protective equipment (PPE) from Hong Kong to the United States.” Collaborating with Prisma Health, Atlas Air Worldwide and Discommon Founder Neil Ferrier, Boeing delivered 1.5 million medical-grade face masks “for healthcare professionals at Prisma Health in

FlightGlobal reports that The Boeing Company “has delivered the final Block II F/A-18E/F Super Hornet to the US Navy (USN), handing over the last aircraft on 17 April, says the service.” The USN has “received 322 one-seat F/A-18Es and 286 two-seat F/A-18Fs as part of the Block II Super Hornet program, which started in 2005. The

SPACE reported that the Progress 75 cargo spacecraft “launched atop a Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today (April 24) at 9:51 p.m. EDT (0151 GMT and 6:51 a.m. local Baikonur time on April 25).” The “arrival will mark the start of a long-term stay for the Progress; it’s expected to depart the

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Michele McDonald 703.264.7542 [email protected] USC, Georgia Tech, UNLV take top prizes April 24, 2020 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today announced the winners of the 24th annual AIAA/Textron Aviation/Raytheon Missile Systems Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition. Originally scheduled for 16–19 April in Wichita, Kansas, the Design/Build/Fly

CBS News reports that Friday will be the 30th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble’s “exquisite vision has allowed astronomers to study the chemical” makeup “of exoplanet atmospheres, to capture flyby-class views of planets in Earth’s solar system and to collect mind-bending ‘deep field’ images showing the first galaxies coalescing in the

FlightGlobal reports that AeroVironment “has launched its Quantix Recon unmanned air vehicle (UAV), a military variant of its farm surveying drone, on the market.” The “tail-sitting, vertical-take-off-and-landing UAV requires little to no training to operate, the company says on 22 April.” The UAV “is able to do aerial reconnaissance using automated flight paths and two 18-megapixel

AIAA applauds the passage of the $484 billion Coronavirus Relief Package.

Air Force Times reports that on Wednesday DoD Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Modernization Mark Lewis said, “the supply chain the Pentagon is relying on to develop hypersonic weapons for the future is feeling heat from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. We’re concerned about our first-tier industrial providers, but also worried right down the