The Houston Chronicle reports that The Boeing Company has announced that it plans to launch its CST-100 Starliner test flight – originally scheduled for August 3 of last year – on May 19. “Next month, Boeing will launch its Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. They will lift off from the Cape

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that Volocopter “has successfully completed the maiden flight of its first full-size, fully electric VoloCity air taxi, that it claims could transform urban travel.” Full Story (Daily Mail)

Aviation Week reports that EHang “has secured its largest commitment to date from an Asian customer with preorders for 100 EH216 autonomous air taxis from Prestige Aviation.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

Space News reports that the US Space Force “in 2025 plans to launch to geostationary orbit three small satellites that will attempt to dock with a propellant tanker so they can be refueled in space.” The experiment, “called Tetra-5, is run by the Space Force’s Space Enterprise Consortium.” Full Story (Space News)

FlightGlobal reports that Lockheed Martin “says a specially configured Stalker unmanned drone successfully completed a continuous endurance flight of 39h, 17min.” If certified “by the Switzerland-based World Air Sports Federation which governs aviation records, the flight would represent the longest ever by an aircraft weighing between 5kg and 25kg.” Full Story (FlightGlobal)

Scientific American reports that NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS)’s massive size “could ultimately be a boon for scientists seeking to send larger, more ambitious spacecraft and telescopes throughout the solar system – and even beyond.” The article also reports that SpaceX’s Starship is even more promising. Southwest Research Institute’s Alan Stern said, “Starship holds the promise

The Miami Herald reports that the omicron variant surge and December snowstorm have caused critical delays to Alaska Airline’s new pilot training program. The Air Line Pilots Association union had warned Alaska Airlines management for some time that a pilot shortage was coming. Full Story (Miami Herald)

CNN reports that NASA’s Artemis I mission “will make a fourth attempt at its most critical and final prelaunch test beginning on Tuesday, according to the agency.” NASA Marshall Space Flight Center SLS Chief Engineer John Blevins said, “I’m very confident that we’re going to have a good test on Thursday with the modified procedures.

Aviation International News reported that global business aviation “flight activity last month climbed 25.7 percent year-over-year, boosted by more than 321,000 flights in North America and more than 74,000 flights in Europe, according to Argus International’s TraqPak monthly report.” TraqPak expects the trend to continue “in April with flight increases of 13.3 percent in North

Space News reported, “The Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3), an experiment funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory, will fly to a geostationary Earth orbit in 2023 and will be used to augment the positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services currently provided by GPS satellites.” Such navigation “could be significant as the Pentagon fears that signals

AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement: “On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate…

ExecutiveGov reports that NASA “has selected five universities to design research experiments that will take place on the International Space Station.” Each awardee “will receive approximately $100,000 to formulate these experiments under the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research or EPSCoR program.” The awardees are: Montana State University, New Mexico State University, the University of Delaware,

ExecutiveGov reports that NASA “has selected five universities to design research experiments that will take place on the International Space Station.” Each awardee “will receive approximately $100,000 to formulate these experiments under the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research or EPSCoR program.” The awardees are: Montana State University, New Mexico State University, the University of Delaware,

SPACE reported that SpaceX “rolled the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule that will fly the Ax-1 mission out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.” Full Story (SPACE)

ExecutiveGov reports that the CH-53K helicopter “has made testing progress toward initial operational capability later in the year and the green light for full-rate production in 2023.” The helicopter “underwent seven months of initial operational test and evaluation through March under Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One in North Carolina.” Full Story (ExecutiveGov)

AIAA announced its three-day program on advancing and accelerating modernization for the 2022 AIAA DEFENSE Forum…

CNN reports that NASA “is still aiming for a June launch after a second attempt at a final test for its Artemis I mission to the moon was scrubbed on Monday.” Artemis Mission Manager Mike Sarafin said at a Tuesday news conference, “We’re not ready to give up” on a June launch. He added that

ExecutiveGov reports that the UH-60V Black Hawk model has “secured certification to fly in national airspace at any time of the day and under instrumented meteorological conditions.” Full Story (ExecutiveGov)

Space News reports that at a briefing at the 37th Space Symposium Monday, “the Space Foundation released new data on the size of the core space industry workforce in the United States. That research found that there were 151,797 people working in the industry in 2021, an 18.4% increase over the last five years.” The

Defense Daily reports that “Sikorsky’s build of its Raider X helicopter for the Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) competitive prototyping (CP) effort is now over 85 percent complete.” Aviation Week reports that “Sikorsky has reached the power-on milestone with its Raider X prototype, but like rival Bell, is awaiting delayed delivery of GE Aviation’s T901 turboshaft

Air Force Times reported that a “problem with the trim on the KC-46A Pegasus’ overwing exit doors kept it from being able to open, which could have hindered passengers’ ability to escape during an emergency.” The US Air Force’s engineers “worked with KC-46 manufacturer” The Boeing Company “to create and issue a time compliance technical

Space News reported that SpaceX “launched the fourth in its series of dedicated rideshare missions April 1, placing one relatively large satellite and dozens of smallsats into low Earth orbit.” The Transporter-4 mission carried only 40 satellites, compared to previous missions carrying more than 100 satellites. Full Story (Space News)

Aviation Week reports that a “secret test of a hypersonic cruise missile demonstrator and a budget setback for a troubled boost-glide missile prototyping program highlights a growing divergence in the U.S. Air Force’s plans for a future class of missiles that can maneuver at speeds faster than Mach 5.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

Space News reports that Blue Origin “launched its New Shepard suborbital vehicle on its first flight of the year March 31, carrying six people on a brief trip to space and back.” The rocket “lifted off from the company’s Launch Site One in West Texas at 9:59 a.m. Eastern.” The crew of Blue Origin’s NS-20

AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement: “On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate…

Spaceflight Now reports that NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei “joined two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth Wednesday, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a U.S.-record 355-day stay in space.” Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Aviation Today reports that FedEx Express “has a new partnership agreement with Elroy Air aimed at flight-testing their autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) air cargo system for middle-mile logistics operations by 2023.” FedEx Express is to test Elroy Air’s Chaparral VTOL aircraft’s “ability to fly shipments between its various sortation facilities.” Full Story (Aviation Today)

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that SpaceX “has ended production of new Crew Dragon astronaut capsules, two years after the firm flew humans to space for the first time.” There are currently four Crew Dragons in SpaceX’s fleet. SpaceX executives “say the shift is to move resources into the next-generation spaceship program, known as Starship – that

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that Cathay Pacific “will set a new world record for the longest commercial flight route after tweaking its New York to Hong Kong journey to avoid Russian airspace.” The now 17-hour flight will “become the first ever regular passenger flight to exceed 10,000 miles.” Full Story (Daily Mail)

Aviation International News reports that Airbus, “for the first time, has performed an A380 flight powered by 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in one of its Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, the company said Monday. A380 test aircraft MSN 1 took off from Blagnac Airport in Toulouse, France, at 8:43 am on Friday, remaining in

CBS News reports that Blue Origin “is gearing up to launch its fourth crewed New Shepard flight this week – a 10-minute rocket-powered thrill ride to the edge of space and back carrying five wealthy space tourists and the spacecraft’s chief designer.” Liftoff is targeted for “9:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, two days later than planned

Space News reported that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “has again delayed completion of an environmental assessment for orbital launches of SpaceX’s Starship vehicle from Texas, although it may have no effect on near-term launch plans.” The FAA “announced March 25 that it had pushed back the expected completion of the final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA)

Aviation Today reported that Avolon and Air Greenland “will form a Working Group to examine the potential of commercial zero-emission air travel in Greenland.” Air Greenland “has also committed to a purchase or lease of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from Avolon; the eVTOLs will be manufactured by Vertical Aerospace, maker of the five-seater,

During the first 60 years of spaceflight, the aerospace industry has been amassing an incredible engineering knowledge base.

SPACE reports that Solar Orbiter “has snapped the closest images of the sun ever taken, revealing the finest details of our star’s outer atmosphere, the corona.” The images “were taken on March 7, when Solar Orbiter was exactly halfway between Earth and the sun, at a distance of 46 million miles (75 million kilometers) from both

The Dallas Morning News reports that regional airlines are already feeling the effect of the “long-foretold” pilot shortage, as SkyWest Airlines “cited a shortage of pilots while petitioning the government to drop service to 29 cities.” The Morning News adds that the pilot shortage “may hinder a travel industry that’s already struggling to emerge from two years

Spaceflight Now reports that NASA astronaut Raja Chari and German astronaut Matthias Maurer “floated outside the International Space Station Wednesday and installed refurbished ammonia jumpers in the lab’s cooling system to bring it back up to full efficiency, replaced a high-definition camera and made power and data connections on a European experiment platform.” Astronaut Kayla

Aviation International News reports that “Japan Aerospace (JAC) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) have signed an agreement with Dart Aerospace to design and certify a fire attack system for the new five-blade Airbus Helicopters H145.” KHI “is partnering with JAC to help test, certify, and install the tank with Dart on the H145.” Full Story

SPACE reports that NASA’s Ingenuity has made its 22nd Mars flight. Ingenuity “stayed aloft for 101.4 seconds and reached a maximum altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) during the sortie, which took place on Sunday.” Full Story (SPACE)

Florida Today reports that a TUI Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner made the first transatlantic flight from Manchester, United Kingdom, to Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB) on March 22. The aircraft “brought TUI’s first batch of European holiday passengers from Manchester, England, to the Space Coast. Long anticipated by Brevard County officials, the vacation-package company is

Space News reports that SpaceX now has 250,000 subscribers “for its Starlink satellite broadband service as it looks to move into new markets like aviation.” SpaceX is manufacturing “close to eight satellites a day,” according to SpaceX Starlink Commercial Sales VP Jonathan Hofeller. Hofeller also said, “Connectivity on airplanes is something we think is ripe for

Aviation Week reports that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has “designated the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, or Loyal Wingman, as the MQ-28A Ghost Bat. The naming is another milestone for the program as it continues development and testing.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

Space News reported that SpaceX “set records for the reuse of its Falcon 9 booster and the mass that rocket placed into orbit March 19 with the latest launch of Starlink satellites.” The Falcon 9 “lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 12:42 a.m. Eastern” and placed

Aviation Today reported that Joby Aviation “took another step towards certification of its fully electric aircraft in completing its first Systems Review and Compliance Review and earning Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval.” Full Story (Aviation Today)

AIAA issued the following statement from AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher:“Congratulations to NASA and the Space Launch System (SLS), Orion, and Exploration Ground Systems teams…

Spaceflight Now reports that SpaceX “raised a veteran Falcon 9 booster vertical on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral late Thursday, ready for a record-setting 12th mission Friday night with 53 more Starlink internet satellites.” The launch “will mark the 12th flight of a Falcon 9 booster that debuted in March 2019 with the unpiloted

Reuters reports that Delta Air Lines plans to help Airbus in its effort to develop a hydrogen-powered passenger aircraft. Delta highlighted that the partnership does not entail any financial investment on its part. Airbus research and technology VP Amanda Simpson stated that the company has plans to produce a small “ZEROe” passenger aircraft powered by

BBC News reports that NASA released the first properly focused image from the James Webb Space Telescope. NASA engineer Lee Feinberg said they have now managed to fully focus the observatory on a test star, and the pin-sharp performance is even better than expected. However, NASA cautioned that a lot of work still remains before the

Air Force Times reports that a newly revealed Pentagon weapons tester’s report illustrates multiple issues with the F-35 in 2021, particularly in areas of availability rates and new software problems. The F-35 fleet “averaged 61% availability, below its target of 65%,” throughout 2021. Out of the “average 39% unavailable at any given time, 15% were down

Space News reports that Astra’s Rocket 3.3 returned to flight Tuesday “at 12:22 p.m. Eastern from Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska on Kodiak Island.” The mission carried NearSpace Launch’s EyeStar-S3 satellite, the Portland State Aerospace Society’s OreSat0, and a payload from an undisclosed third customer. Full Story (Space News)