CNET News reports that NASA released views of its Mars Insight lander taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) satellite, which “snapped images of the lander, its heat shield and its parachute on the planet’s surface.” The images were taken from the MRO’s HiRise camera. The images helped NASA to “pinpoint the lander’s location, which is

Sticking to Early Passion for Aerospace Proved Catalyst for Extraordinary Career By Lawrence Garrett, AIAA Web Editor The aerospace industry is fortunate that AIAA Associate Fellow Dr. Mark B. Tischler ultimately took his father’s advice when applying to college and stuck with his lifelong dream of pursuing a career in aerospace engineering. Tischler made this gamble

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: John Blacksten 703.264.7532 [email protected] Forum will delve into how aerospace is being transformed by on-demand delivery of customized products and services December 14, 2018 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) will hold its 2019 Science and Technology Forum and Exposition ( AIAA SciTech Forum), 7–11 January in

The Washington Post reports that as a result of the “growing number of commercial rocket companies” planning launches on a weekly basis from an expanding number of launch sites, airlines are “concerned that they will significantly affect the already congested airspace.” Given this trend, the FAA is “working on…the Space Data Integrator [program] to better integrate rockets

Space News reports that China’s Chang’e-4 lander and rover “spacecraft successfully entered lunar orbit Wednesday following a four-and-half-day flight to the moon.” Following a lunar orbit insertion burn, the spacecraft “entered an elliptical lunar polar orbit with a perilune of 100 kilometers at 3:45 a.m. Eastern” Wednesday. The China Lunar Exploration Project (CLEP) “announced the success

FlightGlobal reports that GE Aviation began the second round of airborne testing for its GE9X turbofan engine on Monday, “during which the engine maker will evaluate the powerplant’s software and performance in hot-and-high conditions.” The latest round of testing will involve “roughly 18 flights on GE’s flying Boeing 747-400 testbed, which will carry the massive GE9X

Space News reports that Virgin Galactic plans to carry out the “next test flight of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane as soon as Dec. 13, a flight that could be the first by the vehicle to reach at least one definition of space.” In a statement Tuesday, Virgin Galactic “said the next powered test flight of VSS

AmericaSpace included images and video of the recovery of SpaceX’s CRS-16 Falcon 9 booster, which was towed into Port Canaveral Friday following an attempted landing on an offshore landing platform. More Info (AmericaSpace)

Reuters reports that NASA’s Voyager 2 probe, “launched in 1977 and designed for just a five-year mission, has become only the second human-made object to enter interstellar space as it continues its marathon trek billions of miles (km) from Earth, scientists said on Monday.” Data from instruments aboard the spacecraft “showed it crossed the outer edge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: John Blacksten 703.264.7532 [email protected] December 11, 2018 – 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 AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition (AIAA SciTech Forum) held 7–11 January at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in

Space News reported that although a planned SpaceX commercial crew test flight “might not launch on a date in early January previously announced [by] NASA, both agency and company officials are optimistic the mission will still fly later in the month.” NASA announced in November that the flight was targeted for January 7, but NASA Administrator

Air Force Times reported that two months after Hurricane Michael “devastated Tyndall Air Force Base in Northern Florida, the [US] Air Force on Friday said it wants to rebuild the installation” in order to station three squadrons of F-35s there. The change, if approved, “would mean operational F-22 Raptors from the 95th Fighter Squadron would not

CNET News reports that conditions “are looking rosy on the Red Planet” for NASA’s InSight lander, which is “now stretching its robotic arm and sending back some new looks that are part-selfie, part-planetary.” In contrast to the agency’s rovers, InSight is “designed to stay in one place and deploy instruments onto the surface of Mars” using

Reuters reports that the Department of Defense “said on Thursday it would start field testing all three variants of the F-35 Lightning II fighter jets in combat conditions to evaluate operational effectiveness and suitability of their weapons systems.” The department expects to complete the testing in late summer 2019. F-35 Program Head Vice Admiral Mat Winter

The AP reports that the Alaska Aerospace Corporation plans to construct a temporary 4,000-square-foot building “to support launch operations at the spaceport on Kodiak Island.” According to Alaska Aerospace President Mark Lester, the new building will allow staff and customer personnel the necessary space to “work on rockets and related hardware.” The building is planned “for the

The Wall Street Journal (Subscription Publication) reports that government and industry sources suspect that an automated flight system involved in the crash of a Lion Air Boeing 737 was largely excluded from the aircraft’s operation manual. The decision was allegedly the subject of intense debate inside Boeing, according to the sources. Industry officials said that the internal debate

The Wall Street Journal reports that while US laws effectively bar exporting satellite technology to China, The Boeing Company is nearing completion of a new, top-secret satellite that is being funded by a state-owned Chinese financial firm, according to court documents, corporate records, and sources with knowledge of the project. Roughly $200 million flowed into the project

CBS News reports that a Russian Soyuz FG rocket “thundered to life and shot smoothly into orbit Monday carrying three crew members on a six-hour flight to the International Space Station.” The “problem-free ascent” came less than two months after an aborted October 11 launch wherein a mishap with a strap-on booster forced an emergency landing

The AP reports that NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft reached the Bennu asteroid Monday “after a two-year chase,” pulling within 12 miles of the space rock. The spacecraft will move “even closer in the days ahead and go into orbit around Bennu on Dec. 31,” the first time a spacecraft has “ever orbited such a small cosmic body.” The

The Grand Forks (ND) Herald reports that the University of North Dakota (UND) “achieved a ‘major industry milestone’ on Dec. 21” with “first-ever test flights that will open up the skies” for expanded commercial UAV use. The school and researchers from Harris Corporation and the Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site performed test flights near Hillsboro,

Defense Industry Daily reports that the Bell-Boeing joint venture has won a $23.3 million contract from Naval Air Systems Command to “provide flight test sustainment support to V-22 Osprey test, tiltrotor military aircraft.” Bell-Boeing will offer support and “provide analysis of light test for five MV-22 aircraft.” More Info (Defense Industry Daily)

Aerospace America reported on the news that NASA has selected nine companies to “help the agency boost the fledgling moon exploration industry under a new program called Commercial Lunar Payload Services” (CLPS). The agency made the announcement Thursday at NASA headquarters, and explained that each of the participants will be eligible to “compete for NASA funds

SPACE reports that NASA’s InSight lander, which “touched down on Mars Nov. 26 and successfully extended its large solar arrays hours later,” set a record for generating “more electrical power in one day than any previous Mars vehicle has” during its first day on the red planet. NASA InSight Project Manager Tom Hoffman said, “It is

Aviation Week reports that details of SpaceX’s planned “inflight abort test of the Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2019 have been revealed in draft environmental assessment documents submitted to the FAA.” More Info (Aviation Week)

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company is planning to update the software on its 737 MAX jets, which “could block the recently modified anti-stall system, known as MCAS, from continuously running until the plane hits its nose-down limit.” The article adds that this problem may have contributed to the Lion Air crash last month. The update

The AP reports that the US and Britain have reached an agreement to “maintain air service between the two countries after Brexit.” British Transport Secretary Chris Grayling “confirmed the so-called open-skies agreement on Wednesday.” The deal will maintain air access allowed under the current US-Europe air treaty, which will no longer apply after Britain leaves the European

SPACE reports that NASA has selected the “first batch of commercial project proposals” that the agency will include on its planned missions to the moon and Mars. The selected companies “will be revealed Thursday (Nov. 29) during a news conference held at NASA’s headquarters in Washington, DC” beginning at 2 p.m. EST and led by NASA

Aviation Today reports that as a result of new legislation allowing for the “testing, evaluating and eventually deploying” of systems “to mitigate” the threat posed by commercial UAVs, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “plans to begin evaluating related technologies and systems in 2019.” On behalf of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, this month the

Next Platform reports that Pratt & Whitney is working to design a high-performance computing (HPC) environment that “includes more automated workflows, simulations and more crunching of data, and includes not only traditional systems but also big data analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT), open-source technologies like MapReduce and 3D inspections.” The company has used HPC to

Reuters reports that Airbus delivered its first A330neo jet to TAP Portugal Monday, seeking a “fiercely competitive battle” with The Boeing Company at the “lower end of the market for long-haul jets.” The competition pits the Boeing 787 and Airbus A330neo against each other in one of the “most crowded but potentially lucrative parts of the

Engadget reports that the International Organization for Standardization (IOS) has “released the first draft set of global standards for drone use.” The draft suggests “no-fly zones around airports and other restricted areas, along with geofencing measures to keep drones away from sensitive locations.” The new standards also encourage UAV operators to respect privacy, and they recommend

Aviation Week reported that initial trials of the Lockheed Martin F-35 and “Britain’s new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier have exceeded expectations, senior officers say.” The first two of three “planned rounds of developmental testing” concluded with 202 takeoffs and 187 vertical landings. More Info (Aviation Week)

UPI reported that the economy of Florida’s Space Coast “is getting a boost from space and defense companies that are bringing back high-paying tech jobs to an area hit hard by the 2008 recession and the 2011 retirement of NASA’s space shuttle program.” Although government agencies such as NASA brought fame to the area, “it is

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company canceled a conference call “it had scheduled for Tuesday morning with airlines to discuss systems on the 737 MAX model that crashed in Indonesia last month, two sources familiar with the matter said.” According to an emailed Boeing statement, Boeing “continues to engage with our customers. We continue to schedule

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company plans to hold a “conference call with airlines on Tuesday morning to discuss systems on the 737 MAX model that crashed in Indonesia last month, according to four sources…familiar with the matter.” In a message to employees on Monday, “Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said news reports that claimed the manufacturer

The New York Times reports that NASA announced that its next Mars rover “will search the Jezero Crater and delta for the chemical building blocks of life and other signs of past microbes.” The rover, “scheduled to launch in July 2020, will largely be a clone of NASA’s Curiosity rover, which is currently exploring Mars.” The explorer

Space News reports that Virgin Orbit successfully performed the first “captive carry flight of its LauncherOne air-launch system Nov. 18, a key testing milestone as the company moves closer to a first flight.” Virgin Orbit’s “Cosmic Girl” aircraft took off with a “pylon added to its left wing to which the LauncherOne rocket attaches,” and landed

CNBC reported that Lockheed Martin’s experimental X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology aircraft “has officially entered production, the defense giant announced Friday.” The X-59, which is designed to “cruise at 55,000 feet and reach speeds of about 940 miles per hour,” was developed as part of a $250 million NASA contract. The new aircraft is expected to “create

Reuters reports that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously Thursday to grant “market access” to SpaceX, Telesat Canada, Kepler Communications, and LeoSat in their bids to “offer high-speed internet service and connectivity for sensors and other intelligence devices.” The FCC approved SpaceX’s initial plans in March, and “further approved the company’s request on Thursday for

Aviation Week reports that NASA and Northrop Grumman have “delayed for a second day the company’s 10th agency contracted resupply mission launch to the International Space Station (ISS) because of high winds and rough seas at the Wallops Island Flight Facility launch site” on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. SPACE reports that the launch of a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket

Defense News reports that the US Air Force is devoting “fresh energy to plugging cybersecurity holes in the F-35’s external support systems, as they are deemed the easiest entry points for hackers into the fifth-generation combat jet, according to a key service official.” According to Air Force F-35 Integration Office Director Brig. Gen. Stephen Jost, “It’s

In continuing coverage of the Lion Air crash and questions surrounding the safety of an anti-stall system on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, Reuters reports that an American Airlines spokesman said, “We value our partnership with Boeing, but were unaware of some of the functionality of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) installed on the MAX

Aviation Week reports that Airbus plans to carry out testing of a prototype manufacturing system “based on an autonomous robotic arm” through early 2019. The design of satellites assembled in space and not subjected to the acceleration and vibration of launches “could be very different, according to Gwenaëlle Aridon, a research and development engineer at Airbus.”

SPACE reports that on Saturday, JAXA’s HTV Small Re-Entry Capsule (HSRC) became the “first Japanese spacecraft to bring experiments back to Earth from the space station.” The HSRC was released from the Japanese HTV-7 cargo resupply vessel during reentry following a deorbit burn and “began its own descent.” The capsule was recovered and “brought to JAXA

Engineer Keeps Her Footing Working in NASA Wind Tunnel By Michele McDonald, AIAA Communications Manager Nettie Roozeboom knows how to keep moving–whether it’s conducting research in wind tunnels or on the track. An aerospace engineer at the Fluid Mechanics Lab at NASA Ames Research Center, Roozeboom’s research will help usher in the next generation of aircraft and

The AP reports that an unmanned rocket carrying a Cygnus cargo craft is scheduled to launch shortly before 5 a.m. Thursday from a spaceport on Virginia’s Wallops Island on an ISS resupply mission. The craft will “carry 7,500 pounds of groceries, hardware and research.” NASA TV will “stream the launch on its website beginning at 4:15 a.m.”

In a video, the Wall Street Journal (Subscription Publication) reports on The Boeing Company subsidiary Aurora Flight Science’s work to develop autonomous aircraft – including helicopters, UAVs, and planes for the US military – and flies aboard an autonomous Aurora helicopter, the first journalists to do so. Aurora CEO John Langford is interviewed and said that autonomous

FlightGlobal reports that ATR and Air New Zealand signed an agreement to “explore the potential for hybrid propulsion to be used in regional aircraft.” Under the agreement, both companies will “consider the development of hybrid technology and how they might be supported in operations as they come to market in future years.” Air New Zealand CEO

Bloomberg News reports that hackers have been able to access “the flight paths, photos, and aerial video footage” collected by UAV manufacturer DJI Technology, “adding to fears about the security of pilotless flying devices.” According to a report from Check Point Software Technologies, “Access to customer accounts…could be gained via a vulnerability on the company’s website

ExecutiveBiz reports that NASA held a two-day meeting in Seattle last week “to inform commercial, academic and government organizations of the space agency’s plans to develop an urban air mobility ecosystem.” More than 400 government and aviation industry representatives “engaged in discussions about the UAM Grand Challenge, which is scheduled to officially launch in late 2020,