Breaking Defense reported that for the first time, the US Defense Department has certified as “airworthy a 3D printed aircraft engine part – an F110 sump cover produced under the Air Force’s collaborative initiative with General Electric called Pacer Edge.” While the F110 “sump cover is a small part, it is nonetheless important to how

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that NASA’s Perseverance rover has commenced its science mission on Mars, starting with a move away from its touchdown zone June 1. As part of its science mission, the rover will search “for signs of ancient microscopic life,” and study the Jezero Crater’s “geology and look for signs of past habitability.” The

The Wall Street Journal reports that American Airlines is planning a $25 million investment in UK-based electric aircraft startup Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd., and intends to acquire 250 of Vertical’s flying taxis contingent on the aircraft receiving regulatory approval and achieving other milestones. Reuters reports that the conditional agreement struck by American Airlines to buy 250 of Vertical

June 10, 2021 – Reston, Va. – ASCEND, the interdisciplinary community focused on building humanity’s off-world future faster, today began rolling out the features of its centerpiece event program. Scheduled for 8–10 and 15–17 November, the ASCEND event will showcase a hybrid blend of live in-person and online programming.  Powered by AIAA, ASCEND was launched in 2020

Space News reports that China “rolled out a Long March 2F rocket Wednesday in preparation to send the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft and three astronauts to” the Tianhe core module of China’s space station. The Long March 2F rocket “was vertically transferred to its pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, the China Manned

Aviation International News reports that the FAA “has granted type certification validation for Safran’s Arrano 1A turboshaft with Fadec, the powerplant in the new Airbus H160 medium-twin helicopter.” The approval “is a significant milestone in obtaining overall FAA certification approval for the helicopter, which is expected later this year.” The Arrano 1A, “which produces up to

Fox Business reports that Virgin Orbit “announced Tuesday that its upcoming orbital mission, dubbed ‘Tubular Bells, Part One’…is on track to launch in the last week of June.” The company “said that its rocket, LauncherOne, has been shipped to Mojave Air and Space Port in California where final preparations are underway.” LauncherOne’s “payload will include satellites

Aviation International News reports that Southwest Airlines “has exercised options on another 34 Boeing 737 Max 7s, bringing its firm order total for the smallest Max variant to 234, the company reported Tuesday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.” The airline “said it expects to take delivery of all 34 of the jets next

Fox News reports that the Transportation Security Administration announced that it screened 1,984,658 people at airport checkpoints Sunday, the highest total since the start of the pandemic. The figure is a 350% increase from the 441,255 passengers screened the same day last year. Full Story) (Fox News)

Reuters reports that on Monday, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin “suggested Moscow would withdraw from the International Space Station in 2025 unless Washington lifted sanctions on the space sector that were hampering Russian satellite launches.” The sanctions prevent Russia from importing “certain microchip sets needed for its space” program. Rogozin said, “We have spacecraft that

SPACE reports that on Monday at 1:35 p.m. EDT, NASA’s Juno spacecraft will come within 645 miles of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, and “the only moon to sport a magnetic field, a bubble of charged particles dubbed a magnetosphere.” No probe “has gotten a good view of

The Wall Street Journal reported that when the pandemic started affecting air travel last year, thousands of aircraft were grounded in storage lots around the world, but instead of ending up as scrap, many older planes are set to return to service, with owners scrapping 15% fewer planes in 2020 compared to 2019, according to Cirium. Furthermore,

The Houston Chronicle reports that NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano “on Friday will exit the confines of the International Space Station for the first of four spacewalks to fix a vital piece of hardware that was not designed to be repaired in space.” The astronauts will repair part of a failed

Aviation International News reports that The Boeing Company “has scheduled the first test flight of its latest ecoDemonstrator – an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 carrying 20 new technology elements – for June 29.” The aircraft, “expected to enter revenue service with Alaska Airlines dressed in a special ecoDemonstrator livery by the middle of next

CNET News reports that on Wednesday, Axiom Space announced that it has reached a deal with SpaceX to send private astronauts to the International Space Station through 2023. Axiom and SpaceX “already had a deal in place for a Dragon spacecraft flight with three private citizens and former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría in early 2022.

Aviation Today reports that on Wednesday, Joby Aviation announced partnerships with REEF Technology and Neighborhood Property Group (NPG) for the latter two companies to build landing and takeoff sites for Joby’s eVTOL aircraft. The agreement “will give Joby the opportunity to secure long-term leases on rooftops within NPG and REEF’s network of parking garages through a

The AP reported that NASA “has released a stunning new picture of our galaxy’s violent, super-energized ‘downtown.’” The image is a “composite of 370 observations over the past two decades by the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory, depicting billions of stars and countless black holes in the center, or heart, of the Milky Way. A radio telescope in

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that the Transportation Security Administration said more than 1.65 million people were screened at US airports Sunday, a 386% increase from last year. Friday “saw a 499 percent increase in travelers at U.S. airports over the same time last year, TSA figures show, and Saturday saw a 497 percent increase.” Friday “was

Aviation Week reported that The Boeing Company “has begun taxi tests of the 737-10 – the fourth version of the MAX series and the longest stretch of the company’s long-running twinjet program – in the run-up to first flight.” The company “confirmed that taxi tests took place at Boeing’s Renton, Washington facility on May 20.” Full

Spaceflight Now reports that China’s Tianzhou 2 cargo ship “launched Saturday on top of a Long March 7 rocket and docked with the core module of the country’s space station eight hours later, delivering fuel, crew supplies, extravehicular spacesuits, and other gear in preparation for the arrival of three astronauts in June.” The spacecraft “lifted

SPACE reports that NASA “has selected rookie astronaut Kayla Barron as the fourth crewmember to fly on SpaceX’s upcoming Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station.” Barron “will join fellow NASA astronauts Raja Chari (who will serve as commander of the mission) and Tom Marshburn (who will serve as the pilot), as well as European

CNN reports that on Wednesday, UK-based Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) “released the latest details of its airship, which boasts a far smaller carbon footprint than a conventional passenger plane.” The Airlander 10 aircraft “will seat up to 100 passengers and operate with 90% fewer emissions than conventional aircraft, the company said in a press release.”

TechCrunch reports that General Motors and Lockheed Martin announced Wednesday that they are “working together to develop a next-generation lunar vehicle designed to be faster and capable of traveling farther distances than its predecessor.”  NBC News reports that the lunar rover is “expected to be part of the companies’ efforts to bid on a contract under

ExecutiveGov reports that the US Navy has announced that Raytheon Technologies’ Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) has achieved initial operational capability (IOC). The system, “designed to guide aircraft landing on naval carriers and amphibious assault ships,” and “can now help F-35C units land on nuclear aircraft carriers in any weather condition.” The IOC

May 26, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the four recipients of the inaugural Roger W. Kahn Scholarship – the first-ever scholarship AIAA has offered to high school students. The four $10,000 scholarships have been awarded to:   Natalie Bretton, Menchville High School, Newport News, Virginia

The Washington Post reports that US air travel “rebounded Sunday to the highest level of the pandemic era as the Transportation Security Administration continues to bolster staffing for the busy summer travel season set to kick off this weekend, federal aviation security officials said Tuesday.” The 1.8 million passengers screened by TSA on Sunday “amounted to 90

Insider reports that Flytrex has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration “to expand backyard drone delivery to thousands of homes in North Carolina, the company announced Tuesday, May 25.” Flytrex has been testing their UAV operations under the FAA’s ongoing pilot UAV program for months. The company “previously delivered food and beverages at a golf

GovCon Wire reports that the US Space Force “intends to release a request for proposals by June 30 to develop prototypes of deep space radar sensors that can monitor satellites and space debris in geostationary orbits, SpaceNews reported Sunday.” The Space and Missile Systems Center’s Space Enterprise Consortium “plans to select one or more vendors to

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that the US Air Force “has successfully completed an experimental program to rapidly transform cargo planes into bombers, massively enlarging its firepower capabilities should an armed conflict break out.” The program allows the C-17 Globemaster III and the C-130 Hercules to be converted into bombers. After “two years of experiments, the

Reuters reported that China’s Zhurong rover “drove down the ramp of its landing capsule on Saturday and onto the surface of Mars, making China the first nation to orbit, land and deploy a land vehicle on its inaugural mission to the Red Planet.” The rover “drove down to the surface of Mars at 10:40 a.m.

Reuters reported that The Boeing Company “has drawn up preliminary plans for a fresh sprint in 737 MAX output to as many as 42 jets a month in fall 2022, industry sources said, in a bid to extend its recovery from overlapping safety and COVID-19 crises.” The plans “would lift output beyond an early 2022

Space News reports that United Launch Alliance said Wednesday that the company will use its Atlas 5 rocket for the USSF-51 mission. The mission was supposed to be “the first national security mission for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket,” but the Vulcan has fallen behind schedule. The USSF-51 mission was “awarded to ULA in

ExecutiveGov reports that NASA “said Wednesday it tested the Airborne Location Integrating Geospatial Navigation System in preparation for future demonstrations of the Lockheed Martin-made X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology or QueSST plane.” Before 2024 demonstrations of the aircraft intended to quiet the sonic boom that occurs during supersonic flight, NASA “has to test X-59’s quietness through

SPACE reports that on Wednesday, Blue Origin began the unsealed phase of the bidding process for a seat on a July 20 New Shepard spacecraft launch. The unsealed phase follows online sealed bidding that began May 5. Per the Blue Origin website, the leading bid for the seat as of 4:00 a.m. EDT was $2.8 million. The

Reuters reports that European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Executive Director Patrick Ky said Wednesday, “I believe that commercial use of (air) taxis can start to take place in 2024 or 2025.” The EASA “cited figures suggesting a 4.2-billion-euro UAM market in Europe by 2030, creating 90,000 jobs. Some 31% of the global market for

May 20, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space ISAC) have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) enabling the two organizations to collaborate on aerospace and space cybersecurity endeavors. The two organizations will cooperate to build the knowledge foundations of

Space News reports that South Korea “is in last-minute negotiations with the United States to join NASA’s Artemis program, a news outlet here reported May 18, citing government sources.” The two countries are aiming to complete negotiations before a May 21 summit between President Biden and South Korea President Moon Jae-in. An unnamed South Korean official

Reuters reports that electric aircraft company Beta Technologies “said on Tuesday it had raised $368 million in a private funding round which was led by Fidelity Management and backed by Amazon’s climate-focused venture capital fund.” Beta Technologies said that the funding will be used to refine its electric propulsion systems and controls and the construction

Space News reports that NASA “announced May 17 it has assigned another astronaut to the next commercial crew mission to the International Space Station, a sign that NASA no longer expects to complete a seat barter agreement with Roscosmos in time for that flight.” NASA “said that Kayla Barron will join the Crew-3 mission, launching

National Defense Magazine reports that the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) “will soon put five industry offerings through their paces as it searches for a new ‘Armed Overwatch’ aircraft to support commandos.” The command “wants a new platform to replace its U-28A Draco manned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance plane. On May 14, SOCOM announced that it

Competition Champions 25 Years of Aircraft Innovation and Design May 18, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today announced the winners of the 25th annual AIAA/Textron Aviation/Raytheon Missiles & Defense Design/ Build/Fly (DBF) Competition. The 2020–2021 Design/Build/Fly winners are: First Place ($3,000): Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India

Executive board of advisors exemplifies the community spirit of space May 17, 2021 – Reston, Va. – ASCEND, the global community focused on building humanity’s off-world future faster, today announced its 2021 Guiding Coalition. The coalition is an advisory board of technical, scientific, engineering, and business leaders selected to help maximize ASCEND’s year-round reach and impact,

Air Force Magazine reported that the US Air Force “will propose about a 10 percent cut in its planned F-35 purchases in the upcoming future years defense plan, citing sustainment costs for the jet well above what was expected, and because the service prefers to wait for the more advanced Block 4 model.” Budget talking points

Space News reported that at 6:56 p.m. EDT Saturday, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, carrying 52 Starlink satellites and two rideshare payloads – a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellite from Capella Space and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems’ Tyvak-0130 satellite. The Starlink satellites “separated from the rocket’s upper stage 1 hour and

The AP reports that China “says its Mars probe and accompanying rover are expected to land on the red planet sometime between Saturday and Wednesday Beijing time.” The China National Space Administration “said in a brief notice that the Tianwen-1 probe has collected a large amount of scientific data since entering Mars orbit on Feb. 10

Reuters reports that United Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines “said on Thursday they will quickly repair more than 60 Boeing 737 MAX planes grounded early last month over an electrical problem that could have interfered with some critical systems.” The Boeing Company “sent all affected carriers service bulletins late on Wednesday on how to

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that NASA’s Perseverance rover…

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports that The Boeing Company has come up with a fix to strengthen engine covers similar to the one that disintegrated on a United Airlines 777 jet after it took off from Denver in February. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in congressional testimony Wednesday that Boeing

Corporate members will have the ability to understand the strategic practices of the ISS National Lab, understand space investment and business trends, and learn about programmatic priorities of the space station.

SPACE reports that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope “has unfurled its big golden mirror for the final time on Earth ahead of its planned launch later this year.” The $9.8 billion space telescope “opened its 21.3-foot-wide (6.5 meters) primary mirror recently during a test at the Los Angeles-area facilities of its main builder, the aerospace