SPACE reports that the Northrop Grumman NG-17 Cygnus “spacecraft successfully reboosted the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time, raising the orbiting lab to its normal operating altitude of around 250 miles above Earth.” The reboost “took place on Saturday (June 25) and marks the first time a Cygnus spacecraft has performed a full reboost

Aviation International News reports that the first “Gulfstream G800 – registered as N800G – completed its inaugural flight this morning, officially launching the flight-test program for the 8,000-nm twinjet.” N800G “lifted off from Gulfstream Aerospace’s headquarters at Georgia’s Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (KSAV) at 9 a.m. and landed back at the field two hours later.

CNET News reports that NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) was launched from the Rocket Lab launch facility in New Zealand on Tuesday, “paving the way for Artemis astronauts to return to the moon in the coming years.” CAPSTONE “will be testing new navigation systems and trying out the halo-shaped orbit

Aviation Week reports that The Boeing Company “is on the hunt for thousands of new engineers and machinists as it looks to ramp-up 737 MAX production.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

The Wall Street Journal reports on issues with the production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The Dreamliner is the first aircraft produced by The Boeing Company that relies on parts produced by a global network of suppliers. Full Story (Wall Street Journal – Subscription Publication)

SPACE reported that over the next weeks NASA “will launch three rockets from the Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory on the Dhupuma Plateau, near Nhulunbuy. The rockets are 13 meter ‘sounding’ rockets that will not reach orbit but will take scientific observations.” This is the first time NASA will launch rockets from a

Aviation Week reports that Beta Technologies “has flown its Alia electric aircraft between two Amazon Air hubs, completing a 31-min. flight between Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and Wilmington Air Park in Ohio.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

SPACE reports that NASA “and the U.S. Department of Energy selected three design concept proposals that the government hopes could be ready for use on the moon by the end of the 2020s, to support the space agency’s Artemis program of lunar exploration.” NASA sees the $5 million contracts “as potentially useful for the exploration

Bloomberg reports that in a paper “published this spring by the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications Technology, a researcher urges the Chinese military to track and monitor every satellite in the sprawling Starlink network.” The paper, published in the Modern Defense Technology journal, reads Starlink “can provide more stable and reliable communication capabilities for

Aviation International News reports that the “post-pandemic demand for air travel demand and a shortage of new aircraft as manufacturers struggle with program delays and supply chains disruptions is creating operational hiccups for Lufthansa in the short-term, but it will lead to a much healthier airline industry in the mid- and longer-term.” CEO Carsten Spohr said,

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that NASA is considering a potential timeline for the powering-down of the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft after 44 years of operation. NASA “is now planning to begin turning off some of the Voyagers’ systems in the hope of eking out the spacecrafts’ remaining power to extend their journeys to about 2030.”

BNN Bloomberg (CAN) reports that “Zipline International Inc., which already is making deliveries with companies such as Walmart Inc., said Tuesday that the Federal Aviation Administration certification would allow it to expand by shipping [health-care] products from its North Carolina headquarters.” Zipline’s drones do not fly like typical drones but fly “more like a traditional plane

The AP reports that South Korea “successfully launched its first homegrown space rocket on Tuesday, officials said, a triumph that boosted the country’s growing space ambitions but also proved it has key technologies to build a space-based surveillance system and bigger missiles amid animosities with rival North Korea.” The Nuri rocket “succeeded in releasing and placing

Bloomberg reported that Air India Ltd. may order 300 “Airbus SE’s A320neo family jets or Boeing Co.’s 737 Max models, or a mix of both.” This would be “one of the largest orders in commercial aviation history as the formerly state-run airline looks to overhaul its fleet under new ownership.” While a “deal for 300 737

Aviation International News reports that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has “lowered its projection for industry losses for 2022 by $1.9 billion,” and upgraded its forecast for 2023 noting that “industry-wide profitability next year ‘appears within reach,’ with North America already expected to deliver an $8.8 billion profit in 2022.”   IATA Director General Willie

Florida Today reports SpaceX successfully launched three separate Falcon 9 missions in less than 48 hours, starting Friday and wrapping up early Sunday morning.  The “launch-packed weekend got started with a Friday liftoff of Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center,” with 53 additional satellites placed into orbit.  A Falcon 9 launched from Vandenberg Space Force

Bloomberg reports that The Boeing Company “is laying plans to restart 787 Dreamliner handovers that have been largely halted since late 2020, notifying customers of their place in the delivery queue as it works with US regulators to complete the final paperwork.” Boeing “has reviewed the carbon-composite frames for tiny structural imperfections with regulators and

Spaceflight Now reports that SpaceX “teams in Florida and California are preparing for three missions from three launch pads in three days, beginning Friday with a launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a reusable Falcon 9 booster flying for a record 13th time.” Friday’s flight will “deploy 53 more Starlink internet satellites,

AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement: “AIAA welcomes the long overdue new monument honoring Apollo 1 Astronauts…

Spaceflight Now reported that NASA engineers “have made progress in attempts to fully unfurl a solar array wing that snagged on NASA’s Lucy asteroid explorer shortly after launch last October, adding to optimism that the spacecraft can complete its 12-year mission as planned.” Lucy “will fly by eight Trojan asteroids between 2027 and 2033, plus one

Aviation International News reports that the Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum prepares to “launch airship services with plans to acquire 10 of the 100-seat Airlander 10 aircraft being developed by Hybrid Air Vehicles in a deal that could be worth $600 million.” In the last six months, “Air Nostrum and HAV have conducted studies and modeling

Registration is open for journalists around the world to attend the 2022 AIAA AVIATION Forum in Chicago and online.

CNET News reports that NASA JPL confirmed the Ingenuity helicopter’s 29th flight in a tweet Tuesday, “saying the chopper completed the 66.6-second journey over the weekend, traveling 587 feet (179 meters) across Mars. Ingenuity’s previous flight, No. 28, took place at the end of April.” Aviation Today (CNET News)

Aviation Today reports that Joby Aviation “announced that it has received its Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate from the FAA.” The award of the Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate permits Joby “to begin commercial operations of its electric air taxi.” Joby “originally expected to receive the certificate for its vehicle – an electric vertical take-off

Reuters reported that Astra Space’s mission to send “tiny storm-monitoring NASA satellites to orbit” failed after a second-stage booster engine shut down 10 minutes after liftoff. The rocket was carrying two satellites designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory to “measure moisture and precipitation in tropical storm systems,” which were set to be

Aviation Week reports that DARPA “has launched a new project that sees a fresh role for the U.S. Air Force fleet of aerial tankers as airborne recharging points for networks of electric-powered UAS by adding a wing-mounted laser pod.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

Spaceflight Now reported that NASA “says it plans to buy five more crew rotation missions on SpaceX’s fleet of Dragon spaceships, bringing SpaceX’s contract with the space agency to 14 operational astronaut launches, likely enough to keep the International Space Station staffed through 2030.” SpaceX and The Boeing Company are to alternate NASA astronaut missions “every

The Washington Post reports the US Naval Air Forces “has ordered a one-day ‘safety pause’ for its aircraft after a string of crashes in California this month led to the deaths of a Navy pilot and five Marines.” The pause, which will take effect Monday, will “affect all Navy aviation units that are not deployed, the Naval

CNET News reports that a few companies are considering bringing back supersonic passenger flights. In 2021, United Airlines “agreed to buy 15 aircraft from Boom Supersonic, a startup working to build supersonic commercial jets. United is aiming to get those planes in the air by 2029.” Virgin Galactic and Rolls-Royce announced a partnership in 2020 to

BBC News reports that one of the main mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been damaged by impact of a small meteoroid. NASA reports the meteoroid struck the space observatory “sometime between 23 and 25 May,” but is unlikely to affect mission performance. Full Story (BBC News)

Aviation International News reports that Tier 1 Engineering “conducted the first flight of an all-electric Robinson R44 using the MagniX electric propulsion unit (EPU)” on Saturday. Tier 1 President Glen Dromgoole said, “This historic flight, of an all-electric helicopter with a certifiable electric engine, was an important step towards obtaining aircraft certification. We are excited to

The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports that Astra Space “announced it could launch as early as Sunday on the first of three missions to send six tropical weather satellites into orbit for NASA.” The Rocket 3.3 “named LV0010 had a successful test fire at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 46 this week, and the company

Bloomberg reports that NASA “will launch three sounding rockets from a facility in Australia’s Northern Territory from June 26, the first time the space agency has used a commercial launchpad outside of the US in its more than 50-year history.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “announced the historic event in a statement on Tuesday night, saying

Aviation Today reports that Volocopter “just announced that the four-seater VoloConnect aircraft completed its first flight in May.” The VoloConnect “could enter into service as early as 2026.” Full Story (Aviation Today)

CNN reports that for the first time, “the Ingenuity team on Earth lost contact with Ingenuity on sols 427 and 428, or Martian days that correspond with May 3 and May 4.” The team “discovered that loss of contact occurred because Ingenuity experienced insufficient battery charge as night fell. This reduced voltage reset the mission clock,

FedScoop reported that the US Air Force “plans to create a ‘family of systems’ for its Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, which aims to develop a stealthy sixth-generation fighter as well as drones – also referred to as autonomous ‘collaborative combat aircraft’ (CCA) – and various mission systems that could accompany them into battle. The

SPACE reports that China’s “three-person Shenzhou 14 mission arrived at Tianhe, the core module of the under-construction Tiangong, early Sunday morning (June 5), about six hours after lifting off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert.” The three Shenzhou 14 crewmembers “are expected to spend about six months aboard the 54-foot-long (16.6 meters) Tianhe

The Wall Street Journal reported that The Boeing Company has paused 737 MAX production for about 10 days following supply-chain issues. Full Story (Wall Street Journal – Subscription Publication)

Parabolic Arc reported that Blue Origin successfully launched its New Shepard rocket Saturday, completing “its fifth human spaceflight and the 21st flight for the New Shepard program.”  Launch occurred from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas at 9:25 a.m. Eastern. The crew capsule landed 10 minutes after liftoff after reaching an altitude of

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

SPACE reports that Russia launched the Progress 81 freighter “atop a Russian-built Soyuz rocket at 5:32 a.m. EDT (0932 GMT) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where the local time was 2:32 p.m. in the afternoon.” Progress 81 “is carrying about three tons of food, propellant and equipment up to the International Space Station (ISS)” where it

Aviation International News reports that Gulfstream Aerospace “plans to hire for more than 200 positions and invest $55 million in expanding its Appleton, Wisconsin site because of increased customer demand and its growing fleet of super-midsize and large-cabin jets.” The Appleton expansion “involves the construction of a 73,000-sq-ft (6,782-sq-m) paint facility using a paint booth design

AIAA is pleased to announce the winners of technical excellence awards to be presented during the 2022 AIAA AVIATION Forum, 27 June–1 July, in Chicago.

Defense News reports that Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said during an event at the Heritage Foundation that the service’s “secretive and highly classified Next Generation Air Dominance fighter program has started its crucial engineering and manufacturing development phase.” Kendall said that the service “began early experimental prototyping on NGAD in 2015, when he was the

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles “home of the retired space shuttle Endeavour broke ground Wednesday on a permanent museum, which ultimately envisions the spacecraft displayed as if ready for launch.” The complete exhibit “will be what’s believed to be the tallest vertical authentic spacecraft display in the world. Building construction of the

Space News reports that Sierra Space announced Tuesday “a strategic partnership with aerospace manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems for production of cargo modules for its Dream Chaser vehicles.” Spirit “will assist in the development and production of Shooting Star, the cargo module attached to the aft end of the Dream Chaser lifting body vehicle.” The Shooting Star module

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (FL) reports that a team “of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students recently made school history by placing second in this year’s Design/Build/Fly aircraft competition hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).” The team’s aircraft “is named MULLET, which stands for Medical Unmanned Low-Level Electric Transport.” Full Story (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) More

The Washington Post highlighted the industry’s current push towards sustainable, efficient, supersonic flight. Full Story (Washington Post – Subscription publication)

SPACE reported that NASA “has just unveiled incredible new footage of its helicopter Ingenuity on a record-breaking flight on the Red Planet last month.” The video “shows the tiny Red Planet chopper as it flew across a distance of 2,310 feet (704 meters) at a speed of 12 mph (19 kph), with a view of Red

Space News reports that SpaceX “will replace the heat shield on the next Crew Dragon spacecraft flying to the International Space Station after it failed inspections, but NASA says there is no risk of a similar problem for the spacecraft currently at the station.” Full Story (Space News)