The Navy Times reported that a Boeing MQ-25 Stingray conducted its first inflight refueling with a US Navy F-35C jet last week. The MQ-25 and F-35C took off from the MidAmerica St. Louis airport and refueled at an altitude of 10,000 feet and 225 knot speed. The latest refueling follows prior tests where a MQ-25 refueled an

  Spaceflight Now reported that the Friday landing of the Tiangong crew after a three-month mission ended a historic day in spaceflight “with 14 people in low Earth orbit.” Eleven people remained in orbit: “seven on the International Space Station and four on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission.” Inspiration4’s launch

Fuel Cells Works reports that the University of Central Florida was awarded an $800,000 Department of Energy grant “to make hydrogen a high performing, efficient gas for turbine-based electricity generation.” AIAA Associate Fellow, UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor, and project principal investigator Subith Vasu said, “The high reactiveness of hydrogen poses challenges to

September 18, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) congratulates our corporate member SpaceX on today’s successful conclusion of the Inspiration4 mission—the first all-civilian human spaceflight to orbit. AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement: “On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we

Aviation Week reported that The Boeing Company currently has around 330 737 MAX aircraft in its inventory and is on track to clear the backlog by 2023. Full Story (Aviation Week)

The New York Times reports that a Russian medical and safety commission approved Thursday “a plan for an actress and a director to blast off early next month to film” a full-length movie in space. The movie, called “The Challenge,” “tells of a female doctor launched on short notice to the International Space Station to save the

The AP reported that NASA “has selected five U.S. companies to help the agency enable a steady pace of crewed trips to the lunar surface under the agency’s Artemis program.” The five companies that received awards are Blue Origin, Dynetics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX. Full Story (Associated Press)

Aviation Week reports that Rolls-Royce “has completed the first flight of its electric-powered Spirit of Innovation aircraft, also known as Accel.” The electric-powered Accel conducted its first flight at Boscombe Down airfield in Wiltshire. Full Story (Aviation Week)

SPACE reports that NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei will remain on the ISS until March, setting a new 353-day-long record for a spaceflight by an American astronaut. The prior record was held by Scott Kelly for a 340-day flight. Full Story (SPACE)

Aviation Week reports that as of 2021, “over 4,000 so-called Group 3-5 UAVs – systems with a maximum takeoff weight in excess of 55 lb. – are in service, with Aviation Week Network figures showing that figure increasing to over 5,200 by 2031, an increase of 30% over the next 10 years.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

The AP reports that SpaceX “launched 51 Starlink satellites into orbit from California on Monday night.” The Falcon 9’s reusable first stage successfully landed on an oceangoing platform in the Pacific Ocean. Full Story (Associated Press)

Reuters reports that Breeze Airways announced it will purchase 20 more Airbus A220-330 jets “on top of Breeze’s existing order of 60.” Breeze CEO David Neeleman “said in a Reuters interview the airline had options to buy 60 additional A220s and was exercising 20 of those.” Neeleman added, “This just shows growth is on the way.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Survey of Industry Professionals Reveals Need for Continued Innovation and Success September 14, 2021 – Reston, Va. – To move forward after a turbulent year, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is assessing the path ahead. In a recent survey, AIAA asked its members and the aerospace community at large—including

The New York Times reported that the US Federal Aviation Administration awarded over $100 million in grants to companies including Boeing, GE, and Pratt & Whitney on Friday. The grants are “part of the Biden administration’s effort to combat climate change,” as airlines have agreed to target net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, though “it is not

Florida Today reported that the four member civilian crew of Inspiration4 will launch aboard a SpaceX rocket from Kennedy Space Center this week. Inspiration4, the first all-civilian space flight to orbit the Earth, is scheduled to launch “no earlier than 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday.” Full Story (Florida Today)

CNN reports that cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov “conducted their second spacewalk in less than a week as they continue configurations for the new Nauka module for operations on the International Space Station.” The spacewalk was conducted Thursday despite a fire alarm going off on Wednesday night. Novitskiy and Dubrov installed handrails and routed cables

Aviation Today reports that BAE Systems is developing “energy storage and management solutions for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.” BAE Systems Controls and Avionics Solutions Business Development Lead for Aircraft Electrification Justin McClellan told Aviation Today, “Our main focus, I’d say, on battery technology and energy storage would be on high-reliability high-integrity energy storage

SPACE reports that NASA and ESA have pushed the launch date of the James Webb Space Telescope back to December 18. The James Webb Space Telescope has not yet shipped to the ESA launch site at Kourou, French Guiana, and will require about 10 weeks turnaround time from its shipping date. Full Story (SPACE)

Aviation Week reports that Northrop Grumman “unveiled the Scaled Composites Model 437 on Sept. 8 as a low-cost, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) derived from the company’s four-year-old, manned Model 401 demonstrator.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

Air Force Times reports that the US Air Force is considering cuts to the number of F-35 jets it had planned to buy as the service seeks to reduce the types of fighter aircraft it flies from seven to four platforms by 2030. The four platforms are likely to include the Next Generation Air Dominance system,

SPACE reports that NASA’s Perseverance rover stored its first Mars rock sample Monday. Perseverance is to collect several dozen more rock samples during its mission. NASA Science Mission Directorate head Thomas Zurbuchen said Monday, “Just as the Apollo moon missions demonstrated the enduring scientific value of returning samples from other worlds for analysis here on our

Pilot Episode Forecasts Biomedical Discoveries in Space that Will Improve Life on Earth September 7, 2021 – Reston, Va. – ASCEND, the only community on the planet dedicated to building humanity’s off-world future faster, today premiered “Fast Forward” – an original on-demand interview series featuring champions of industries pursuing large-scale growth in space. Powered by the

Space News reported that Firefly Aerospace announced Sunday its Alpha rocket failed “when one of its first-stage engines shut down seconds after liftoff.” Full Story (Space News)

FlightGlobal reports that Raytheon announced September 3 that it has “flight tested the air-launched effect variant of its Coyote drone for the first time.” Raytheon said that as part of the test, the UAV was “launched from a canister on the ground, successfully spread its wings and then established stable flight.” Raytheon said, “All test

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 News reports that Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket exploded two and a half minutes after its first launch Thursday. Firefly tweeted, “Alpha experienced an anomaly during first stage ascent that resulted in the loss of the vehicle.” Alpha was expected to reach supersonic speed 67 seconds after liftoff, but the rocket did not reach Mach One

BBC World News reports that Energia Chief Engineer Vladimir Solovyov told Russian state media that more than 80% of in-flight systems on Russian segments of the International Space Station were past due for replacement. Solovyov also said that small cracks had been discovered aboard the station, and that the problems could lead to “irreparable” failures. Full

FlightGlobal reports that NASA and Joby Aviation have “started a ten-day flight-test programme using Joby’s in-development air taxi – part of a NASA effort to help advance ‘urban air mobility’ technology.” The flights are the first phase of a NASA project to partner with companies to develop eVTOL aircraft. NASA announced Wednesday, “NASA’s goal is to

Bloomberg reports that Jet2 Plc has ordered 36 Airbus SE A321neo aircraft worth $4.9 billion. The aircraft are “scheduled for delivery over five years through 2028.” Jet2 said that the number of aircraft ordered could increase to 60. Full Story (Bloomberg)

Florida Today reports that SpaceX’s new drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas returned a Falcon 9 booster to Port Canaveral Tuesday, completing its first mission since arriving at Port Canaveral in July. The Falcon 9 booster was used to launch a Dragon capsule with supplies for the ISS on Sunday. Full Story (Florida Today)

Reuters reports that Energia Chief Engineer Vladimir Solovyov announced Monday that Russian cosmonauts have discovered fissures in the Zarya module of the ISS. Solovyov said, “This is bad and suggests that the fissures will begin to spread over time.” Full Story (Reuters)

Politico reports that Lockheed Martin and Aurora Flight Sciences “have been tapped by DARPA for the next design phase for an aircraft using ‘active flow control,’ which replaces traditional features such as rudders and flaps with actuators or effectors.” Both companies have already “completed conceptual designs of a flight demonstrator for the Control of Revolutionary Aircraft

In an interview with Space News at last week’s Space Symposium, Col. Robert Bongiovi, director of the launch enterprise at the Space Systems Command, “said it is ‘unfortunate’ that Blue Origin is taking far longer than expected to complete the testing and production of BE-4 rocket engines for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle.” However,

Aviation Today reported a heavily modified Alaska Airlines 737-9 will be the test bed for The Boeing Company’s 2021 ecoDemonstrator program. The aircraft will “provide the opportunity for Inmarsat to evaluate the use of Internet Protocol Suite (IPS)-based satellite data link communications between pilots and controllers.” The 737-9 has been equipped with “antennas, modems, and

CNET News reports that a new study published this month offers suggestions on how to avoid hazardous radiation on a trip to Mars. UCLA said Wednesday that “The scientists’ calculations demonstrate that it would be possible to shield a Mars-bound spacecraft from energetic particles from the sun because, during solar maximum, the most dangerous and energetic

FlightGlobal reports that aircraft interiors suppliers “are seeing growing demand for multi-class cabins in single-aisle jets during the recovery from Covid-19.” During FlightGlobal’s Rethinking The Post-COVID Cabin webinar Wednesday, “three executives from the sector noted the increased use of narrowbodies on longer-haul routes – epitomised by JetBlue’s recent launch of transatlantic services using Airbus A321LRs.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Awards Honor Outstanding Section Programming in a Variety of Categories August 27, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has announced its 2020–2021 section awards winners. The section awards honor particularly notable achievements made by member sections in a range of activities that help fulfill the

Space News reports that SpaceX President and CEO Gwynne Shotwell said at the 36th Space Symposium on Tuesday that the company is “going to be impacted this year with the lack of liquid oxygen for launch” and will “certainly…make sure the hospitals are going to have the oxygen that they need,” but that the company

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that Qantas announced Thursday “its plans to gradually bring back overseas flights once 80 per cent of the Australian population was fully vaccinated against Covid-19.” The first available travel routes “will be to first-world destinations with high vaccination rates including the United States, Canada, the UK, Singapore, Japan and New Zealand.”

Space News reports that on August 24, US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall “met with the chief executives of United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin and was briefed on the Vulcan Centaur, a new launch vehicle developed by ULA that is powered by Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines.” According to Space News, the “main topic of

Aviation Today reports that the “Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has awarded PteroDynamics a contract to supply three of its vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drones for its Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS program, the company announced in an Aug. 23 press release.” The VTOL UAVs are to be used for long-range cargo transport

Space News reports that the overall space economy “expanded 4.4 percent to $447 billion in 2020 with more nations participating than ever before, according to the Space Foundation’s updated Space Report.” Global government spending on space programs declined slightly in 2020 by 1.2 percent. The report also shows an increase in space launch activity. During

Aviation International News reports that Russia’s aerospace industry “is delaying a full-scale launch of a second-generation supersonic transport aircraft (SST2) while intensifying efforts to work out key technologies needed to deliver on that ambition.” The change was confirmed last month when “President Vladimir Putin himself approved a proposal by state-backed companies to develop the new Strizh

ExecutiveGov reported that NASA “plans to partner with commercial companies for the development of future space-based facilities as the International Space Station nears the end of service life.” NASA Director of Commercial Spaceflight Phil McAlister said the collaboration with commercial companies would allow NASA to focus more on deep space exploration. Full Story (ExecutiveGov)

The Daily Mail (UK) reported that The Drive acquired air traffic control audio from the Federal Aviation Administration this week revealing details about a sophisticated mystery UAV that evaded Tucson Police and US Customs and Border Protection helicopters in February. The recordings “show that pilots and air traffic controllers were baffled by the drone, which they described

Space News reports that Blue Origin will conduct “its next New Shepard suborbital mission Aug. 25 with a set of research payloads, but not people, on board on the vehicle’s first flight under a revised launch license.” The NS-17 mission will launch from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One the morning of August 25, and will carry

The Washington Post reports that the UAV strike on the Israeli tanker Mercer Street on July 29 fits in with a recent string of attacks using uncrewed aircraft. The technologies used in these attacks as well as their targets indicate Iranian involvement. Iran has followed a policy of distributing Iranian-produced weaponry including UAVs to various armed groups

Reuters reports that 19-year-old Zara Rutherford took off from Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport Wednesday “at the start of a three-month bid to become the youngest woman to fly solo round the world.” Rutherford “hopes her voyage will encourage more girls and women to study and work in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), and spark girls’ interest

SPACE reports that University of Southampton Astronautics Research Group head Hugh Lewis said SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are involved in about 1,600 near collisions between two spacecraft every week. Lewis said, “I have looked at the data going back to May 2019 when Starlink was first launched to understand the burden of these megaconstellations. Since then, the

August 19, 2021 – Reston, Va. – Alan Brown has been awarded the 2021 Daniel Guggenheim Medal for his innovation and technical leadership of the design and production of the F-117, the first stealth fighter/bomber aircraft. The Daniel Guggenheim Medal was established in 1929 to honor innovators who make notable achievements in the advancement of