Industry News

CNBC reports that space infrastructure companies “received $14.5 billion of private investment in 2021, a new annual record that was up more than 50% from 2020.” Full Story (CNBC)

Aviation Week reports that Lockheed Martin “says it has completed a series of mission profile tests of the Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant rotorcraft demonstrator as the U.S. Army continues evaluating competing bids for the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) contract.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

Space News reported that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to “send to orbit a spacecraft powered by a nuclear propulsion system.” The technology “could give the U.S. military an advantage over enemies by making satellites more maneuverable and less vulnerable to attack.” DARPA’s Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) spacecraft is scheduled

Reuters rreported that the Philippines “is buying 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from Poland-based Sikorsky Aircraft subsidiary PZL Mielec to beef up its existing fleet of 12.” A notice of award was issued December 28 “for the purchase of brand new helicopters under a project that comes with logistics support and a training package for pilots

Aviation International News reports that Tupolev performed the first flight of the first new-production Tu-160M strategic bomber Wednesday. The flight “was undertaken at the Kazan Aviation Plant airfield, and lasted for around 30 minutes.” The first two new-production aircraft are to be handed over to the Russian air force in 2022. The Tu-160M features a

Space News reports that a SpaceX Falcon 9 “placed more than 100 smallsats into orbit Jan. 13 as the company accelerates the pace of its dedicated rideshare missions.” Thursday’s launch was dubbed Transporter-3. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 “lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 10:25 a.m. Eastern.” The

Aviation Week reports that a “long-range infrared search and track (IRST) sensor, manned-unmanned teaming capability and a Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted display are on a list of new upgrades by third-party vendors sought by the U.S. Air Force for the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that Virgin Orbit “is set to fire seven satellites into space later today, when RAF pilot [Matthew Stannard] ‘Stanny’ unleashes the LauncherOne rocket from a Boeing 747.” The jet “will fly up to 35,000ft over the Pacific Ocean for an hour, before deploying the Launcher One rocket and roughly 660lb of satellites

CNET News reports that NASA’s InSight lander “went into safe mode – a mode designed to protect the lander – on Jan. 7 after a dust storm reduced sunlight to the solar-powered machine.” NASA JPL said Tuesday, “The mission’s team reestablished contact with InSight Jan. 10, finding that its power was holding steady and, while low,

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company “bounced back to win the traditional annual order race against Airbus SE (AIR.PA) on an adjusted basis, but its European rival remained the world’s largest planemaker based on the number of jets delivered, data showed on Tuesday.” Shares in Boeing “rose around 2% after the closely watched data showed it

Aviation Week reports that the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray “program used 2021 to prove its prototype of the unmanned refueling aircraft can perform the basics for the U.S. Navy, and now is looking to ramp up production under the initial engineering and manufacturing development contract and put those aircraft to the test.” More Info (Aviation Week)

CNN reports 2022 “promises to be yet another year solidifying the private sector’s grip on modern space travel.” SpaceX is planning “to put its colossal 400-foot-tall Starship rocket – intended to eventually reach Mars – into Earth’s orbit for the first time.” The article also mentions concerns over the overcrowding of space with debris and satellites.

CNET News reported that NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter “is getting ready to take its first flight of the year, and its 19th flight overall. The Ingenuity team anticipates takeoff could be tough due to the terrain it’s sitting on.” The flight is “scheduled to take place no earlier than Friday.” Full Story (Air Force Magazine)

Air Force Magazine reported that The Boeing Company “has revealed an updated concept for its Valkyrie reusable, unmanned hypersonic aircraft that indicates new design approaches for inlets and shaping.” The revised Valkyrie was shown “in the form of a model at [last] week’s American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics [SciTech] meeting in San Diego.” The aircraft

SPACE reports that the James Webb Space Telescope deployed its Aft Deployable Instrument Radiator (ADIR) Thursday at about 8:38 a.m. EST. The ADIR “is a 4 foot (1.2 meters) by 8 foot (2.4 m) panel attached to the back of the observatory and connected by aluminum foil straps to Webb’s instruments. The radiator is covered in

Aviation Today reports that “FAA Special Airworthiness Certification and U.S. Air Force Airworthiness Approval were both awarded to Joby Aviation for the company’s second pre-production prototype aircraft.” Due to the certification, Joby “will be able to ramp up flight testing in 2022 and continue working towards a commercial operations launch date in 2024.” Full Story (Aviation

Aviation Week reports that Lockheed Martin “is poised to start structural tests of the X-59 Low Boom Supersonic Demonstrator at its Fort Worth facility as part of final preparations for flight tests later this year in Palmdale, California.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

CNN reports that the out-of-control Persei rocket booster “has re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, according to the latest estimate from US Space Command, which has been tracking its descent.” The Persei booster was tested from an Angara-A5 heavy-lift rocket launched “from the Plesetsk spaceport in Russia’s northwestern Arkhangelsk region on Monday.” US Space Command “said the

Aviation International News reports that EHang “has received the first order for its VT-30 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle, with Japan’s Okayama Kurashiki Mizushima Aero & Space Industry Cluster Study Group (MASC) committing to exploring use cases for the two-seat eVTOL aircraft, as well as the Chinese manufacturer’s EH216 model.” Full Story (Aviation International News)

Space News reports that Indian space agency ISRO Chairman K. Sivan “says he expects much more in 2022, including an uncrewed test flight for its human spaceflight program.” Sivan wrote, “There is a feeling that very little happened in ISRO during 2021. That feeling is primarily due to less number of launches.” ISRO “carried out

SPACE reports that China’s Tianwen 1 spacecraft “at Mars pulled a big New Year’s surprise with stunning new images captured by a small camera that flew free of the orbiter to snap epic selfies above the Red Planet.” The images “published by the China National Space Administration show Tianwen 1 above Mars’ north pole, with its

Breaking Defense reports that Lockheed Martin “delivered three more F-35s than planned in 2021, handing over a total of 142 Joint Strike Fighters to US and international customers as the company continues to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.” In a statement to Breaking Defense, Bridget Lauderdale, Vice President of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Program, said that the

Space News reported that China “has informed the United Nations that its crewed space station twice maneuvered to avoid potential collisions with SpaceX Starlink satellites earlier this year.” A notification “dated Dec. 6 by China under Article V of the Outer Space Treaty stated that the Tianhe space station module conducted preventive collision avoidance due

BBC News reported that Indonesia “has lifted a ban on the Boeing 737 Max, more than three years after the Lion Air disaster that saw the loss of all 189 people on board.” Full Story (BBC News)

Space News reports that the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ H-2A rocket “lifted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center at 10:32 a.m. Eastern and deployed the nearly 5,500-kilogram Inmarsat-6 F1 satellite into geostationary transfer orbit about 26 minutes later. A little over two hours later, London-based Inmarsat tweeted that it had acquired initial telemetry from the satellite.”

Aviation Week reports that the FAA “will soon release draft final rules that detail…return-to-service requirements for Pratt & Whitney-powered Boeing 777s, adopting Boeing-recommended nacelle modifications and new Pratt-developed fan blade inspection protocols.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

Aviation International News reports that Eve Urban Air Mobility on Tuesday “became the latest eVTOL aircraft developer to announce plans to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.” Known backers include “scheduled airlines SkyWest and Republic Airways, which along with leasing group Azurra Aviation on Tuesday confirmed provisional orders for up

The Seattle Times reports that the International Space Station is seen as “a high-water mark for U.S.-Russia relations” by George Washington University Space Policy Institute Director Scott Pace, who added, “But it’s not invulnerable … If we were to start over today, we would not have the Russians as partners on the station. That was done

The Guardian (UK) reports that SpaceX’s Starship is to conduct its first orbital test launch next month. Starship “is seen by many as a pathway back to the moon for the first time in half a century and maybe the first vehicle to eventually land humans on Mars.” Full Story (The Guardian)

FlightGlobal reports that The Boeing Company and the US Navy “have completed a series of tests to assess the deck handling characteristics of the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned air vehicle (UAV) aboard an aircraft carrier.” Full Story (FlightGlobal)

Air Force Times reported that Boeing Company officials are confident that the “high-tech methods Boeing used to design and build the T-7 are saving time, simplifying processes, improving quality and cutting down on defects.” Boeing Vice President and T-7 Program Manager Paul Niewald said, “Everything’s in 3D, everything’s digital. It’s an authoritative source of data. So

CNN reported that the Parker Solar Probe has flown through the sun’s upper atmosphere “to sample particles and our star’s magnetic fields.” Full Story (CNN

Spaceflight Now reports that SpaceX “is set to close out the year with three Falcon 9 rocket flights in a span of about 72 hours from launch pads in Florida and California, carrying another batch of Starlink internet satellites, a Turkish data relay spacecraft, and a resupply mission to the International Space Station.” If SpaceX

CNET News reports airline industry executives “say that if US wireless carriers push forward with plans to begin deploying a specific type of 5G service early next year in spite of interference concerns brought to light by the Federal Aviation Administration, travelers could see delays and other disruptions in air travel starting Jan. 5.” Full

CNN reports that the James Webb Space Telescope is “now expected to launch on December 24 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.” Teams are working on “a communication issue between the observatory and the launch vehicle system.” Full Story (CNN)

Aviation Week reports that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “has accredited the Drone Racing League (DRL) as the first uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) event organizer in the U.S.” Full Story (Aviation Week)

CNBC reports that The Boeing Company “said Tuesday it delivered 34 new planes to customers last month, putting it on track to more than double 2020’s tally this year.” Boeing “delivered 302 aircraft this year through November, already close to twice as many as the 157 it handed over in all of 2020 during the depths

Florida Today reports that the Space Florida board of directors “approved a staff request to complete negotiations with a company that is expected to invest more than $300 million in a new facility at the Melbourne Orlando International Airport.” The facility will bring 2,100 spacecraft manufacturing jobs “expected to have an average wage of $84,000

Spaceflight Now reported that SpaceX “launched a refrigerator-sized NASA X-ray observatory from Kennedy Space Center into an unusual orbit hugging the equator Thursday, beginning a $214 million mission to study black holes and super-compact neutron stars.” NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) “mission is modest in size but promises to open a new window into

Aviation International News reports that business aviation activity “globally is still topping 2019 numbers, with flights up 6 percent from two years ago in the first week of December, according to WingX’s latest Business Aviation Bulletin.” Full Story (Aviation International News)

FlightGlobal reports that the US Air Force “is ready to move beyond experimentation with unmanned combat aircraft and toward acquiring and fielding the next-generation unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said, “We are going to take a period of time to sort all that out and then we are going to get

SPACE reports that NASA “has announced three commercial space station proposals for development, joining an earlier proposal by Axiom Space.” SPACE interviewed Axiom Chief Technology Officer Matt Ondler on “the company’s space station plans, the outlook for private industry in LEO and the importance of commercial missions such as SpaceX’s recent Inspiration4 crewed orbital flight.” Full Story

Reuters reports that American Airlines “plans to scrap, reduce or delay the introduction of flights to several international routes next summer because of a lack of widebody aircraft.” American Airlines “said Boeing Co’s (BA.N) delay in delivering 787 jets, including 13 aircraft that were expected to arrive by this winter, has crimped its ability to ramp

CNET News reports that on Tuesday, NASA’s Curiosity rover photographed “a scenic cliff that resembles a human face in profile with a heavy brow, a long nose, lips and a chin.” Full Story (CNET News)

SPACE reports that Blue Origin’s third crewed launch has been delayed due to weather. Windy conditions at Launch Site One in Van Horn, Texas, have “push[ed] off liftoff of ‘Good Morning America’ (GMA) anchor Michael Strahan and five other individuals” to Saturday. Full Story (SPACE)

Aviation Week reports that Canada’s Department of National Defense (DND) said that a “cracking issue has required repairs to at least 19 of the 23 Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopters in the Royal Canadian Air Force fleet.” Vertical Magazine reports that on November 26, “cracks were found on the tail of one of the helicopters undergoing a routine

SPACE reports that mission team members “have finished fueling the James Webb Space Telescope at ahead of its planned Dec. 22 launch from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, the European Space Agency announced Monday.” The fueling for the Webb telescope “took 10 days and was completed on Dec. 3.” Full Story (SPACE)

Bloomberg reports that Airbus “delivered 58 jets in November, setting up a busy final month of 2021 as the company aims to ship 600 aircraft this year.” Full Story (Bloomberg)

Spaceflight Now reports that after a delay due to high winds, ULA successfully launched an Atlas 5 rocket carrying the STP-3 mission Tuesday morning. WESH-TV Orlando, FL reports that the main spacecraft “houses an experiment designed to more accurately detect nuclear detonations on Earth,” and will also deploy “two satellites with new technology that have never been deployed

Aviation Week reports that the US Air Force “has cleared the KC-46 to refuel five more aircraft types as part of a rollout of interim capabilities before the tanker is fully operational. U.S. Transportation Command can now task the KC-46 to refuel AC-130Js, HC-130Js, MC-130Js, C-5Ms and E-3Gs.” Full Story (Aviation Week)