Industry News

The AP reports that the European Space Agency “says it has agreed to provide several modules for NASA’s planned outpost around the moon, in return for a chance to send European astronauts to the lunar orbiter.” ESA said Tuesday that ESA Director-General Jan Woerner signed an agreement with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine to provide “essential elements” for

FlightGlobal reports that Pratt & Whitney “shipped 114 large commercial aircraft engines in the third quarter of 2020,” a 24% increase from the previous quarter. Although the company reported a “$615 million operating loss in the third quarter, the company insists it continues investing in its future, noting plans to open a new engine manufacturing

SPACE reports that SpaceX announced Monday that it is preparing to send four astronauts to the ISS on November 14. The Crew-1 mission, scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, “will be the first operational flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon astronaut taxi and the second Crew Dragon mission to carry

Bloomberg reports that DoD has postponed the approval for the full-rate production of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 due to a delay in combat simulation testing. The testing had been moved from 2017 to December of this year before it was “postponed again because of difficulties finishing technical preparations.” Jessica Maxwell, spokesperson for Under Secretary of Defense for

CNBC reported that American Airlines COO David Seymour said during a town hall last week that the company sees the “finish line” approaching in the FAA’s recertification of the 737 MAX. The airline “is planning to start flights with employees after Thanksgiving, estimating the FAA will lift the flight ban in mid-November, Seymour said.” American “is

CNBC reported that on Saturday at 11:31 a.m. EDT, SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites into orbit. The batch of satellites launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket in the second Starlink mission last week. The Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship in the Atlantic Ocean nine minutes after liftoff. Full Story (CNBC)

SPACE reports that SpaceX postponed the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday, which was scheduled to launch 60 Starlink satellites into orbit at 12:14 p.m. The launch was scrubbed approximately 15 minutes before scheduled liftoff “due to mission assurance concerns.” SpaceX tweeted, “Standing down from today’s launch of Starlink to allow additional time for mission

Reuters reports that Airbus “has asked suppliers to be ready to support a conditional 18% increase in production of its best-selling single-aisle A320 jet family once demand recovers from the coronavirus crisis, the European planemaker said on Thursday.” Airbus “said it had asked suppliers to ‘protect’ a production rate of 47 A320-family jets a month,

The AP reports that a Soyuz MS16 capsule carrying NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner returned from the ISS on Wednesday, landing in Kazakhstan at 10:54 p.m. EDT. Cassidy, Ivanishin, and Vagner “spent 196 days in orbit since arriving at the station on April 9.” Before leaving, the Russian cosmonauts

FlightGlobal reports that The Boeing Company “has conducted the first taxi test of the Airpower Teaming System (ATS) loyal wingman aircraft being developed in Australia.” Boeing Australia “notes that this is the first time the unmanned aircraft has moved under its own power, and reiterated that a maiden sortie is planned by the end of

The AP reports that “the window for the final round of testing of Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered spacecraft opens later this week as the company inches toward commercial flights.” On Monday, in an update to New Mexico lawmakers, Virgin Galactic President Mike Moses “said the space tourism company already has done nine flights from Spaceport America in southern

FlightGlobal reports that The Boeing Company and the US Navy (USN) “plan to co-develop a supersonic land and sea strike missile to be carried aboard the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter.” Boeing announced Tuesday that it “has been awarded $30 million to develop the Supersonic Propulsion Enabled Advanced Ramjet (SPEAR) flight demonstrator with the USN’s Air Warfare

Space News reports that NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of the asteroid Bennu Tuesday at 6:12 p.m. Eastern Time.  The spacecraft quickly extended its sampling arm and “fired a burst of nitrogen gas to kick up fine material on the surface, trapping that material inside the device.”  The Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism

FlightGlobal reports that DoD’s Office of Operational Test and Evaluation “plans to test fly its Fifth Generation Aerial Target (5GAT) prototype for the first time in October at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.” The UAV “finished ground-based testing at Dugway’s Michael Army Airfield in September, the DoD says on 14 October.” Initial “flight test objectives

Florida Today reports that SpaceX is looking to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center this weekend, carrying a load of Starlink Internet satellites. Launch is scheduled for Sunday morning at 8:27 a.m. from launchpad 39A.  Roughly eight minutes after launch, “the rocket’s 162-foot first stage will target an autonomous landing on

The AP reported that on Tuesday, NASA will attempt to gather samples from asteroid Bennu. NASA’s Osiris-Rex mission “is looking to bring back at least 2 ounces (60 grams) worth of asteroid Bennu, the biggest otherworldly haul from beyond the moon.” The spacecraft is aiming to touch down on a crater named Nightingale. Once “it drops out

Reuters reports that American Airlines “plans to return Boeing 737 Max jets to service for passenger flights by the end of this year depending on certification of the aircraft from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it said on Sunday.” The airline “said it will operate a daily 737 Max flight between Miami and New York

Florida Today reports that SpaceX is looking to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center this weekend, carrying a load of Starlink Internet satellites. Launch is scheduled for Sunday morning at 8:27 a.m. from launchpad 39A.  Roughly eight minutes after launch, “the rocket’s 162-foot first stage will target an autonomous landing on

The Washington Post reports that a DoD study on “the risk of catching the coronavirus on a packed commercial flight concluded that a person would have to be sitting next to a infectious passenger for at least 54 hours to receive a dangerous dose of the virus through the air.” Researchers “concluded that, if passengers wear surgical

In continuing coverage, Space News reports that the Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 1:45 a.m. EDT, carrying NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov to the ISS. The spacecraft, “making an ‘ultra-fast’ two-orbit approach, docked with the station’s Rassvet module at” 4:48 a.m. EDT. The three-member crew is

FlightGlobal reports that the Sikorsky Boeing SB-1 Defiant compound helicopter “reached 211kt (391km/h) using about two-thirds propeller torque and engine power during a straight and level flight” Monday. Sikorsky and The Boeing Company said Wednesday during a webinar that the rotorcraft also reached 232kt while descending. Previously, “the fastest the helicopter was reported to have flown

Defense News reports that Lockheed Martin Vice President of F-35 Production Darren Sekiguchi said that “by the end of 2020, F-35 fighter jets rolling off Lockheed Martin’s production line will be equipped with a modified lightning protection system that will fix problems discovered earlier this year.” In an October 5 interview with Defense News, Sekiguchi

CBS News reports that a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket lifted off at 9:36 a.m. EDT Tuesday from the company’s West Texas site. The rocket “boosted an unpiloted crew capsule to the edge of space…in the company’s 13th sub-orbital test flight, reaching an altitude of 66 miles and giving on-board experiments about five minutes of weightlessness

CBS News reported that NASA said Saturday that the launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, scheduled to lift off October 31, has been pushed to “early to mid November.” NASA cited “time needed to resolve a Falcon 9 engine problem that triggered a last-second launch abort last week” as the reason for the delay. The

The Japan Times reports that Japanese government officials said that the “introduction of unmanned fighter jets has been considered to succeed the Air Self-Defense Force’s aging F-2s, which are expected to start being retired within two decades.” The “proposal was made earlier this year,” but officials said that the “Defense Ministry [discussions] were…suspended in the wake

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company “is in discussions with Alaska Air for a potential deal to buy 737 MAX jets once the plane returns to service following a lengthy grounding, three people familiar with the matter said.” Full Story (Reuters)

Business Insider reports that SpaceX plans to launch seven Dragon missions – including six Crew Dragon missions and one Cargo Dragon mission – to space over the next 14 months. Due to mission overlap, SpaceX Crew Mission Management Director Benji Reed said at a press conference that “every time there’s a Dragon launch, there’ll be two

Space News reports that the US Transportation Command “has signed an agreement with SpaceX and XArc to study the use of space launch vehicles to transport supplies in an emergency.” Transportation Command Commander Army Gen. Stephen Lyons, who announced the cooperative research and development agreement Wednesday, said, “Think about moving the equivalent of a C-17 payload

Reuters reports that British Airways’ (BA) “last jumbo jets bade farewell to London on Thursday but cloud and driving rain prevented a rare synchronised dual take off for the ‘Queen of the Skies’ which brought long-haul flights to the masses.” BA’s “predecessor BOAC introduced the 747 on the London-New York route in 1971, and at its

Aerospace America reports that on Wednesday, Boom Supersonic unveiled its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft. The “carbon fiber demonstrator plane is one-third the size of the planned 65-passenger Overture airliners the company intends to eventually build. With a cruising speed of Mach 2.2, the flight time from Washington, D.C., to Paris would be cut in half to four

FlightGlobal reports that Bombardier’s Learjet 75 Liberty “has entered service, a milestone coming 15 months after the Montreal-based company launched the updated variant.” The Liberty “has six seats – two fewer than a typical 75 layout – including two ‘executives suites’ in front and four club seats aft. The jet’s cabin measures 6m (19ft 10in) long,

Bloomberg reports that Hyundai Motor Group “is stepping up its pursuit of flying cars, planning a full lineup of aerial vehicles that it envisages zigzagging city skies within a decade.” The company “is developing models that will carry five or six people within metropolitan areas and a bigger version to fly between cities, Jaiwon Shin, head

Spaceflight Now provides live coverage of the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The rocket lifted off at 7:31 a.m. EDT Tuesday, carrying 60 Starlink satellites. Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Bloomberg reported that Ryanair Holdings “is reported to be in talks to purchase between 150 and 200 Boeing Co. 737 Max aircraft, in a deal that would boost confidence in the grounded jet as it prepares for a return to service.” Ryanair “is discussing a mix of Max 200s, the version it has already ordered,

Spaceflight Now reported that at 9:43 p.m. EDT Friday, SpaceX aborted the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a GPS satellite for the US Space Force. The rocket “was just two seconds from launching…when an automated abort halted the countdown.” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk “tweeted that the Falcon 9 launch was aborted after an ‘unexpected

CBS News reports that the launch of a Northrop Grumman Antares “rocket carrying a Cygnus space station cargo ship was aborted less than three minutes before liftoff from Virginia’s Eastern Shore Thursday evening.” The Antares “abort was triggered on computer command at the T-minus two-minute 40-second mark, apparently due to trouble with ground equipment.” The “upgraded

Aviation International News reports that in early September, The Boeing Company completed flight trials of its ecoDemonstrator. The trials “evaluated the effectiveness of noise-mitigating fairings attached to the 787-10’s Safran landing gear. Further noise testing involved the use of 200 small microphones attached to the left side of the aircraft’s fuselage and 1,000 more listening devices

Spaceflight Now reports that SpaceX plans to launch 60 Starlink atop a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday at 9:17 a.m. EDT. SpaceX also plans to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Lockheed Martin-built GPS 3 SV04 navigation satellite Friday, during a 15-minute window that opens at 9:43 p.m. EDT. Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

The Seattle Times reports that The Boeing Company leadership will meet virtually Thursday morning “to formally make a decision on consolidating 787 Dreamliner production in a single location, according to several people with knowledge of the plans.” Boeing’s “choice of North Charleston, S.C., is all but sealed, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources, though

Bloomberg reports that “a three-year French investigation into a near-catastrophic Airbus SE A380 engine blowout over Greenland found hidden weaknesses in the structure of a widely used metal alloy, with safety implications for plane equipment worldwide.” Microscopic “cracks beneath the surface of a titanium alloy caused one engine on an Air France superjumbo to break apart

The AP reports that “a small air leak at the International Space Station finally has been traced to the Russian side, following a middle-of-the-night search by astronauts.” NASA “said Tuesday that the two Russians and one American on board were awakened late Monday to hurriedly seal hatches between compartments and search for the ongoing leak, which

Aviation International News reports that GE Aviation’s GE9X has been approved by the FAA, the company said Monday. The “largest commercial turbofan in the world, the GE9X powers the Boeing 777X, the new twinjet now expected to gain certification sometime in 2022.” The GE9X’s “FAR Part 33 certification involved eight test engines that completed just under

CBS News reports that NASA has pushed the launch of the Crew 1 mission from October 23 to October 31. The mission will “launch four astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft,” and “will mark the first operational use of the capsule following a successful piloted test flight earlier this

SPACE reports that a “private cargo spacecraft will lift off from Virginia on Tuesday (Sept. 29), carrying tons of fresh supplies to the International Space Station, including scientific experiments, skincare from Estée Lauder and a brand-new space toilet.” The NG-14 mission will “deliver 7,624 lbs (3,458 kilograms) of cargo on the 14th flight for Northrop Grumman’s

Airways reported that on Friday, the FAA “confirmed that the Boeing 737 MAX will undergo flight tests next week, including one piloted by FAA Administrator and former Delta Air Lines (DL) Pilot Steve Dickson.” In a statement, the FAA said that Dickson and FAA Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell “will be in Seattle” this week “to take

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company’s grounded 737 MAX could “receive regulatory approval to resume flying in November and enter service by the end of the year, Europe’s chief aviation safety regulator said on Friday.” European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Executive Director Patrick Ky said, “For the first time in year and a half I

Spaceflight Now reports that ULA “gave the go-ahead Thursday to continue preparations for a third try to send aloft a Delta 4-Heavy rocket and a top secret U.S. government spy satellite from Cape Canaveral early Saturday.” ULA “convened a Launch Readiness Review on Thursday morning to assess the status of launch preparations, the Delta 4-Heavy rocket,

Military reports that “during a recent exercise at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, the Air Force tested whether airmen at multiple locations could coordinate to execute the same MQ-9 sortie.” The “result proved that numerous airmen can operate the drone during its mission, according to Lt. Col. Brian Davis, 29th Attack Squadron commander, at Holloman

CNN reports that on Tuesday, the ISS “narrowly avoided a collision with space debris for the third time this year.” There “have been three ‘high concern potential conjunctions’ with space debris in the last two weeks alone, and the ISS has had to maneuver three times to avoid debris this year, NASA said.” NASA Administrator Jim

Bloomberg reports that NASA shifted the position of the ISS in order to avoid a “potentially catastrophic encounter with debris that would have passed within less than a mile of the orbital laboratory – a close shave in space terms.” NASA said in a statement that the debris was expected to pass by the ISS at