Industry News

Reuters reports that the Federal Aviation Administration “is rejiggering staffing at air traffic control centers to respond to the dramatic falloff in flights and to reduce the impact of coronavirus cases.” An FAA “flexible schedule agreement seen by Reuters said all air traffic facilities would divide personnel ‘into the maximum number of crews possible, with each

SPACE reports that the next NASA mission to Mars “will carry what is meant to become the first aircraft to fly on another planet, and that experimental helicopter just spun its blades on Earth for the last time.” The Mars Helicopter “is scheduled to launch in July with the new Mars rover, now dubbed Perseverance,

The Financial Times reports that Blue Origin is continuing to operate as it has been deemed essential by DoD. DoD ruled Blue Origin exempt from the national lockdown because of its work on the development of the New Glenn reusable rocket system. Full Story (Financial Times – subscription publication)

Space News reported that “with the coronavirus pandemic limiting options for personnel to gather in mission control centers to operate spacecraft, some companies are turning to virtual approaches to maintain their spacecraft.” Kubos CEO Marshall Culpepper said, “With current technology, there’s no technical reason to require operators to be within visual range of a satellite

The Houston Chronicle reports that due to the coronavirus outbreak, pressure has been building on several projects such as “the already ambitious Trump administration goal of reaching the moon by 2024,” as well as “the Lucy spacecraft and the Perseverance Mars rover,” which “have very specific launch windows that would be costly to miss.” The goal to

Forbes reports that “with no passengers filling aircraft seats as demand dwindles in the wake of Covid-19, an increasing number of airlines are now piling cargo in the cabins of their aircraft in the hope to generate at least a fraction of the revenue they would have generated under normal circumstances.” On Thursday, Etihad Airways

SPACE reports that SpaceX “is looking to hire lots of folks to help ramp up production and testing of its ambitious Starship Mars-colonizing architecture over the coming months – and the company recently issued a public recruiting pitch.” SpaceX Lead Manufacturing Engineer Jessica Anderson said during a webcast last week, “The design goal for Starship is

Space News reports that “in a virtual town hall meeting March 25, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and other agency officials said they’re in discussions with other federal agencies, as well as state and local governments, about how the agency can best contribute to efforts to combat the growing [coronavirus] pandemic.” Bridenstine said, “NASA is involved in

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company “plans to restart 737 MAX production by May, ending a months-long halt triggered by a safety ban on its best-selling jet after fatal crashes, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.” Boeing’s “planning hinges on the scale of disruptions from the fast spreading coronavirus, and U.S. regulators clearing

CNBC reports that “at least one employee and one outside health care provider at SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California, have tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, sending some employees into quarantine, according to an internal memo seen by CNBC.” SpaceX “is asking the employees it sent home to remain in quarantine and monitor their own health

The US Naval Institute reports that the first US Marine Corps F-35C squadron “reached an important milestone, receiving a ‘safe for flight’ operations certification that will allow them to train and operate independently of the Navy’s fleet replacement squadron. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 was certified on March 20, after working with Strike Fighter Squadron

Daily Express (UK) reports that NASA “supercomputers are joining the effort to look for potential treatment and vaccine candidates for COVID-19.” On Monday, the White House announced the initiative, which will bring “together NASA and the National Science Foundation as well as hosting the Department of Energy laboratories, companies and academic institutions” which are “looking to

Spaceflight Now reported that a Soyuz “rocket and Fregat upper stage lifted off Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, delivering 34 more satellites to orbit for OneWeb’s space-based Internet network in the company’s second launch this year.” The “Fregat carried a multi-payload dispenser produced by RUAG Space in Sweden, which released the 34 satellites in

Reuters reports that Airbus “confirmed on Sunday it would resume only partial aircraft production when its French and Spanish factories reopen on Monday after a…shutdown to tackle health concerns over the coronavirus.” Workstations “will only open when it is safe to do so, Airbus said, without saying how steeply its production would fall.” Full Story

Space News reports that on March 19, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine “announced that the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi will move to ‘Stage 4’ of its response framework for the coronavirus disease COVID-19.” This decision will halt “preparations for a major test of the” Space Launch System

Aerospace America reports that aerospace-focused consultancy Brian Foley Associates Founder Brian Foley said, “it’s not going to be a rapid bounce back” for the airline industry once the coronavirus outbreak is contained. Foley said, “There won’t be a rush back [to the airlines] to go on vacation” by consumers once travel restrictions are lifted. Foley

Reuters reports that the Trump Administration is asking Congress to authorize $50 billion in secured loans to US airlines as they grapple with the financial fallout of the outbreak. President Trump held a call with executives from Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, UPS, and other US carriers on Wednesday, in which he “told

CBS News reports that while NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has told employees that are not mission-essential to work from home starting Wednesday, “Astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken are continuing their training for launch in May aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon commercial crew ship – the first launch of NASA astronauts on a U.S. spacecraft

A Business Insider analysis reports that “electric aircraft are coming – and they’ll be here sooner than you think.” Lux Research analyst Chloe Holzinger said, “We expect to see that market really start to take off this year.” Holzinger “tracks the battery industry and predicts that demand from the aviation sector is among the most powerful

Defense News reports that the “F-35 final assembly and check out plant in Cameri, Italy, will reopen Wednesday after a two day temporary shutdown meant to help prevent coronavirus.” According to a “source with knowledge of the program, the Cameri-based facility was closed on March 16 and 17 for ‘deep cleaning and sanitation’ as a precautionary

Florida Today reports that SpaceX “teams are working toward a Wednesday morning launch after a previous attempt to boost 60 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket was aborted at Kennedy Space Center.” SpaceX will target a 10-minute window starting at 8:16 a.m. to launch the Falcon 9 rocket, with the Air Force’s 45th Weather

Reuters reports that Airbus “is stopping production and assembly activities at its plants in France and Spain for the next four days as governments there implement new measures to restrict movements and fight the coronavirus outbreak, the planemaker said on Tuesday.” Airbus said in a statement, “This will allow sufficient time to implement stringent health

SPACE reported that “with the next Soyuz mission preparing to launch to the International Space Station, the crew has passed its final exams. But, while NASA’s space station manager has made assurances that an earlier swap of the two Russian cosmonauts on the crew should pose no issues, concerns surrounding coronavirus will likely alter the mission’s

Archy News reported on 45 engineering students from Universidad Pontificia Bolivarianna in Colombia working on designs for an aircraft to participate in AIAA’s Design-Build-Fly (DBF) 2020 event. DBF 2020 is “the most important annual event in which the most brilliant university students from all over the planet, who dream of designing aircraft, compete with each

Reuters reports that President Trump’s newly announced restrictions on travel from Europe “will heap more pressure on airlines already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic” and increase the odds of a government-backed bailout. The announcement of the travel ban “could create chaos at dozens of airports across Europe as passengers attempt a last-minute rush to fly to

Aviation International News reports that “the U.S. military is stepping up its efforts to enlist autonomous eVTOL aircraft for a variety of missions, especially those that would reduce risk to troops, such as moving cargo in combat zones.” For 2020 alone, “the Pentagon has allocated almost $170 million to investigate options for what it calls

SPACE reports that NASA is monitoring the possibility of additional impacts “the new coronavirus may have on the U.S. space program after one of the agency’s research centers had to send employees home this week after a case, according to the agency’s chief Jim Bridenstine.” In a Monday statement following the positive test of an

Florida Today reports that the weather forecast for Saturday’s SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink launch from Kennedy Space Center “promises excellent conditions, the Air Force said Wednesday.” The 9:35 a.m. Saturday launch currently has “90% ‘go’ conditions…forecasters with the 45th Weather Squadron said Wednesday.” The launch is scheduled to take SpaceX’s next batch of 60 Starlink satellites

CNBC reports that SpaceX is “closing in on its first human spaceflight, with President and COO Gwynne Shotwell telling reporters on Tuesday that the company is aiming to fly astronauts to space in about two months.” Shotwell said at the 2020 Satellite conference, “We’re gunning for May. We have work to do, NASA has work

The Wall Street Journal reports that Delta and American have both announced capacity cuts amid the coronavirus outbreak. Delta plans to cut international capacity by up to 25% and domestic capacity by up to 15%. The airline will also defer $500 million in capital expenditures. American indicated that it will reduce domestic and international flights by

Aviation Week reports that as “a series of Block 4 upgrades are set to elevate the Lockheed Martin F-35’s profile for the counter air-defense mission, a top program official shared an operational anecdote highlighting the aircraft’s latent capability against surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems.” While speaking at the Mitchell Institute March 9, F-35 Integration Office Director

The AP reports that SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule reached the ISS on Monday, “delivering the company’s 20th batch of gear and treats.” The capsule “will remain at the orbiting lab for a month before returning to Earth with science specimens.” Full Story (Associated Press)

SPACE reported that on Friday, SpaceX successfully conducted the final launch of an uncrewed Dragon spacecraft bringing supplies and new research to the ISS. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:50 p.m. EST Friday. Eight minutes after liftoff, the booster “stuck its landing at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 facility

CNBC reported that “now that major brands like Toyota, Uber, Hyundai, Airbus, and [The Boeing Company] are promising to whisk riders through the skies in flying taxis, the dream” of electric aerial vehicles “is getting closer to reality.” The aerial vehicle “market…should continue to mature during this decade and then boom globally,” with “the autonomous urban

The AP reports that NASA has announced the name of its next Mars Rover: “Perseverance.” The name was proposed by “Alex Mather, a Virginia seventh-grader, as part of a naming contest for U.S. schoolchildren.” NASA will also fly Mather and his family to Cape Canaveral to watch Perseverance be launched in July. NASA Associate Administrator for

Air Force Times reported that shortly after Elon Musk criticized the F-35 program, “the Pentagon’s head of the F-35 program countered that the jet will be relevant for decades to come.” Lt. Gen. Eric Fick said at McAleese & Associates’ Defense Programs Conference on Wednesday, “I think the F-35 is a remarkable capability and will continue

Reuters reports that production at the F-35 factory in Japan “has paused for a week due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, a U.S. defense official said on Wednesday.” Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord told reporters on the sidelines of a defense conference, “In Japan, I believe they shut down

SPACE reports that on Thursday, NASA will unveil the name of its Mars 2020 rover. The “unveiling will occur during a live event at 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT), which will be followed at 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT) by a news conference about the name and the rover’s mission.” The robot is receiving its name

Aviation Today reports that 17 companies have signed Space Act Agreements with NASA in order to compete in the Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge, “a series of technology demonstrations meant to test the readiness of vehicles and systems intended for use in low-altitude, urban airspace.” Joby Aviation was the only company “selected to provide a vehicle

Reuters reports that executives from Airbus and The Boeing Company “said on Tuesday that it was too early to say whether the outbreak of a new coronavirus would affect demand for aircraft.” Airbus CCO Christian Scherer indicated at an industry conference “that the coronavirus could cause an adjustment to demand for aircraft but it would not

SPACE reports that NASA began accepting astronaut applications March 2. Applications will be accepted until March 31. The process is expected to be lengthy, “but NASA expects to make its final selections for astronaut candidates in mid-2021.” The agency has not yet said how many “people will be chosen, but competition will be fierce; the agency

Bloomberg reports that in the weeks before 737 MAX production was halted, executives from The Boeing Company “took a hard look at all the personnel who’d be left with little to do when the last jets rolled out of their Seattle-area factory,” and concluded that “the problem wasn’t that there’d be too many mechanics idly milling

Florida Today reported that NASA has chosen SpaceX’s “triple-core Falcon Heavy rocket for the launch of a high-profile mission to study an asteroid in 2022, the agency announced Friday.” The Psyche spacecraft is “designed to study a metal asteroid orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter.” It is scheduled for a July 2022 launch from

CNBC reported that while being interviewed by U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John Thompson at the Air Warfare Symposium, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, “The fighter jet era has passed.” Musk added, “Drone warfare is where the future will be. It’s not that I want the future to be – it’s just, this is what the

FlightGlobal reports that the Air Force is considering replacing older Lockheed Martin F-16s with UAVs when the aircraft reach the “end of their service life in five to eight years.” The Air Force “wants to rethink the way it does aerial combat using new technology, including attritable UAVs, says General James Michael Holmes, head of

The AP reports that astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory “have discovered the biggest explosion seen in the universe, originating from a super-massive black hole.” Scientists “reported Thursday that the blast came from a black hole in a cluster of galaxies 390 million light-years away.” The blast “was so large it carved out a crater in

FlightGlobal reports that India “has concluded purchase agreements for 24 Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters for the navy and six Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters for the army,” which were announced during President Donald Trump’s recent visit to the country. The AH-64E deal “is expected to cost approximately US$930 Million and will comprise a Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) between

FlightGlobal reports that Kratos Defense and Security Solutions has started construction of production examples of its XQ-58A Valkyrie attritable UAV, “despite an investigation into an October 2019 mishap which delayed an expected contract from the US Air Force (USAF).” The contract was delayed while DoD “investigated an ‘anomaly’ that caused the UAV to be damaged on

CNET News reports that NASA has re-created the Apollo 13 crew’s detour around the far side of the moon in 4K resolution “using images from its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.” NASA’s Goddard Media Studios said in a Monday release, “This video showcases visualizations in 4K resolution of many of those lunar surface views, starting with earthset

SPACE reports that NASA has awarded nearly $1 million in Artemis funding to students to create “instruments that will work in permanently shadowed craters on the moon.” NASA awarded eight teams between $80,000 and $165,000 to “continue developing their projects.” The projects include “an Arizona State University proposal to launch spherical sensor-laden probes from a catapult