Industry News

Space News reports that NASA “is leaning increasingly towards making SpaceX’s crewed test flight to the International Space Station a long-duration mission, a move that could alleviate concerns about a lack of crew on the station later this year.” Originally, the Demo-2 mission was planned to be “no more than a couple” of weeks long. However,

Reuters reports that ANA Holdings announced plans to purchase 15 of The Boeing Company’s 787 Dreamliners “worth $5 billion at list prices, the first commercial order announcement for the U.S. planemaker this year as it wrestles with the grounding of the smaller 737 MAX.” The deal will see the airline switch from Rolls-Royce to GE

Space News reported that NASA engineers “plan to use the robotic arm on its InSight Mars lander to push a heat flow probe into the surface.” The Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package team has “spent nearly a year trying to get the instrument’s probe, or ‘mole,’ to burrow into the surface.” However, the mole

Air Force Times reported that the Air Force “is hoping to have a fix in hand for the KC-46 tanker’s most critical technical problem by the end of March, the service’s top general told Defense News in an exclusive interview.” The Air Force and [The Boeing Company] are looking “to sign off next month on a

Spaceflight Now reports that JAXA has approved “a robotic mission to retrieve a sample from the Martian moon Phobos for return to Earth to begin full development for a planned launch in 2024, officials said Thursday.” The Martin Moon eXploration (MMX) spacecraft would return the first samples from Phobos to Earth. Scientists hope to determine whether

Aviation International News reported that Congress is “keeping a spotlight on” aviation workforce concerns “as the numbers surrounding future employment needs remain daunting.” House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) said, “Challenges in sustaining this workforce are looming, if not already upon us.” DeFazio “noted half of the 330,000 aviation maintenance technicians in

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that as a part of this year’s GoFly competition, “competitors were tasked with creating a flying device that’s safe, compact, quiet, capable of carrying one person for 20 miles without refueling or recharging, and providing ‘the thrill of flight.’” From February 27-29, the five finalists will exhibit their entries and conduct

Reuters reports that global business jet deliveries “hit a decade high in 2019, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) said on Wednesday, helped by strong market demand for new models.” Deliveries rose 15% from 703 to 809 jets, according to GAMA’s year-end billing and shipment reports. GAMA “said North America accounted for 67.1% of business

Spaceflight Now reports that Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus “cargo freighter arrived at the International Space Station Tuesday two-and-a-half days after” launch. Astronaut Drew Morgan used the ISS’ “robotic arm to capture the Cygnus spacecraft at 4:05 a.m. EST (0905 GMT) Tuesday while the cargo freighter hovered less than 40 feet (12 meters) below the complex.” Ground teams

SPACE reports that NASA and Zero Gravity Corp. (Zero-G) have established a new partnership which would see Zero-G “fly NASA payloads along with research teams from the agency, providing microgravity flights to test new technology and support scientific experiments.” Zero-G “is a company that provides people with a once-in-a-lifetime experience of floating in microgravity on parabolic

Spaceflight Now  reported that on Saturday, Northrop Grumman launched the Cygnus supply ship to the ISS aboard one of its Antares rockets. Launch occurred “from pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at 3:21:04 p.m. EST (2021:04 GMT) Saturday after Northrop Grumman scrubbed two previous launch attempts due to an issue with ground support equipment

SPACE reports that Northrop Grumman is targeting a Friday “launch of its next Cygnus cargo ship filled with NASA supplies bound for the” ISS. The mission, which has been delayed since February 9, is scheduled to launch the uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft aboard an Antares rocket at 3:43 p.m. EST from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s

Florida Today reports that Air Force weather forecasters “are expecting 60% ‘go’ conditions for” Saturday’s “10:46 a.m. liftoff from Launch Complex 40 with another batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites.” The 45th Weather Squadron said, “For the launch window Saturday morning, a few showers will linger off the coast. With low-level winds from the east,

Spaceflight Now reports that Christina Koch, “six days after returning from a record 11-month stay aboard the” ISS, “said Wednesday she’s re-adapting to gravity with no major problems.” Koch told reporters at the Johnson Space Center, “I’m really fortunate, a lot of people…when you’re re-adapting to one G (gravity) on Earth, you might experience some

Reuters reports that FAA Administrator Steve Dickson “has set out in detail a ‘waterfall’ of actions that must be carried out before the grounded Boeing 737 MAX returns to service.” During a briefing to reporters at the Singapore Airshow, Dickson described a variety of “actions that must be carried out.” They include a “certification test flight,”

CNET News reports that NASA announced Tuesday that it will be accepting applications “for its next generation of astronauts” between March 2 and March 31. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement, “We’re on the verge of sending the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024.” He added that the agency would

CNN reported that NASA engineers were able to revive the Voyager 2 spacecraft following a January 25 incident in which the spacecraft failed to conduct a scheduled maneuver. The failure “triggered the spacecraft’s fault protection software routine, which responds if it senses that Voyager 2 is consuming too much energy,” and caused it to shut

Reuters reports that on Tuesday at the Singapore Airshow, Airbus “unveiled a curvaceous aircraft design that blends wing and body, designed to slash carbon emissions by some 20%.” Airbus had been conducting flight tests of the plane “at a secret location in central France since last year.” Blended Wing Body Aircraft “are complex to control

The New York Times reported that government agencies “are split on how best to handle national security concerns surrounding popular and ubiquitous Chinese-made” UAVs. The Department of the Interior “grounded all those made in China or built with Chinese parts” in October and “reaffirmed” the decision in January. However, last year, both the Department of Agriculture and

Reuters reports that Airbus “posted its biggest January order haul in at least 15 years.” Airbus “said it had taken orders for 296 aircraft in January, including the recently finalised order for 102 planes from Air Lease Corp as well as 100 jets from U.S. low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines.” Following cancellations, it “started the year with

Florida Today reports that “weather is currently forecasted as 80% ‘go’” for Sunday’s launch of the NASA-ESA Solar Orbiter aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket. The 45th Weather Squadron said that “the primary concern for launch is the Cumulus Cloud Rule (meaning an increase in clouds and rain showers during the launch window).” Should the mission

The Wall Street Journal reports that Airbus has said that travel restrictions to China are hindering production at its Tianjin, China, factory. Most large plants had been ordered closed by the Chinese government until February 10, but Airbus said Wednesday that it plans to extend the closure indefinitely. The closure could cause delivery delays for Asian

The Newport News (VA) Daily Press reports that women from the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) and AIAA are leading STEM education activities at Jones Magnet Middle School in Hampton, Virginia. The appearances are a part of the school’s “BraveHearts club,” which is “a national organization for middle school girls, aimed at increasing confidence, leadership and

Florida Today reports that the NASA-ESA Solar Orbiter is scheduled to launch “atop United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket no earlier than 11:03 p.m. Sunday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 41.” If successful, the Solar Orbiter “will provide a never-before-seen global view of our sun” and “is the latest effort in what helophysicists

CNBC reports that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that to work at SpaceX, “you need to have ‘a super hardcore work ethic, talent for building things, common sense and trustworthiness.’” Musk announced on Twitter that the company plans to hold a career day on Thursday at its Startgate Building in Boca Chica, Texas. According to Musk

The Wall Street Journal reports that according to a Federal Register filing, the FAA is developing new safety standards for UAVs. Specifically, the FAA is beginning the process of certifying UAVs as a “special class” of aircraft. Such a move would mean significant progress toward the use of UAVs in package delivery efforts. Full Story (Wall Street Journal–subscription

Aviation Today reports on a presentation given by BAE Systems Systems Engineering Manager Robert Hess at the Transformative Vertical Flight 2020 conference hosted by the Vertical Flight Society. Hess’ presentation noted that “designers and manufacturers of electric air taxis may run into issues sourcing the batteries they want at reasonable prices.” Hess “explained to Avionics

The Wall Street Journal reported a new point of contention has arisen between US and European aviation regulators over wiring in the grounded Boeing 737 MAX jet, with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency requesting that some wires be moved in order to lower the risk of short circuiting that could impede flight-control systems. The article

The Los Angeles Times reported “the next crucial step in the investigation of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people should occur next week, when the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to release some preliminary findings.” In the past week, NTSB investigators “have spent days at the scene”

SPACE reports that Thursday was NASA’s annual “Day of Remembrance,” when the agency memorializes “three fatal space tragedies: the Apollo 1 fire of Jan. 27, 1967, the Challenger shuttle disaster of Jan. 28, 1986 and the Columbia shuttle accident of Feb. 1, 2003.” NASA said in a statement, “NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, along with other

Aviation International News reports that Vertical Aerospace has “completed the preliminary design review for what will be its first full prototype eVTOL aircraft.” The new design is reportedly “a significant change from the Seraph technology demonstrator aircraft, with a wing added to boost range and speed.” It is scheduled to begin flight in late 2020,

Aviation International News reports that eVTOL are expected to “have a significantly lower external noise signature compared to helicopters, but that does not necessarily translate into instant public acceptance.” Juliet Page, a scientist with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation System, argued that it “is important for eVTOL manufacturers to avail themselves to

SPACE reports that NASA indicated that Voyager 2 “is recovering from a glitch, but engineers are confident that the probe will be back to normal science operations soon.” Mission scientists think that on January 25, Voyager “failed to take a quick spin that it needed to make to calibrate an instrument.” As a result, two

Spaceflight Now reports that following a delay of “more than a week” due to weather, “SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday from Cape Canaveral with 60 more satellites for the company’s Starlink Internet network.” The launch means SpaceX is “continuing to build out a fleet of fleet of orbiting broadband relay stations that could

The AP reports that Christina Koch, the astronaut who holds “the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman,” will return “to Earth on February 6, landing in Kazakhstan with two colleagues aboard a Russian capsule.” Koch indicated on Tuesday “that taking part in the first all-female spacewalk was the highlight of her mission.” She added

Aviation International News reports that Kaman Aerospace reported on Tuesday that it “is advancing its military and commercial K-Max [uncrewed] aerial system (UAS) – an autonomously flown version of the K-Max utility helicopter.” Kaman Air Vehicle Senior Director of Business Development Romin Dasmalchi indicated that Kaman “is updating those two helicopters under a U.S. Navy

The Times of Israel reports that during last week’s World Holocaust Forum, Israel’s “cyber defense system fended off hundreds of cyberattacks targeting the country’s international airport and the planes of” world leaders attending the event. Officials from the Airports Authority Cyber Division indicated “that at least 800 distinct cyberattacks targeted Israeli aviation on Thursday while world

Aviation International News reports that SyberJet Aircraft announced Monday that it is “progressing toward amended type certification (TC) for the SJ30i SyberVision with the successful completion of aircraft control identification tests (ACID).” The certification is a part of its work to develop “a new autopilot for the light twinjet.” The autopilot is being developed “jointly”

Reuters reported that according to “people briefed on the calls,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson “called senior U.S. airline officials on Friday and told them the agency could approve the grounded Boeing 737 MAX’s return to service before mid-year.” The calls came as an FAA statement on Friday said, “While the FAA continues to follow a

The AP reported that on Saturday, NASA’s Andrew Morgan and Italy’s Luca Parmitano conducted a spacewalk and “plugged a leak in a cosmic ray detector outside the” ISS. As a result, “the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer could resume its hunt for elusive antimatter and dark matter by midweek.” The spacewalk was the “fourth and final” effort

Florida Today reports that SpaceX “has again delayed its next Falcon 9 launch” due to “inclement weather in the area of the Atlantic Ocean hosting the booster landing.” SpaceX said on Thursday, “Weather in the recovery area continues to be unfavorable so team is now targeting Monday, January 27 for launch of Starlink.” The move marks

Reuters reports that Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) officials are beginning their investigation into Thursday’s C-130 Hercules tanker plane crash which killed three American firefighters working to fight the Australian bushfires. ATSB Chief Commissioner Greg Hood said that the ATSB is “very much into the evidence gathering phase of the investigation” though he indicated that

CNET News reports that NASA plans to decommission the Spitzer Space Telescope on January 30. The telescope had been “unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos since its launch on Aug. 25, 2003.” The mission “lasted much longer than expected,” but as the telescope “has been drifting away from Earth,” the “distance made it too challenging to

Aviation Today reports that Uber believes that it is “right on target” in its efforts to establish its Elevate aerial rideshare service. At the Transformative Vertical Flight conference, Uber Director of Aviation Engineering Mark Moore “moved the conversation away from building and certifying the all-new class of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and towards

The Orlando Sentinel reports that SpaceX postponed a launch of additional Starlink satellites on Tuesday afternoon “due to ‘extreme weather’ in the rocket’s recovery zone in the Atlantic Ocean, the company said.” SpaceX initially was scheduled to launch “during a launch window that opened at 11:59 a.m.” When conducted, the mission will “carry the fourth batch

FlightGlobal reports that the US Navy’s Bell Boeing CMV-22B Osprey “made its initial flight at Bell’s Amarillo Assembly Center in Texas.” The flight comes “ahead of its manufacturers’ plan to deliver the tiltrotor to the Naval Air Systems Command’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 21 in early 2020 for developmental testing,” according to Bell and Boeing.

SPACE reported that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk “outlined some ambitious goals for the company’s Starship Mars-colonization system during a flurry of Twitter posts on Thursday.” Starship, “Musk has said,” “will be capable of carrying up to 100 people, and a giant rocket named Super Heavy.” Both systems are intended to be reuseable – part of Musk’s

Aviation International News reported that Leonardo’s “largest remotely piloted air system (RPAS) to date, the Falco Xplorer, made its first flight on January 15.” The Xplorer “took off from the Italian air force flight test center at Trapani, Sicily, and flew for around an hour over the sea before safely returning to the air base.”

FlightGlobal reports that the US Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) X-60A “rocket recently completed test firings of its engine while on the ground at Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, Florida.” The X-60A is an “air-launched, single-stage rocket designed to reach hypersonic speeds so that the AFRL can routinely test hypersonic technologies.” It is being constructed by

The Independent reports that Airbus said that it has “completed the first fully automatic vision-based take-off at Toulouse-Blagnac airport.” To do so, the “plane uses image recognition technology installed on the aircraft…rather than using existing ground technology.” Airbus Test Pilot Captain Yann Beaufils said, “We moved the throttle levers to the takeoff setting and we monitored the