Industry News

Space News reports that the 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) will officially begin Monday in Washington, D.C., “with more than 6,300 people registered to attend, representatives of the IAF and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the host organization for the event, said during a press conference…Oct. 20.” The IAC will host “a

Stanford University reports that Stanford University Professor Emeritus Walter Vincenti “died in Palo Alto on Oct. 11 of complications from pneumonia.” Vincenti, who “laid the engineering groundwork for flight at the speed of sound,” was 102 years old. He was honored “as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Fellow in 1951.” (Image: Walter Vincenti,

Politico interviews former NASA astronaut “Sandra Magnus, co-chair of the [local] organizing committee for the International Astronautical Congress, which begins Monday in Washington.” Magnus “was AIAA’s executive director from 2012 to 2018.” AIAA is hosting the International Astronautical Congress, which “will bring representatives from space agencies and companies to Washington, where Magnus see a unique opportunity

The University of California at Davis reports that “former astronaut Stephen K. Robinson, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has been elected an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, recognizing him for outstanding work in the field.” (Image: Former NASA Astronaut Stephen K. Robinson | NASA/Wikipedia) Full Story

Reuters reports that NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch “will make history on Friday when they conduct the first ever all-female spacewalk to replace the power source on the” ISS. The duo “will exit the ISS at 7:50 a.m. EDT (11:50 GMT) to fix the station’s faulty battery charge/discharge unit.” NASA will broadcast the

Vice reports that “in August, undergraduate researcher Joseph Agnew spoke to a full house at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Propulsion and Energy Forum in Indianapolis about the current theories of how a warp drive could work.” Said Agnew, “Based on the progress made in recent years, I think this field is up

Aerospace America reports that last weekend, Lockheed Martin delivered a “molded and cured one-piece composite shell” to “the manufacturing technicians and engineers at Sierra Nevada Corp. in Colorado.” The arrival of the “primary structure…sets the stage for assembly of the first Dream Chaser cargo spacecraft.” International Space Station Program Manager Kirk Shireman said during a

Space News reports that during “an Oct. 10 presentation at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS),” former FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation George Nield indicated that “the government should create a policy that promotes the development of spaceports as not just launch sites but also as hubs for economic development.”

The American National Standards Institute reported that on 5 January AIAA “is holding a course for individuals and organizations that seek to improve their teams’ understanding of the benefits and usability of space standards and architectural frameworks.” Attendees at the “Space Standards and Architectures” course in Orlando, Florida, “will learn about current model-based engineering methods to

Bloomberg reports that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine “staged a public show of support for one another at the rocket company’s headquarters Thursday, weeks after the two traded barbs over the closely held company’s delayed efforts to fly astronauts for the first time.” Bridenstine “emphasized how close the company and agency

Aviation Week  reports that The Boeing Company and Porsche signed “a memorandum of understanding…to study product development for the premium market for personal air vehicles.” Porsche “joins Daimler, Toyota, China’s Geely and…Aston Martin in exploring the” urban air mobility (UAM) market. (Image: Artist’s rendition of an Urban Air Mobility environment | NASA) Full Story (Aviation Week)

Space News  reports that The Boeing Company “expects to carry out a pad abort test for its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle in early November, followed by an uncrewed orbital flight test in mid-December, a company executive said Oct. 8.” Boeing Vice President and Program Manager, Commercial Crew Programs, Space Exploration John Mulholland “said the

The Hill reports that American Airlines has grounded its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft through January 16, 2020, “amid regulatory reviews of the plane model, according to Reuters.” The cancellation will affect roughly 140 total flights daily. (Image: Grounded Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked adjacent to Boeing Field, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Seattle. | Associated Press-©) Full

Aviation Week reports that a six-month study by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Mitigation at Airports recommends a federal role for U.S. and Canadian governments to assist with UAS protection. The report asserted, “Without a robust federal role, an unacceptable security gap will continue to exist at many airports across the

The Orlando Sentinel reports that “NASA will attempt to send the Ionospheric Connection Explorer satellite, or ICON, into space on board a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket launched from the company’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft taking off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Wednesday night.” (Image: Northrop Grumman’s L-1011 Stargazer takes off from Vandenberg Air Force Base

Space News reports that satellite “industry executives argue that government agencies, primarily seen as developers of key servicing technologies, also need to be customers of those systems.” DARPA Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program manager Joseph Parrish “said the agency is still in source selection for a new partner, and because of that could not

SPACE reports that NASA Human Landing System program manager Lisa Watson-Morgan “expressed her views on achieving the NASA Artemis objective of planting new footprints on the moon.” Said Watson-Morgan, “Key to this vision is a small moon-orbiting space station called the Gateway, which will serve as a staging point for surface missions. NASA aims to start

7 October 2019 The University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering reported that on October 1, AIAA’s Los Angeles-Las Vegas Section “honored the undergraduate members” of the USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (USCRPL) “for becoming the first undergraduate team to design, build and successfully launch a rocket into space.” AIAA Los Angeles-Las Vegas Section Chair Chandrashekhar

7 October 2019 Spaceflight Now  reported that “a joint U.S.-European satellite mission that measured rising sea levels for 11 years is ending due to the deteriorating condition of the spacecraft’s power system, officials said Friday.” During its 11-year mission, the Jason 2 satellite “outlived its design life and continued collecting precise sea level measurements through

4 October 2019 CNN reports that on Tuesday, “the USS Gabrielle Giffords fired off a Naval Strike Missile (NSM), a sea-skimming cruise missile that is difficult to spot on radar, and can maneuver to avoid enemy defenses.” In waters off the coast of Guam, the NSM and other weapons “were fired at a surplus US

Aviation Week reports that British Royal Air Force (RAF) test pilot Flt. Lt. Mathew Stannard is set to join “Virgin Orbit as part of UK plans to expand its defense domain into space.” The Eurofighter Typhoon pilot “will join the Virgin Orbit horizontal launch program next year, working with the company’s test pilots flying the

3 October 2019 Aviation Week  reports that the Italian Air Force and Virgin Galactic “signed a contract Oct. 2 to train and carry three Italians into suborbital space aboard SpaceShipTwo to conduct research experiments in flight as soon as next year.” (Image: Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. Credit: Associated Press–©) Full Story (Aviation Week)

3 October 2019 Aviation Week reports that “detecting rogue drones on or near airport property should be a shared responsibility of airports and federal governments, a high-level industry group focused on the threat of small unmanned aircraft systems…has concluded.” In a final report released Wednesday, the Blue Ribbon Task Force on UAS Mitigation at Airports

2 October 2019 The AP reports that “NASA’s InSight lander on Mars has captured the low rumble of marsquakes and a symphony of other otherworldly sounds.” The lander’s “seismometer has detected more than 100 events, but only 21 are considered strong…candidates” for classification as quakes. (Image: InSight Lander | NASA/JPL-Caltech) Full Story (Associated Press)

2 October 2019 CBS News reports that UPS announced it is the first to receive approval from the FAA to “operate a nationwide fleet of drones.”  In its announcement, UPS said it will initially set up its drone delivery program specifically for hospital campuses nationwide before expanding to other industries outside of healthcare, since the

1 October 2019 CNBC reports that “rising concern about commercial flying’s impact on the environment will act as a brake on passenger growth and reduce jet sales from the likes of Boeing and Airbus, according to a new report from UBS.” The report surveyed more than 6,000 respondents and “revealed that a growing number of travelers

1 October 2019 Space Policy Online reports that yesterday, “the University of Colorado Boulder announced…that its Dean of Engineering, Bobby Braun, is leaving in January to join NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).” An AIAA Fellow, Braun “is a highly respected aerospace engineer who moved to CU Boulder three years ago from Georgia Tech.” (Image: Robert D.

30 September 2019 Space News  reported that “NASA announced Sept. 27 the award of more than $40 million in contracts to 14 companies, including Blue Origin and SpaceX, to develop technologies that can support NASA’s long-term exploration plans.” The contract awards “are the fourth in a series of ‘Tipping Point’ contracts from NASA’s Space Technology

30 September 2019 Aviation Week reported that JAXA’s “eighth re-supply mission spacecraft reached the International Space Station (ISS) early Sept. 28 to deliver more than four tons of crew supplies and equipment, including a half-dozen replacement external lithium ion…power storage batteries and an optical communications technology demonstration.” (Image: ISS crew captures Japanese cargo craft | NASA) Full

27 September 2019 Aerospace America reports that “when lawmakers on the Senate Commerce Committee’s aviation subcommittee asked industry groups how U.S. air traffic control could be improved, they got a resounding answer: consistent funding.” In remarks during a hearing Tuesday, National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) Executive Vice President Patricia “Trish” Gilbert said, “The more-than-a-decade of

27 September 2019 Florida Today reports that the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast is seeking “to market itself to prospective employees in our tech, aeronautics, defense and space industries.” Brevard County, Florida, companies “are also competing with the rest of the nation for talent, including tech hubs in places like California and Texas.” Within

26 September 2019 Aviation Week reports that JAXA and NASA “signed an agreement Sept. 24 to cooperate in U.S.-led efforts to establish a sustainable human presence at the Moon in preparation for expeditions to Mars.” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa signed the pact in Tokyo. (Image: Artemis Moon Program | NASA) Full Story

26 September 2019 Aviation Week reports that “a yearlong study of 101 countries around the world concludes that 95 of them have an active inventory of military unmanned air vehicles, up 58% from a decade ago.” The Center for the Study of the Drone’s “The Drone Databook” indicates that “there are a confirmed 21,000 UAVs in

25 September 2019 The Dallas Morning News reports that The Boeing Company invited airlines to send pilots for 737 MAX training in Miami this week. That training session will run through mid-October, with other sessions to be held in China, Singapore, Turkey, and the UK. Boeing spokesman Charles Bickers said that the sessions “are part of our

25 September 2019 NBC News reports that on Wednesday, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, and Hazza Ali Al Mansouri, “one of only two astronauts in the nascent Emirati space program, are scheduled to lift off in a Russian Soyuz rocket at 9:57 a.m. EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.” Al Mansouri’s participation

24 September 2019 ExecutiveGov reports that “the U.S. Air Force’s 548th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group and 9th Security Forces Squadron have partnered to test an artificial drone technology designed to map infrastructure.” On September 21, the Air Force “said…that the Hivemapper airborne video map program currently in beta testing at Beale Air Force Base

24 September 2019 Florida Today reports that “Blue Origin has job openings like Robot Operator, where workers ‘program and operate robotic processing machines to produces high-value aerospace components.’” SpaceX, which “seems to always be looking for more engineers,” also offers “other types of jobs…that don’t require being a rocket scientist.” SpaceX is currently seeking applicants

23 September 2019 Aviation Week reported that “a test asset for the MQ-25 unmanned tanker completed the first test flight on Sept. 19 at an airport in Illinois, the U.S. Navy and Boeing announced.” (Image: Boeing MQ-25 | Boeing) Full Story (Aviation Week – Subscription publication)

23 September 2019 Aerospace America reports that “cybersecurity experts are sounding the alarm about the vulnerability” of Internet-enabled microsatellites. AIAA Aerospace Cybersecurity Working Group Chair Sam Adhikari said, “Microsatellites are completely driven by software and completely networked. That’s where the vulnerability comes in.” Adhikari also detailed the usage of satellite honeypots for counter-intelligence purposes against

20 September 2019 The Houston Chronicle reports that “NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine vowed Thursday to speak to the head of the Russian space agency after reports that the cause of a hole found on the International Space Station last year would be kept secret.” Bridenstine said, “They have not told me anything.” He added, “I don’t

20 September 2019 Aviation Week reports that American UAV manufacturers Skydio, Impossible Aerospace, and Teal Drones “are mounting a buy-American campaign, arguing that widespread use of drones made in China is suppressing the domestic industry for small unmanned aircraft types and helping to develop Chinese military capabilities.” The American Drone Alliance “is committed to increasing the

19 September 2019 ABC News reports that FAA Administrator Steve Dickson “will get into the MAX flight simulator later this week at Boeing’s headquarters to see for himself if he can handle the automated flight control system misfire that led to the grounding of the aircraft around the world.” Dickson “said it’s premature to point

18 September 2019 Aviation Week reports that Virgin Galactic’s The Spaceship Company “has announced completion of fuselage and wing mating for the spaceline’s second suborbital vehicle at its Mojave site in California.” Virgin Galactic “continues to transition flight testing to its New Mexico operations site.” (Image: Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. Credit: Associated Press–©) Full Story (Aviation Week –

18 September 2019 CNET News reports that “Bigelow Aerospace’s Genesis II, an inflatable space habitat test mission that launched in 2007, has a 5.6% chance of colliding with the dead Kosmos 1300 satellite early on Wednesday.” In a message on Twitter, Bigelow Aerospace said, “Although this is a relatively low probability, it brings to light that

17 September 2019 Aviation Week reports that “a group of high-altitude RQ-4 unmanned aircraft systems will be drafted into service to support an upcoming series of hypersonic missile flight tests, the commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) says in an interview.” DARPA and the U.S. Air Force “are preparing to stage an

17 September 2019 The University of Alabama in Huntsville  reports that University of Alabama in Huntsville undergraduate student Joseph Agnew “recently provided a standing room only crowd at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Propulsion and Energy Forum in Indianapolis, Ind. with an overview of the state of the art of warp drive theory

16 September 2019 Aviation Week reported that Gulfstream Aerospace “has opened a new $55 million maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at its headquarters in Savannah, Georgia, following the recent entry-into-service of the new Gulfstream 500 and Gulfstream 600.” (Image: Gulfstream G600 | Gulfstream) Full Story (Aviation Week)

16 September 2019 Aerospace America reported that under an agreement with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), “NASA must recalculate the estimated cost of the SLS program to see if, in fact, the overrun exceeds a 30% threshold that would trigger a legally required reauthorization review by Congress.” An overrun in excess of 30 percent “could

13 September 2019 CNET News reports that asteroid 2010 C01 “is about 400 to 850 feet (120 to 260 meters) in size and will fly by late on Sept. 13.” On Saturday, asteroid 2000 QW7, “at 950 to 2,100 feet (290 to 650 meters) in size,” will fly past Earth. NASA Planetary Defense Officer Lindley

12 September 2019 The Guardian (UK) reports that “the police commander in charge of policing drone protests intended to shut down Heathrow airport has said his officers will take any opportunity to pre-emptively stop activists from causing disruption to flights.” London Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor “said protesters taking part in the action