Industry News

15 July 2019 Space News reported that “the initial prototype of SpaceX’s next-generation reusable launch vehicle will make its first, albeit low-altitude, test flight early next week, Elon Musk announced July 12.” In a series of tweets, Musk “said the ‘Starhopper’ vehicle SpaceX is assembling at its test site near Brownsville, Texas, will make its first

15 July 2019 The Antelope Valley Press reports that the “NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in California partnered with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Antelope Valley chapter, to host an Apollo 50th anniversary event called ‘Small Steps to Giant Leaps’ on June 26 at Eastside High School.” The STEM-focused “family event featured Apollo-Soyuz astronaut Vance

11 July 2019 The Daily Mail reports that “the head of NASA has called on Australia to join forces with the US and take part in their venture to Mars.” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine “said the Australian Space Agency…could play an essential role in developing technologies that astronauts would need to survive for years in space

9 July 2019 The Sidney Daily News reports that “the 2019 Celebration Committee will host the presentation ‘Neil Armstrong: Reluctantly Famous’ by James R. Hansen at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Wapakoneta Middle School, 400 W. Harrison St.” Hansen is the author of the New York Times bestseller “First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong.” The Daily

10 July 2019 The New York Times reports Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic “announced plans to merge with a public shell company, a deal that would give the space tourism business its first stock listing.” The Times says “if the deal is completed, Virgin Galactic will be able to sell shares to raise money, a potentially crucial

9 July 2019 FlightGlobal reports that on June 28, the U.S. Navy “declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter.” According to the Navy, the IOC paves the way for the UAV to start fleet operations and training. With a design geared toward “intelligence, and surveillance and reconnaissance, as

5 July 2019 CNN reports that NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Nick Hague “wished the country a happy Independence Day” via a video message sent from the ISS. Said Koch, “As we orbit our planet high above you, we want to take a moment and wish all Americans, at home and around the world, a

5 July 2019 Aviation Week reports that “FAA allowances to fly drones over people and beyond visual line of sight of their operators are considered key for commercial applications of small unmanned aircraft systems,” but the FAA is waiting on the development of UAV identification technology before moving forward with regulation. (Image Credit: Associated Press–©) Full Story

3 July 2019 Reuters reports that a Fourth of July event in Washington, D.C., tomorrow “will feature military bands and flyovers from the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force One.” The “Salute to America” celebration “could also feature…a B-2 bomber, F-35 and F-22 fighter jets, and the Marine One helicopter that transports the president, the

3 July 2019 Aviation International News reports that UAV maker DJI on July 2 “unveiled a special ‘Government Edition’” UAV that has “architecture that ensures that drone data…never leave the drone and therefore can never be shared with unauthorized parties.” DJI Vice President Mario Rebello said, “This is DJI’s most secure drone solution to-date because it

2 July 2019 Aviation Week (subscription publication) reports that Honda Aircraft on June 27 “delivered its first two HondaJet Elite light jets to” Wing Spirit, “a newly established interisland charter operator, at an event at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu,” Hawaii. Wing Spirit “is exploring using the jets as air ambulances and for aviation education

2 July 2019 SPACE reports that NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) “has discovered a tiny planet,” L 98-59b, which is “the smallest one it has found to date.” A NASA statement said that the planet is roughly 10 percent smaller than the previously smallest planet found by TESS. (Image Credit: NASA) Full Story (SPACE)

1 July 2019 CNBC reported that “Alphabet’s drone company Wing is adding to its ranks as it prepares to expand its delivery service in the U.S. and beyond, according to job listings.” The company “aims to use its drone service to deliver items such as food, coffee and medicine within minutes.” Wing has also “said

1 July 2019 The New York Times reported on research into the development of hypersonic missiles. AIAA Associate Fellow Daniel Marren “runs one of the world’s fastest wind tunnels,” the Arnold Engineering Development Complex Wind Tunnel in White Oak, Maryland. During a tour of the facility with Center for Public Integrity Managing Editor for National Security

28 June 2019 Reuters reports that an official at The Boeing Company said that the company will need to continue developing the software update for the 737 MAX into September, pushing the reintroduction of the aircraft back until at least October. The news comes after Boeing announced that the FAA had found an additional issue

28 June 2019 SPACE reports that on July 2, NASA “plans to prove out the Orion capsule’s launch-abort system, which is designed to get astronauts away from their rocket in the event of an emergency during launch.” The “critical component of NASA’s next crew-carrying spacecraft” will “liftoff…from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida during

27 June 2019 The AP reports that NASA is preparing to unseal “some of the pristine samples” of moon rocks collected from the Apollo missions. The samples, housed in a vault at a restricted lab in Johnson Space Center, will be made available to geologists to study “with 21st-century technology.” NASA Apollo sample curator Ryan Zeigler

27 June 2019 Unmanned Aerial Online reports that the North Dakota DOT has “received a four-year waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to routinely operate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) over people.” Through its waiver, the state agency will “use a DJI Mavic 2 drone equipped with a ParaZero SafeAir parachute system.” The FAA “approved the

26 June 2019 CNET News reports that “NASA is partnering with Ohio STEM training nonprofit Battelle Education and California education technology company Future Engineers to run” a contest to name the Mars 2020 rover. The Name the Rover contest seeks contributions from U.S. “kids in kindergarten through 12th grade,” and it “will start accepting submissions this

26 June 2019 Bloomberg Government reports that the Boeing 737 MAX “could be flying again before the Federal Aviation Administration’s blue-ribbon panel or the Transportation Department’s inspector general complete their investigations of the certification that initially cleared the jet” to fly in the US. Both are two separate investigations from the assessment of the passenger jet’s

25 June 2019 SPACE reports that Roscosmos astronaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Anne McClain, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques “have returned to Earth after spending more than 200 days on board the International Space Station.” The three “landed aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft on Monday” after touching down “southeast of the town of [Zhezkazgan]

25 June 2019 CNET News reports that Chinese UAV manufacturer DJI “told a Senate subcommittee Monday…that it doesn’t collect or share any drone data, including flight logs, photos or videos, without the consent of its users.” The company has faced criticism “in response to what it called ‘incorrect claims’ that were made during a hearing

24 June 2019 The New York Times  reported that “in a measurement taken on Wednesday, NASA’s Curiosity rover discovered startlingly high amounts of methane in the Martian air.” A NASA spokesperson said, “To maintain scientific integrity, the project science team will continue to analyze the data before confirming results.” National Institute for Astrophysics scientist Marco Giuranna

24 June 2019 The Task & Purpose  reported that last Thursday, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico demonstrated a new “high-powered microwave weapon” that can “instantaneously down swarms of enemy drones.” In the demonstration, the Tactical High Power Microwave Operational Responder, or THOR, system, “disabled the unmanned aerial vehicle in

21 June 2019 SPACE reports that SpaceX on June 19 test-fired its Falcon Heavy megarocket, as “after several hours of weather-related delays, the massive rocket roared to life, as smoke billowed from its engines during a preflight” static-fire test. The test ignition “is one of the last major milestones in launch preparations, ensuring that all systems

21 June 2019 Aviation Week reports that “NASA’s much-delayed X-57 Maxwell electric propulsion demonstrator program has taken a step forward” by beginning its “first ground runs…with electric motors and propellers installed.” The latest test of the X-57 involves “the Mod II configuration, in which 95-hp electric motors replace the P2006T’s two Rotax piston engines.” (Image Credit:

20 June 2019 USA Today  reports that as Uber “forges ahead with plans for a flying taxi service in 2023, other startups are [also] unveiling futuristic air mobility vehicles.” Massachusetts-based Alaka’i Technologies “showed an electric human-carrying drone last month that it claims can carry five passengers,” and American-Israeli startup Next Future Transportation “hopes its new

20 June 2019 Aviation Week reports that The Boeing Company “announced June 19 it will move its space and launch business unit’s headquarters from Virginia to Titusville, along the ‘revitalized’ Florida Space Coast.” Boeing Defense, Space and Security “is to relocate out of Arlington, Virginia, where it is currently headquartered next door to the Pentagon and

19 June 2019 Bloomberg reports that electric-plane company Eviation Aircraft “just signed up its first customer,” regional U.S. carrier Cape Air. Eviation’s “Alice” aircraft “is one of a host of electric models at the design stage, and its nine-passenger capacity and 650-mile range from a single charge could give it an edge in the commuter

19 June 2019 Reuters reports that “Siemens struck a deal to sell its in-house startup Siemens eAircraft to Rolls-Royce for an undisclosed sum, it said on Tuesday.” Siemens eAircraft specializes in electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems, and it “has about 180 employees.” (Image: Siemens Magnus eFusion at Aero2016. Credit: Alec Wilson from Khon Kaen, Thailand |

18 June 2019 The Wall Street Journal reports that FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell said at a panel discussion at the Paris Air Show that the FAA is preparing to ease noise restrictions to allow for the testing of new supersonic commercial aircraft. Elwell said that the FAA plans to allow supersonic jets to make

18 June 2019 Aviation Week reports that the “assembly of the X-59, the first purpose-designed piloted NASA aeronautics research X-plane since the X-31 nearly 30 years ago, is getting underway inside the cavernous Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California.” In development of the experimental aircraft, “only the first few sections of aluminum wing

17 June 2019 Aviation Week reports that following the closure of the Space Shuttle program in Florida, “the surrounding area took a huge hit to the employment base.” Although the shutdown’s “ill effects…were mostly felt in the Space Coast region, which encompasses Volusia, Brevard and Orange counties,” it “set in motion a strategy that focused on

17 June 2019 The AP reported that the global grounding of The Boeing Company’s 737 MAX fleet “and apprehension about the global economy hover over the aircraft industry as it prepares for [this] week’s Paris Air Show.” Furthermore, air cargo shipments have been falling this year, “and airlines have committed to buy so many planes that

14 June 2019 CBS News reports that the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has observed “a series of strange chevron symbols on a Martian sand dune in the southeast Hellas Planitia region.” The MRO High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment “camera team at the University of Arizona highlighted the discovery Wednesday, though the image was acquired by the

14 June 2019 Air Force Times reports that “new designs will be required to fix some of the issues with the refueling boom and the remote vision system on the Air Force’s new KC-46 Pegasus tanker, and that could take years to fix, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Wednesday.” The GAO

13 June 2019 The AP reports on Uber Eats’ test implementations using UAS to make deliveries in San Diego, California, as part of a partnership with McDonald’s aimed at reducing delivery times and cost. The system allows restaurant workers to load the UAS with a meal payload, after which “it takes off, tracked and guided by a

13 June 2019 Defense News reports that the F-35 has 13 major flaws that are currently impacting operations, with most having “escaped intense scrutiny by Congress and the media,” and a majority not even being “publicly disclosed, exposing a lack of transparency about the limitations of the Defense Department’s most expensive and high-profile weapons system.”

12 June 2019 CNET News  reports that “SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, containing the Canadian Space Agency’s Radarsat trio of Earth observation satellites on Wednesday.” The three Radarsat satellites “will gather data about the nation’s coasts and waterways to help ships navigate the Arctic, provide agriculture

12 June 2019 FlightGlobal reports that “Sikorsky was awarded a $542 million contract from the US Navy…to build six production VH-92A Presidential Helicopters, an aircraft which will be known by the call sign ‘Marine One’ when the president of the USA flies aboard.” The VH-92As “are part of low rate initial production lot 1,” and “the

11 June 2019 FlightGlobal  reports that the removal of Turkey from the Joint Strike Fighter program would lead to a 20 percent reduction in F-35 sales in Europe, as “hopes the dispute over Ankara’s decision to buy the Russian Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft system would be solved are all but dashed” and “the country’s large

11 June 2019 The AP reports that the New Zealand Defence Force has announced that it will purchase five new Super Hercules aircraft to renew its aging Hercules fleet. New Zealand Minister of Defence Ron Mark “said Tuesday the estimated cost of the Lockheed Martin aircraft was more than 1 billion New Zealand dollars ($661 million), although

10 June 2019 Spaceflight Now reported that “the first nighttime launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, and the first Falcon Heavy flight for the U.S. military, is set for no earlier than June 24 from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Air Force officials said Friday.” Small Launch and Targets Division Chief

10 June 2019 Spaceflight Now reported that ground crews last week “finished the initial build-up of the last ‘single stick’ medium-lift variant of United Launch Alliance’s Delta 4 rocket on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral…in preparation for liftoff with a GPS navigation satellite July 25.” The rocket’s first and second stages “emerged from ULA’s

7 June 2019 SPACE reports that NASA’s Deep Space Atomic Clock “is scheduled to launch to Earth orbit on June 22 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.” The clock “will help spacecraft navigate autonomously through the final frontier.” NASA said in a Deep Space Atomic Clock FAQ, “A Deep Space Atomic Clock on a spacecraft

7 June 2019 USA Today reports that Jupiter on Monday will “be visible with the naked eye as it rises in the east at sunset and climbs high through the sky all night, before setting in the west as the sun rises Tuesday.” During the planet’s opposition, viewers on Earth will “also be able to

6 June 2019 ABC News reports Amazon “said it’s taking deliveries to the next level – quite literally – within a few months by using drones.” The company “made the announcement Wednesday at its MARS Conference in Las Vegas, with the company’s CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, Jeff Wilke sharing the news and design specs for

6 June 2019 Fox News  reports that as part of events to honor the military service of airborne soldiers who took part in the June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion, a fleet of C-47 transport planes on Wednesday dropped approximately 200 parachutists over Normandy, France. Among the jumpers were World War II paratrooper veterans, and others

5 June 2019 Spaceflight Now reported that SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft on Monday “returned to Earth with more than 4,200 pounds (1,900 kilograms) of equipment.” Following the capsule’s touchdown in the Pacific Ocean, “SpaceX recovery teams were on station…to hoist the capsule aboard a boat for the trip back to the Port of Los Angeles,

5 June 2019 Aviation Week reports that “Rolls-Royce is expanding MRO capacity and repair capabilities for Trent 1000 and XWB engines.” The engine manufacturer is “trying to find both engine maintenance capacity and repair capability, in advance of models such as the Trent 1000 and XWB entering their first shop refurbishment visits in a couple years,