Aviation Week reported that “plans for International Space Station…astronauts to conduct three high-priority spacewalks before year’s end appear to be slipping into 2020.” The planned spacewalks are the final “two excursions” as part of “a series of four spacewalks to upgrade the orbiting science lab’s $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS).” Amid “the busy pace of

SPACE reported that The Boeing Company’s “first uncrewed test flight of its Starliner spacecraft for astronauts is now set for no earlier than Dec. 20, one day later than planned.” In a statement December 6, United Launch Alliance (ULA) representatives said, “We successfully conducted a wet dress rehearsal (WDR), a critical pre-launch milestone, on Friday.” The

The AP reports that on Thursday, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides indicated that “Virgin Galactic is on the verge of making more history in 2020 following an ‘incredible’ year of progress.” Whitesides said that after a busy year, which included the company’s IPO debut on the NYSE, “now hopefully you can start enjoying the benefits of having

Space News reports that the U.S. Air Force projects, at a minimum, a two-fold increase in the number national security launches in 2020 versus in 2019. Air Force Space Command Director of the Launch Systems Enterprise Directorate Col. Robert Bongiovi said Thursday, “It’s really going to be an exciting year.” He added, “We could have

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Michele McDonald 703.264.7542 [email protected] December 5, 2019 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the following lectures will be presented during the AIAA SciTech Forum, held 6–10 January 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, Florida. “The hallmark of the AIAA SciTech Forum

The MRO Network reports that the risks of cybersecurity attacks on the aviation industry are “rising on the threat matrix, says Brian Prentice, a partner at Oliver Wyman.” The MRO industry also faces potential disruptions. Said Prentice, “Cyber is not an IT issue – it is an operational issue and is one of the biggest threats facing

Reuters reports that “researchers on Wednesday described the first published findings from the Parker Solar Probe, a spacecraft launched in 2018 to journey closer to the sun than any other human-made object.” NASA Heliophysics Science Division Director Nicola Fox said, “We were certainly hoping we’d see new phenomena and new processes when we got close to

Manufacturers’ Monthly (AUS) reports that “the role of Australian manufacturing in producing the 1,000th Boeing 787 Dreamliner was celebrated on November 29, with Victorian Minister for Economic Development, Tim Pallas, visiting Boeing’s site in Fishermans Bend in Melbourne.” At the plant, “wing components for the premium commercial aircraft are manufactured. The site is also involved

CNET News reports that on Wednesday, “a brand-new Falcon 9 booster is scheduled to launch a Dragon capsule” to the ISS. The mission “will be the 19th resupply voyage for SpaceX and the third time this particular Dragon capsule is headed to space.” The CRS-19 mission “launch window opens no earlier than 12:51 p.m. ET

Aviation Week reports that “Airbus’ Silicon Valley outpost, A3 (A-cubed), has wrapped up testing on the Vahana autonomous electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) demonstrator.” As of November 14, the tilt-wing eVTOL “complet[ed] 138 flights totaling 13.4 hr.” from its site for “flight testing at Pendleton, Oregon.” The aircraft is “one of two demonstrators built,” but the other demonstrator

Aviation Week reports that astronauts on the ISS have begun “a busy final month of the year with the third of four planned spacewalks to repair the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) cosmic ray observatory.” Yesterday, NASA astronaut Drew Morgan and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano concluded a 6-hour spacewalk that originally began at 6:31

The Washington Post reported that the Howard County Police Department “is the latest police agency in Maryland to embrace the potential of drones as the small, buzzing aircraft…become more affordable and easier to use.” However, the fast growth of the “aircraft in law enforcement has also prompted concerns from privacy and civil liberties advocates, who worry that

CNBC reported that last week, the FAA informed The Boeing Company that it will review each of the “new 737 MAX airplanes currently in storage” before allowing them to be delivered to customers due to the “number of challenges for airworthiness certification, production, and delivery, which significantly exceed any that the Boeing system has previously

Space News reports that commercial spaceports increasingly are highlighting their potential as “centers of economic development, including those without any launch activity.” Houston Spaceport General Manager Arturo Machuca said, “We decided we were not going to build our business case immediately around operations.” He explained, “We determined that there were too few players, in terms

Air Transport World reported that the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said November 22 that cyber attacks pose a growing threat to airlines. Since 2018, AAPA “has hosted four cybersecurity workshops” through its Aviation Cyber Resilience Project in furtherance of “enhancing and strengthening the industry’s ability to prevent and handle cybersecurity threats.” AAPA adopted

ExecutiveBiz reports that The Boeing Company “and Saab are reaching developmental milestones on schedule for the T-7A Red Hawk trainer towards the aircraft’s planned production start in late 2020, Aviation Today reported Friday.” Paul Niewald, chief engineer for the T-7A program at Boeing, said that the two single-engine T-7A test units have completed around 140 test

Aviation Week reports that Gulfstream Aerospace “announced it has made its first European delivery of a G500 business jet.” On October 24, an undisclosed customer “took delivery at Gulfstream’s headquarters in Savannah, Georgia.” However, “according to data from the Aviation Week Network, Blackbird Air in Denmark will operate the aircraft on behalf of a European

AIAA members Ellen Stofan, Mary Lynne Dittmar, and Jim Chilton will be speaking at LAUNCH: The Space Economy…

Aviation Week reported that “two spacewalking astronauts teamed for the second of four planned spacewalks outside the International Space Station…on Nov. 22 to advance an upgrade of the thermal control system on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS).” Full Story (Aviation Week – Subscription publication)

Bloomberg reported that “the Southern California factory that has churned out fuselages for every Boeing 747 jumbo jetliner is being sold for parts, potentially hastening the demise of the iconic aircraft.” Since November 20, Boeing 747-8 program supplier Triumph Group has begun “to clear out a storied plant with an online auction of manufacturing gear.” Previously,

The Toronto (CAN) Star reports that Transport Canada is working with other aviation regulators, including the FAA, to coordinate ending the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX. Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said, “We’re getting there.” Canada will not clear the jet to fly until the company addresses Transport Canada’s concerns about the jet’s software, hardware,

FlightGlobal reports that The Boeing Company is conducting “autonomous teamed flights using small, unmanned jet aircraft in Australia.” Boeing continues its work on the Airpower Teaming System with “small, remote-controlled aircraft with fixed landing gear.” Boeing said that it will attempt increasingly complex maneuvers and missions. Full Story (FlightGlobal)

Spaceflight Now reports that SpaceX’s Starship prototype “ruptured in dramatic fashion Wednesday during a cryogenic loading test at the company’s launch facility in South Texas.” In a statement, SpaceX said, “The purpose of today’s test was to pressurize systems to the max, so the outcome was not completely unexpected.” The company added, “There were no injuries,

Aviation Week reports that General Electric “says the production ramp-up of GE9X engines for Boeing’s 777-9 is resuming.” The announcement comes after “the faster-than-expected test and validation of fixes to the durability problem that forced the airframe-maker to delay the big twinjet’s first flight to early 2020.” The schedule for retrofitting the aircraft “will enable

Reuters reports that the NTSB is calling for changes on the Boeing 737 NG aircraft following an incident last year in which part of an engine on a Southwest Airlines plane broke apart mid-flight, killing a woman who was partially sucked out of a window. NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said, “This accident underlines the vulnerability of

SPACE reports that SpaceX’s Starship could begin lunar missions as soon as 2022. In a NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program conference Monday, SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell said, “We are aiming to be able to drop Starship on the lunar surface in 2022. Full Story (SPACE)

Aviation Week reports that “Airbus believes aircraft following another one can reach up to 10% in fuel burn reduction by taking advantage of wake updraft.” The “fello’fly” project will test technical viability and manage “operational issues that may arise with airlines, air traffic management and regulators.” Airbus UpNext CEO Sandra Bour-Schaeffer said, “Birds use the updraft

Reuters reports that JAXA’s Hayabusa2 space probe is heading back to Earth “after collecting sub-surface samples that could help scientists seeking the origins of life, Japan’s space agency said on Monday.” The spacecraft will travel “home from an asteroid 250 million km (155 million miles)” away which is called Ryugu. A spokeswoman for JAXA said

Florida Today reported that SpaceX and The Boeing Company “are slated to bring 2019 to a close with a mission-packed December.” On December 4, “a Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon spacecraft…will take supplies to the International Space Station no earlier than 12:48 p.m.” ET. SpaceX is scheduled to send the JCSAT-18 / KACIFIC-1 communications

The AP reports that NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano “have begun an extraordinarily complicated series of spacewalks to fix a cosmic ray detector at the” ISS. On Friday, the pair “ventured out…with dozens of tools and four new pumps for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.” The cooling system on the spectrometer “is almost

Aviation Week reports that General Atomics is set to “perform a series of demonstration flights for European countries to prove the maritime surveillance capabilities of the company’s MQ-9 Reaper UAV.” The company said Monday that the flights, “equipped with a Raytheon SeaVue surveillance radar,” will take place at Larissa Air Base in Greece next month.

Aviation International News reports that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) “met with FAA safety inspectors and law enforcement officials in 11 of the aviation agency’s districts to determine how they investigate potentially unsafe small (under 55 pounds) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).” A report by the GAO incorporated this issue in its recommendations that the FAA improve

Aerospace America details a report by the NASA Office of Inspector General (NASA OIG) that “casts doubt on whether the agency is on a path to achieve” the goal of creating “a bustling economy in low Earth orbit through a slate of ambitious exploration programs.” NASA Inspector General Paul Martin said in a letter Wednesday,

The Houston Chronicle reports that NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano “on Friday will exit the confines of the International Space Station for the first of four spacewalks to fix a vital piece of hardware that was not designed to be repaired in space.” The astronauts will repair part of a failed

Reuters reports that some domestic airlines have expressed interest in taking deliveries of Boeing 737 MAX jets before the FAA finalizes its requirements for training pilots on the aircraft. The Boeing Company has produced hundreds of the 737 MAX jets since the aircraft was grounded in March. The production surplus has forced Boeing to “park un-flown

CNET News reports that NASA is considering “a new spacecraft design proposed by a team at the University at Buffalo” (UB) to explore the far side of Venus. In a release Monday, UB said, “The design could make efficient use of high winds in the planet’s upper atmosphere while providing scientists unparalleled control of the

The Wall Street Journal reported that The Boeing Company wants to start delivering 737 MAX jets to airlines by the end of 2019, even if regulators have not recertified the jet for commercial service. Boeing has talked with regulators about potentially delivering the aircraft before airline pilots have done the training required to operate the aircraft.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Brian Talbot 703.980.4132 [email protected] Recent Graduates, Student from Georgia Tech and Purdue University September 18, 2020 – Reston, Va. – AIAA is pleased to announce the winners of the Zarem Graduate Student Awards for Distinguished Achievement. Nathan Crane, who graduated in 2020 with his M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute

CBS News reports that on Tuesday, NASA unsealed a “pristine sample of rock and regolith…at the Johnson Space Center in Houston as part of NASA’s Apollo Next-Generation Sample Analysis initiative (ANGSA).” In a press release, NASA ANGSA program scientist Sarah Noble said, “We are able to make measurements today that were just not possible during

Space News reports that in remarks Thursday at the CyberSat 2019 conference, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley Jr. “said it’s not a matter of if, but when anti-satellite weapons developed by China and Russia take aim at U.S. spacecraft.” He added, “These capabilities exist now.” Ashley detailed Sino-Russian “capabilities…including surface-to-air missiles,

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that the US Army is testing a “deadly laser weapon” that is “so powerful it can melt through drones, helicopters, aircraft and incoming enemy missiles.” The 50-kilowatt laser device “will be installed on four Stryker vehicles and tested…as part of the Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) mission.” Office of the Assistant Secretary

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company is planning to invest $1 billion into “industry-wide pilot development” as part of its “Global Aviation Safety” initiative, according to sources. A person familiar with the project said, “It will involve significant funds to raise standards around the world and requires Boeing putting its own money in.” Boeing will

Space News reports that “the commercial space and aviation industries are working closer together to address issues about access to airspace.” At a workshop October 31, “representatives of both industries called for efforts to modernize the national airspace system to better integrate commercial launches into it.” Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) President Capt. Joe DePete

Reuters reports that United Parcel Service Flight Forward UAVs “have flown prescription medications to the front lawn of a private home and to a retirement center, the UPS unit’s first revenue-generating deliveries for drugstore chain CVS Health Corp.” Flight Forward’s “maiden delivery flight on Friday in Cary, North Carolina, beat rivals in one phase of

Reuters reports that the Boeing 737 MAX “is likely to return to service in Europe during the first quarter of 2020, the head of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said…Monday.” EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky indicated that “preparations by national authorities and airlines may delay the resumption of commercial flights by up to

Aviation Week reports that “Virgin Galactic is building its second and third operational SpaceShipTwos, SS2 and SS2-3, and expects them to join the space tourism company’s fleet in 2020 and 2021, respectively.” Virgin Galactic seeks to fly 1,500 paying space tourists per year by the end of 2023. The company “provided an update to its business

Aerospace America detailed the proliferation of reports by “U.S. Navy fighter pilots and weapons officers” of “strange objects maneuvering quickly with unheard of agility around their aircraft.” Former U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Ryan Graves “is one of three F/A-18 pilots who have publicly described encounters with small, featureless objects that, depending on the account, descended and

Aerospace America reported that The Boeing Company on Monday will test the CST-100 Starliner crew capsule at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Boeing “will fire the four launch abort engines, or LAEs, and 12 smaller orbital maneuvering and altitude control, or OMAC, thrusters in the base of the service module to propel the

Reuters reports that “Chinese drone maker DJI said…Thursday that it is aware of reports that the U.S. Department of the Interior has grounded all non-emergency Chinese-made or partly-made drones in a review of its entire drone program.” DJI told Reuters it was “disappointed to learn of this development.” Full Story (Reuters)

The Houston Chronicle reports that Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin “announced that he would fund the construction of two additional [crewed] spaceships in order to deliver NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, according to a Russian news outlet.” Rogozin told a Russian news source, “I gave a command to Roscosmos…to allocate extra funds to make