Aerospace America

The July–September 2026 issue of Aerospace America is now live.  Don’t miss the cover story, “Inside the Space Data Race,” by Jonathan O’Callaghan. SpaceX and others have proposed launching tens of thousands of massive satellites for AI processing and other functions in a bid to alleviate some of the woes of terrestrial data centers. But can the technical challenges be overcome? O’Callaghan takes a look. Full Story

Before locking in the design of its next flagship telescope, the Habitable Worlds Observatory, NASA plans to spend millions of dollars advancing the host of technologies required to seek out life on planets outside our solar system. In “NASA’s Habitable Planet Seeker Comes Into View,” Adam Hadhazy dives into the progress and impetus for this new strategy. Full Story

In Flight Path, “Aerospace on America’s 250th Birthday,” AIAA CEO Clay Mowry writes, “In 1976, when America celebrated its 200th birthday, the Apollo program was in the rearview mirror. The Space Shuttle was still on the drawing board. Reusable launch was a plan to recover solid rocket boosters from the ocean at enormous expense.” Full Story

In R&D, “Spacecraft Without Gas Tanks,” Aerospace America Staff Reporter Aspen Pflughoeft writes, “In the coming months, a cubesat is slated to arrive at the International Space Station equipped with a novel kind of thruster: Unlike today’s liquid- or gas-propelled designs that require fuel tanks, it will rely on plasma.” Full Story

Also, get the July-September 2026 crossword answers here.

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