Defense News reports, “The Air Force’s first F-47 fighter is now being built by Boeing, and the advanced jet is expected to have its initial flight in 2028, Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said Monday. Allvin, speaking at the Air and Space Forces’ Air, Space and Cyber Conference, said that Boeing’s team worked quickly to start manufacturing the sixth-generation fighter after their selection was announced in March.”
Full Story (Defense News)
Tag: 2024
Piper Aircraft Deliveries Increase 20 Percent in 2024
Flying Magazine reports, “Piper Aircraft deliveries rose 20 percent in 2024 compared with the previous year, with 291 aircraft, the manufacturer said Thursday. The increase, according to the company, was in part tied to the success of the M700 Fury, the company’s 300-knot turboprop that debuted in March.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
Video
Piper Introduces the M700 Fury
(Piper Aircraft, Inc.; YouTube)
India to Launch European Proba-3 Satellites on Dec. 5 to Create Artificial Eclipses in Space
SPACE reports, “A European mission that will use two satellites to create artificial eclipses in Earth orbit will launch early Thursday morning (Dec. 5) … The ESA’s Proba-3 formation-flying mission is scheduled to lift off atop an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Center on Thursday at 5:42 a.m. EST (1042 GMT; 4:42 p.m. local time in India).”
Full Story (SPACE)
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Makes Record-Breaking Approach to the Sun, Sends Back 1st Detailed Update
SPACE reports, “NASA’s Parker Solar Probe sent home its first detailed telemetry data soon after its record-breaking closest-ever approach to the sun. On Wednesday (Jan. 1), mission control at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland began receiving the Parker Solar Probe’s first telemetry — or housekeeping data — that confirms Parker’s systems and science instruments are ‘healthy and operating normally’ after its historic rendezvous with the sun, NASA shared in an update on Thursday (Jan. 2).”
Full Story (SPACE)
Florida’s Space Coast Breaks Launch Year Record with 93 Launches
Space News reports, “Florida’s Space Coast capped off a record-breaking year with 93 launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, up from 74 launches in 2023. Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, commander of the Eastern Range and Space Delta 45, credited the accelerated pace to innovations by both Space Launch Delta 45 and the private sector. ‘We’ve been able to reach these crazy numbers by leveraging automation, modernizing infrastructure, and streamlining processes,’ Panzenhagen told SpaceNews.”
Full Story (Space News)
Rocket Lab to Launch a Private Earth-imaging Satellite This Morning
SPACE reports, “Rocket Lab plans to launch an Earth-observing radar satellite this morning (Dec. 20). An Electron rocket is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site today, during a 75-minute window that opens at 9:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT; 3:00 a.m. on Dec. 21 local New Zealand time).”
Full Story (SPACE)
Update from SPACE at 9:45 a.m. ET: “Today’s launch attempt was scrubbed with around 17 minutes left in the countdown. Rocket Lab has not yet set a new launch date.”
NASA Postpones Return of Boeing Starliner Crew Until March
The Washington Post reports, “The two Boeing Starliner astronauts kept unexpectedly on the International Space Station since June have had their stay extended yet again because the next crew will arrive later than originally anticipated, NASA said this week. Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita Williams were previously expected to return in February after spending several months longer in orbit than planned.”
Full Story (Washington Post)
Joby Aviation Completes FAA Aerostructure Tests
Aerotime reports, “Joby Aviation has completed a series of major aerostructure tests to gain certification approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In a press release published on December 17, 2024, the company announced it has completed static load tests on the tail structure of its electric air taxi. These are the first major aerostructure tests done with FAA representatives present for credit.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
SpaceX Conducts Third Falcon 9 Launch in Less Than 24 Hours
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX completed its third Falcon 9 launch in less than 24 hours with a launch for one of its oldest customers: Luxembourg-based communications company, SES. Liftoff of the O3b mPOWER 7 and 8 satellites from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center happened near sunset at 5:26 p.m. EST (2226 UTC), which was the close of a nearly 1.5-hour-long launch window. It was be the 90th orbital launch from the Florida spaceport comprising of Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Video
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches pair of O3b mPOWER satellites from Kennedy Space Center (Launch at 0:59:21 mark)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Expedited GPS Mission for U.S. Space Force
Spaceflight Now reports, “The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and the Space Operations Command (SpOC) shifted the GPS 3 Space Vehicle 07 spacecraft to a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket due to delays in Vulcan’s certification. The launch, previously known simply as ‘RRT-1,’ actually stands for “Rapid Response Trailblazer.” Onboard was the GPS 3 Space Vehicle (SV) 07 (GPS 3 SV-07). Lockheed Martin, the satellite’s manufacturer, confirmed successful signal acquisition less than two hours after the launch at 7:52 p.m. EST (0052 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Video
SpaceX launches U.S. Space Force RRT-1 mission from Cape Canaveral on Falcon 9 rocket (Launch at 1:00:51 mark)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)