Aviation Week reports, “Airbus’ A400M airlifter is set to receive a series of upgrades as part of a new agreement between the launch customer nations. The upgrades package, called Block Upgrade 0, will update the turboprop-engine transport aircraft’s flight management systems, ensure the wider fleets are compliant with NATO requirements, and improve the aircraft’s communications capabilities.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: 2024
US Army Purchases Long-Endurance Solar Drones to Monitor Pacific Operations
Defense News reports, “The Army’s 1st Multi-Domain Task Force has used a small number of Kraus Hamdani Aerospace K1000 Ultra Long-Endurance, solar-powered unmanned aircraft system across the Pacific theater in places like the Philippines and Guam in recent years. Now the Pentagon has ordered $20 million worth of the systems for the unit as well as special operators.”
Full Story (Defense News)
Riyadh Air Places Order for 60 Airbus Narrowbody Jets
Reuters reports, “Saudi Arabia’s newest airline Riyadh Air said on Wednesday it had placed an order for 60 Airbus narrowbody A321-family jets as it prepares to start operations in 2025. The deal, signed at the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh, brings to 132 the total number of jets ordered by the Saudi startup, which last year ordered 39 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with options for 33 more.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Japan Grounds Ospreys Following Hard Landing During Exercise
Aviation Week reports, “The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) has grounded its fleet of Bell Boeing V-22 Ospreys following a hard landing incident. The Japan Defense Ministry Joint Staff says the incident took place on the country’s Yonaguni Island on Oct. 27. The V-22 was participating in Exercise Keen Sword, a joint wargame with the U.S. military, where it was transporting military personnel simulating a medical evacuation.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
American Airlines Sets New Record with its Longest Flight by Distance
Simple Flying reports, “American Airlines made history this morning with the arrival of its inaugural nonstop service from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Australia’s Brisbane Airport. The flight set a new record for the longest route by distance flown by American Airlines, and it is now the longest route on the growing Brisbane Airport network map.”
Full Story (Simple Flying)
NASA’s Europa Clipper Has Some Stops on its Long Road to Jupiter and its Moons
SPACE reports that the NASA Europa Clipper mission is on its way to Europa, but it has some stops to make before it investigates “the potential habitability of Jupiter’s icy ocean moon Europa.”
Full Story (SPACE)
NASA Still Working to Resolve Boeing Starliner Issues After 1st Crewed Test Flight
SPACE reports that Boeing’s Starliner had propulsion issues after launching on its first test mission with astronauts. Six weeks after the mission concluded, “NASA is still working on the issues that complicated the spacecraft’s first crewed test flight, agency officials said on Friday (Oct. 25).”
Full Story (SPACE)
Crew-8 Splashes Down Off the Coast of Pensacola, Florida
Spaceflight Now reports that three U.S. astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut have “returned to Earth after spending more than seven months in space.” Crew-8 includes NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Video
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Re-entry and Splashdown
(NASA; YouTube)
Blue Origin’s Second Human-rated New Shepard Makes First Flight
Space News reports, “Blue Origin carried out the first flight of a new model of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle Oct. 23, a mission the company called ‘nominal and on target’ despite going to a slightly lower altitude than past flights. The uncrewed NS-27 mission lifted off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas at 11:26 a.m. Eastern. The company had scrubbed an initial launch attempt Oct. 7 for unspecified technical issues that could not be resolved before the launch window closed, and Blue Origin called off a second attempt Oct. 13 ‘to troubleshoot a GPS issue.’”
Full Story (Space News)
More Info (AIAA Statement)
Video
New Shepard Mission NS-27 (Launch at 10:53 mark)
(Blue Origin; YouTube)
AIAA Statement on Blue Origin’s Successful NS-27 Mission
October 24, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) issued the following statement from AIAA CEO Clay Mowry:
“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate Blue Origin on its successful NS-27 mission, debuting its second human-rated vehicle. We eagerly anticipate learning more about the results from the multiple payloads onboard.
New Shepard missions embody the promises of space for the benefit of Earth. Reusability is the future of launch. Sustainable space vehicles like New Shepard continue helping decrease the cost of access to space as we see the space economy growing.
We applaud AIAA Corporate Member Blue Origin for shaping the future of aerospace.”
AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. Visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Video
New Shepard Mission NS-27 (Launch at 10:53 mark)
(Blue Origin; YouTube)