Tag: 2025

Challenger Center and AIAA Open Nominations for 2026 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Three winners will be honored for enthusiasm and dedication to STEM education

Washington and Reston, Va. (October 20, 2025) –  Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced they are accepting nominations for the 2026 Trailblazing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educator Award. The annual award celebrates K-12 teachers going above and beyond to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators. Nominations can be submitted online through December 15, 2025.

Three winners will be selected from the nominations and announced in early 2026. Each winner and their respective school or organization will be awarded $5,000. They will also receive free access to Challenger Center’s STEM education programs and have the opportunity to attend a space launch experience and/or a VIP tour of an aerospace facility.

“Educators play a vital role in sparking curiosity and helping students see themselves as future scientists, engineers, and explorers,” said Mike Kincaid, President and Executive Director, Challenger Center. “We are proud to again partner with AIAA to recognize the teachers who tend to that spark every day.”

“We share a commitment with Challenger Center to support educators who inspire and empower today’s students. They are developing the next generation STEM workforce that will make the next breakthroughs in aerospace,” said Clay Mowry, CEO, AIAA. “Their impact reaches far beyond the classroom – it reaches the stars.”

The award recognizes teachers who connect classroom lessons to the country’s current and future plans of STEM exploration and innovation, introduce students to STEM careers, and activate students’ imagination about space exploration. Past awardees have represented schools from across the United States and have gone on to achieve remarkable milestones—including participating in a Zero-G flight, being selected to serve on the National Space Council’s Users Advisory Group, and even traveling to space as a commercial astronaut.

About Challenger Center
As a leader in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, Challenger Center provides hundreds of thousands of students annually with experiential education programs that engage students in hands-on learning opportunities. These programs, delivered in Challenger Learning Centers and classrooms, strengthen knowledge in STEM subjects and inspire students to pursue careers in these important fields. Challenger Center was created by the Challenger families to honor the crew of shuttle flight STS-51-L. For more information about Challenger Center, please visit https://www.challenger.org/ or connect on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

About AIAA Foundation
The AIAA Foundation inspires and supports the next generation of aerospace professionals. From classroom to career, the AIAA Foundation enables innovative K-12 and university programming, including STEM classroom grants, scholarships, conferences, and hands-on competitions. Founded in 1996, the AIAA Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational organization connected to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

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. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org or follow AIAA on LinkedIn, Instagram, X/Twitter, and Facebook.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches with 21 Communications Satellites for Space Development Agency

SPACE reports SpaceX launched 21 satellites for an advanced new U.S. military constellation this evening (Oct. 15). A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base “today at 7:06 p.m. EDT (2306 GMT; 4:06 p.m. local California time), on a mission for the Space Development Agency (SDA).”
Full Story (SPACE)

Video

Falcon 9 Launches with 21 Communications Satellites (Launch occurs at the 17:13 mark)
Space Affairs; YouTube

SpaceX Performs 11th Test Flight of its Mega Starship Rocket

AP News reports, “SpaceX launched another of its mammoth Starship rocketson a test flight Monday, successfully making it halfway around the world while releasing mock satellites like last time. Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built — thundered into the evening sky from the southern tip of Texas. The booster peeled away and made a controlled entry into the Gulf of Mexico as planned, with the spacecraft skimming space before descending into the Indian Ocean. Nothing was recovered.”
Full Story (AP News)

Video

SpaceX Starship Flight 11, Oct. 13, 2025.
NASASpaceFlight; YouTube

2025 SSTC Essay Contest Winners Announced

FROM THE INSTITUTE
We are excited to announce the winners of this year’s Space Systems Technical Committee Student Essay Contest. With the theme “Explore the growing population of objects in Earth orbit, identifying contributing causes, consequences, traffic management implications, mitigation approaches, and prospects for the future,” young minds from across the country demonstrated exceptional curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. Their essays explored how space debris is formed, the risks it poses to satellites and astronauts, and the innovative solutions that could shape a safer future in space.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

Blue Origin Performs its 15th Space Tourism Launch

SPACE reports, “Blue Origin launched its 15th space tourism flight” yesterday (Oct. 8), “sending six people on a brief trip to the final frontier, including a mystery passenger who only revealed his identity after the flight. The company’s New Shepard vehicle lifted off from Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site [Wednesday] at 9:40 a.m. EDT (1340 GMT; 8:40 a.m. local Texas time), kicking off a suborbital flight known as NS-36.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Beyond the Boundaries: Highlights from the 2025 AIAA Rocky Mountain Section Symposium

FROM THE INSTITUTE
On 12 September, the 2025 AIAA Rocky Mountain Section Annual Technical Symposium (RMS ATS) was held at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Centered on the theme “Beyond the Boundaries: Aerospace Innovations for the Next Frontier,” the event drew over 350 attendees ranging from high school students to seasoned professionals and retirees. Throughout the day, speakers and presenters underscored the value of bringing together thought leaders, students, researchers, and enthusiasts in a shared forum to foster in-depth discussion and community building.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 28 More Starlink Satellites into Orbit from Cape Canaveral

SPACE reports a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Wednesday morning, Sept. 3, carrying 28 Starlink wireless internet satellites “into low-Earth orbit (LEO), deploying the satellites about an hour after liftoff,” which took place at 7:56 a.m. EDT.
Full Story (SPACE)

Video

SpaceX launches 28 Starlink Satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Launch at the 0:14 mark)
VideoFromSpace; YouTube

AIAA Statement on Tenth SpaceX Starship Test Flight

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 27, 2025 – Reston, Va. – AIAA issued the following statement from CEO Clay Mowry:

“Congratulations to the SpaceX team on the incredible 10th test flight of Starship. Every flight pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in reusable launch systems. The onboard camera views gave us a front-row seat to witness progress on the world’s largest heavy-lift reusable space launch system.

This flight demonstrated several of Starship’s capabilities including the ability to successfully dispense test Starlink payloads. The SpaceX engineering teams have applied valuable lessons from their recent test flights and they are making progress on a number of fronts.

It’s exciting to see SpaceX breaking barriers in reusable launch! We applaud SpaceX on accelerating humanity’s journey back to the moon and onward to Mars.

AIAA salutes the thousands of SpaceX professionals whose engineering expertise and determination have made this bold step forward with Starship that is shaping the future of aerospace.”

Media contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270

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. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org or follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

SpaceX Scrubs 10th Starship Test Launch Because of Lousy Weather

The New York Times reports, “SpaceX scrubbed the 10th test flight of Starship, the mammoth rocket that Elon Musk hopes to use to take people to Mars, for the second night in a row on Monday, The vehicle was fully loaded with propellants on the launchpad in Starbase, Texas. But persistent weather problems, particularly clouds that could put the vehicle at risk during flight, led to the launch being called off not long after 8 p.m. Eastern time.”
Full Story (New York Times)