FlightGlobal reports Northrop Grumman said that it “remains on track to fly the secretive B-21 Raider stealth bomber before the end of 2023, with the US Air Force expected to issue the company a low-rate initial production contract for the type shortly after that milestone.” Defense Daily reports that this week, the USAF said in a statement that “the B-21 is conducting ground taxi activities.” The USAF said, “Rigorous testing is a critical step in the B-21 flight test program. … Extensive testing evaluates systems, components, and functionalities. This testing allows us to mitigate risks, optimize design, and enhance operational effectiveness.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal); More Info (Defense Daily)
Tag: aeronautical engineering
Cosmonauts Find Radiator Coolant Leak on ISS During Spacewalk
Spaceflight Now reports that two Russian spacewalkers “floated outside the International Space Station Wednesday and isolated a leaking radiator as planned, apparently causing residual coolant still trapped inside to make its way to the leak site and spew out into space.” Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko “planned to sop up the pooling coolant with a cloth towel, but was told to leave the area immediately when he reported some of the liquid had made it onto a safety tether.” The tether “was secured in a bag and procedures were already in place to make sure the cosmonauts’ spacesuits were clear of any such contamination before they re-entered the space station at the end of the spacewalk.” In the meantime, Kononenko and crewmate Nikolai Chub “pressed ahead with work to attach a small synthetic aperture radar antenna to the hull of the Nauka module.” One of its four panels “failed to fully deploy and lock in place, and officials said adjustments would be made in a future spacewalk.” Finally, Kononenko and Chub “released a small student-built ‘nanosatellite,’ but the solar sail propulsion system it was designed to test failed to deploy.” After making a final attempt “to coax the balky radar panel into place, the cosmonauts called it a day.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X Engine Passes 2,000 Hour Milestone
Aviation International News reports that Rolls-Royce’s Pearl 10X engine “has now passed the 2,000-hour milestone in ground-testing.” Rated at “more than 18,000 pounds of thrust, the engine met its thrust objectives on its first run and testing has run smoothly to date.” The first flight trials engine “has been delivered from Rolls-Royce’s Dahlewitz factory near Berlin to L3Harris in Waco, Texas, for installation on the company’s Boeing 747 testbed, with a first flight expected before the end of the year.” Flight trials will be “conducted at the Rolls-Royce’s test site in Tucson, Arizona.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
Video
Rolls-Royce’s Most Powerful Pearl 10X Engine Getting Ready for First Flight
(Global Update; YouTube)
NASA, ISS National Lab, and AIAA Team Up for Live Space Station Downlink at 2023 ASCEND
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 18, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The world’s premier outcomes-focused, interdisciplinary space gathering – 2023 ASCEND – will hear directly from the crew onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Each year in Las Vegas, ASCEND brings together space industry professionals, students, and enthusiasts to accelerate building our off-world future.
On Monday morning, 23 October, the event will open with a unique session entitled, “From Dreaming to Doing: Utilizing Creativity and Imagination to Accelerate our Off-World Future,” moderated by Kara Cunzeman, director of Strategic Foresight, The Aerospace Corporation, and ASCEND Guiding Coalition member. The speakers will explore what it means to create and inspire, and why systematic thinking about the future is essential for building humanity’s sustainable off-world future.
During that exciting session, the conference will receive a special call from space, as NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli join ASCEND live from the International Space Station. Cunzeman will lead a discussion with the astronauts on the importance of space exploration, improving diversity in STEM fields, and ways to build our sustainable off-world future through collaboration.
For those planning to attend 2023 ASCEND, the opening session and downlink conversation are set to begin at 0800 hrs PT in the Summit Ballroom, Caesars Forum, Las Vegas. The panelists may be available for potential interviews from media attending the event. Please contact Rebecca Gray, AIAA Director of Communications, at [email protected] to coordinate.
Media Contacts
AIAA: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
ISS National Lab: Patrick O’Neill, [email protected]
About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Lab allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) manages the ISS National Lab, under cooperative agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit www.issnationallab.org.
About ASCEND
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND, which stands for Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery, is the world’s premier collaborative, outcomes-driven, interdisciplinary community designed to accelerate the building of our off-world future. For more information, visit ascend.events, or follow ASCEND on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
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 aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Norwegian Air Force F-35A JSF Demonstrates Ability to Takeoff, Land from Highway
The Drive reports that “Norway has become the first country to demonstrate the ability of the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A Joint Strike Fighter to operate from a highway as part of an exercise in Finland.” Maj. Gen. Rolf Folland, Chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, said in a press release, “This is a milestone, not only for the Norwegian Air Force, but also for the Nordic countries and for NATO. … This demonstrates our ability to execute a concept of dispersal. Fighter jets are vulnerable on the ground, so by being able to use small airfields – and now motorways – [we can] increase our survivability in war.” Norway’s F-35As “have been training to conduct highway operations in Finland this week as part of the latest iteration of that country’s annual Baana road base exercise, which kicked off on Monday.”
Full Story (The Drive)
EASA Submits EVTOL Operating Regulations
Aviation Week reports that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) “proposed rules for the operation of vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft, including air taxis, emphasize the continuing differences in approach by Europe and the U.S. to regulating the emerging industry.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
USAF to Audition $11 Billion B-52 Makeover for Airborne Electronic Attack Platform
Aviation Week reports that as “an $11 billion makeover of Boeing B-52 engines, sensors and electronics continues, the Stratofortress has won a chance to audition for a role as an airborne electronic attack platform.” Next year’s planned demonstration “of an RTX ALQ-249 midband jammer pod proposes a new – albeit slightly familiar – mission for the 71-year-old fleet.” Originally fielded “during the early years of the Cold War as a penetrating strategic bomber, the rechristened B-52J is being upgraded by the Air Force to serve for several more decades as an airborne launcher for dozens of long-range missiles, including the nuclear-tipped RTX AGM-181 Long-Range Standoff Weapon and conventional hypersonic cruise missiles in development.” Now the Air Force “is considering other supporting roles for a 75-strong fleet of eight-engine bombers that can carry up to 70,000-lb. each.” The Air Force “abandoned two attempts to convert B-52s into standoff jammers 15-20 years ago, but it plans to revisit the idea for a third time next year with several new twists.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Bristow Conducts First Flight Test in Beta’s Alia
Aviation Week reports that global helicopter operator Bristow “has conducted its first test flight in Beta Technologies’ Alia in support of its orders for both the conventional- and vertical-takeoff-and-landing versions of the electric aircraft.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Report Says Military, Medevac Segments will Grow Helicopter Demand to $41 Billion by 2027
Aviation International News reports that a new report from consultancy Markets and Markets “predicts a 6.1 percent annual growth rate for the world helicopter market between 2022 and 2027, forecasting a rise in total value to $41.2 billion from the current $31.9 billion in 2023.” The consultancy “cites several factors for the growth including increased demand for military helicopters, air ambulances, law enforcement aircraft, and increased transport needs for oil and gas operations.” It also believes that the “development of unmanned helicopters, hybrid-electric propulsion systems, and advanced avionics” will create “significant market opportunities.” Other reasons for the growth “include the replacement of aged military stock, expansion of emerging country economies and the enhancement of the national defenses, and the development of next-generation aircraft including tiltrotors and compound helicopters.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
Amazon Switches to Atlas V Rocket for First Project Kuiper Satellite Launch
Bloomberg reports Amazon “said it plans to launch the first two test satellites for its Project Kuiper constellation this fall on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, rather than its next-generation Vulcan, as previously planned.” The change “comes amid repeated delays of the debut launch of Vulcan, which has been in development for much of the last decade.” Space News reports spokesman James Watkins said the target launch date is September 26.
Full Story (Bloomberg); More Info (Space News)