Aerospace America reports that Archer Aviation yesterday publicly revealed at its Palo Alto, California facility a production version of the four-seat eVTOL the company aims to get into service in 2025. The version is called Midnight, and flies with fixed-wings with 12 rotors. Six stationary propellers on the wing trailing edges provide lift, while the six others on the wing leading edges tilt forward to transition from hover to cruise flight. “Two doors on each side will accommodate four passengers and a pilot, and large windows will provide a panoramic view for the occupants. ‘The landing gear will keep the fuselage low to the ground, so that stepping aboard will be about like getting into a sport utility vehicle,’ said Julien Montousse, vice president of design and innovation and a former auto designer.”
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Tag: Aerospace America
Is an ‘Industry Killer’ Coming for Advanced Air Mobility?
Aerospace America reports that among the proposed rules “in the United States for the coming class of electric air taxis is one that is striking a particularly sour note for backers of these vertical lift aircraft.” The Federal Aviation Administration’s proposed Special Federal Aviation Regulation, or SFAR, “would require the operators of electrical vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to maintain 30 minutes of reserve power beyond their planned flight times during the day and 45 minutes of reserve power during the night.” The FAA’s caution is “rooted in the long-standing practice that conventionally fueled fixed-wing passenger aircraft must be loaded with enough fuel to fly to the nearest airport in the event of a technical problem en route to a destination.” The reserve rule for eVTOLs and other rules in the SFAR “remain in a legally required comment period that runs through Aug. 14.” Vertical Flight Society Director of Strategy Mike Hirschberg said, “If you have a 45-minute reserve requirement, then your total flight time is zero. That is an industry killer. If that becomes a requirement, there will be no advanced air mobility.”
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Aachen University Wins AIAA’s Design, Build, Fly Competition
Aerospace America reports that RWTH Aachen University of Germany won AIAA’s annual Design, Build, Fly competition, which “challenged students to design, build and test fly an aircraft with simulated electronic warfare components.”
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NASA to Issue Awards Encouraging Companies to Collect Lunar Regolith
Aerospace America reports that NASA “is challenging U.S. and non-U.S. companies to tell it how they would collect between 50 and 500 grams of lunar regolith (three tablespoons to 2.5 cups) and what that would cost.” NASA “will pay between $15,000 and $25,000 for the regolith, Bridenstine said.” Companies “have until Oct. 9 to submit plans for how and when the regolith would be collected. The solicitation specifies only a general timeline and payment structure: The company or companies selected must collect the regolith by 2024 and provide NASA with photos of the regolith and directions for where to find the piles on the lunar surface.” Bridenstine did not give a timeline for when NASA would retrieve the samples collected by the companies.
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Wisk Aero Details Electric Test Aircraft, Production Plans
Aerospace America reported that Wisk Aero “showed off one of the electric test aircraft it has flown over the years and announced plans to reveal in October the first production aircraft of its next-generation design” at its company tent at the Farnborough Airshow. The production model of Wisk’s eVTOL “will have four seats instead of the two in the Cora test aircraft on display.”
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NASA to Dismantle Lunar Gantry Crane at Langley Research Center
Aerospace America reported that NASA plans to demolish the lunar gantry crane, citing “annual maintenance costs and pending corrosion repair.” NASA Office of Strategic Infrastructure Assistant Administrator Joel Carney “informed staff at Langley Research Center about the decision last week.”
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2025 AIAA Awards Gala Held in April
FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA presented its premier awards at the AIAA Awards Gala, 30 April, at Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, DC. The Class of 2025 AIAA Fellows and AIAA Honorary Fellows and AIAA Foundation award and scholarship recipients also were recognized.
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AIAA Council of Directors Positions Open for Nominations Until 30 July
FROM THE INSTITUTE
Nominations are being accepted for Regional Directors, Integration and Outreach Group Directors, and Technical Group Directors for the term May 2026–May 2029. AIAA is also looking for nominations for READ and TAD Chiefs.
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July-September Issue of Aerospace America is Live
The July-September issue of Aerospace America is now live. Don’t miss the cover story, “Wanted: More Eyes in the Skies” by Jen Kirby. The increasing frequency and severity of large wildfires like the ones that devastated parts of LA in January have given fresh energy to researchers and companies who believe drones should play a much larger role in firefighting. Kirby looks at the state of the technology and some of the promising applications.
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Aerospace America Opens the Year with its January–March Issue
FROM THE INSTITUTE
After a landmark year for aerospace, 2026 is shaping up to be even more pivotal. In the first print issue of the year, Aerospace America explores efforts to modernize U.S. air traffic control, the influence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on small drone development, the state of hypersonics research, and much more.
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AIAA Publishes 2025 Year in Review Special Report
FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA has released a special roundup of the year’s biggest aerospace achievements and milestones, authored by AIAA’s technical and integration and outreach committees. From reusable rockets to lunar landings and AI-piloted jets, explore the innovations that shaped the future.
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GOTCHA! Students Capture Malfunctioning Satellite in Spacecraft Control Exercise
FROM THE INSTITUTE
A team of students from the XDLab Group at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has won the third annual Capture the Satellite competition, a game that teaches how to control a spacecraft to avoid obstacles and safely rendezvous with another spacecraft that needs service, on 15 January at AIAA SciTech Forum 2026.
Preserving NASA’s Scientific Mission: Budget Stability, Safety, and the National Interest
FROM THE INSTITUTE
NASA’s scientific enterprise has long served as a cornerstone of American leadership in discovery, innovation, and aerospace safety. Its science portfolio faces growing structural pressures driven not by technical shortcomings, but by budgetary instability, funding misalignment, and an increasingly compressed execution environment. These pressures pose tangible risks not only to mission outcomes, but also to the highly specialized workforce, civil servants, FFRDCs, and industry partners that are required to execute NASA science safely and effectively.
IQT: Seeding Early-Stage Private Sector Innovation into Defense Programs
FROM THE INSTITUTE
QT (In-Q-Tel), the independent strategic investor focused on accelerating national security innovation, was featured in a HUB session at AIAA SciTech Forum 2026 in January. Founded in 1999, IQT serves as an independent, not-for-profit strategic investor that bridges the gap between government needs and rapidly advancing private-sector innovations. Over the past 25 years, IQT has invested in more than 800 startups across the globe, helping fuel the commercial space industry.