Tag: aerospace engineering

Rocket Lab Sends First Open Cosmos Satellites Into Polar Orbit

Space News reports, “A Rocket Lab Electron launched the first satellites for a new constellation being developed by Open Cosmos that will use spectrum previously assigned to Rivada Space Networks. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 5:52 a.m. Eastern Jan. 22. It deployed two satellites into a circular polar orbit at an altitude of about 1,050 kilometers one hour and nine minutes after liftoff.”
Full Story (Space News)

Video

RocketLab Electron Launch from New Zealand (Launch takes place at the 23:07 mark)
The Launch Pad | YouTube

Shield AI Co-Founder Shares 10-Year Journey Reimagining Air Power

FROM THE INSTITUTE
When brothers Ryan and Brandon Tseng co-founded Shield AI a decade ago with Andrew Reiter, they did so with a fire in their belly and a clear mission: to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems, buoyed by the belief that “air power is the only way to deter war.”

Falcon 9 Lifts Off from Vandenberg with First West Coast Starlink Mission of 2026

Spaceflight Now reports the Starlink 17-30 mission sent the batch of satellites into a polar low Earth orbit. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from pad 4E “at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 9:47:29 p.m. PST.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Video
SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg. (Launch takes place at the 29:15 mark)
Spaceflight Now; YouTube

The Universe’s First Selfie: The Remarkable Story of the James Webb Space Telescope

FROM THE INSTITUTE
The James Webb Space Telescope was designed over the course of 20 years to accomplish one thing: take the universe’s baby pictures. It has done that and more. Jonathan Arenberg, Fellow and Chief Mission Architect for Science and Robotic Exploration at Northrop Grumman, took the audience at AIAA SciTech Forum on a tour of the origins, specifications, and accomplishments of the 7-ton, 6.6-meter-wide eye.

Leonardo’s Proteus Naval Autonomous Helicopter Makes First Flight

Aviation International News reports, “Leonardo has made the first flight of what it described as the UK’s ‘first autonomous full-size helicopter,’ the ‘Proteus’ technology demonstrator. The milestone was reported on January 16 by the Royal Navy, which is working with the Italy-based aerospace and defense group on the project.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Video
Viral Vantage Vista; YouTube

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.