Space News reports, “A first launch of the Long March 12A Chinese state-owned reusable rocket reached orbit late Monday, but attempted recovery of the first stage downrange failed. The Long March 12A rocket lifted off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Dec. 22 (0200 UTC, Dec. 23) from a dedicated pad at Jiuquan spaceport’s Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Zone. Amateur footage of the launch quickly appeared on Chinese social media.”
Full Story (Space News)
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Tag: aerospace engineering
Astronaut Peggy Whitson to Open AIAA SciTech Forum 2026
Rocket Lab Closes Record-Breaking Year With Successful Electron Launch
Space News reports, “Rocket Lab successfully launched a Japanese radar imaging satellite Dec. 21 in the final flight of a record-setting year for the company. An Electron rocket lifted off at 1:36 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The rocket deployed its payload, the QPS-SAR-15 satellite for Japanese company iQPS, into a 575-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 42 degrees about 50 minutes later. The satellite later made contact with controllers, iQPS said.”
Full Story (Space News – Subscription Publication)
Engineering Societies Unite to Inspire Future Professionals at George Mason University
BAE’s PHASA-35 HAPS Secures Multiyear AFRL Surveillance Contract
Aviation Week reports, “The BAE Systems PHASA-35, an uncrewed, high-altitude, pseudo-satellite (HAPS), will operate monthslong airborne surveillance missions in coordination with U.S. Southern Command under a new contract. Acting on behalf of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), NASA quietly awarded a contract five months ago worth up to $10 million for the PHASA-35 to resume airborne missions operating from July 23, 2025, to April 17, 2030.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Air Unveils and Delivers First Production Air One Cargo Aircraft
Aviation International News reports, “Israeli start-up Air has revealed the first production model of its Air One Cargo eVTOL aircraft and delivered it to an undisclosed launch customer, the company announced on December 17. Before it enters service, the aircraft will make its first flights at a test site in southern Israel.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
AIAA Congratulates Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator
FROM THE INSTITUTE
Jared Isaacman was confirmed as NASA Administrator on 17 December 2025. “Congratulations to Jared Isaacman on his confirmation as NASA’s 15th administrator. His leadership comes at a pivotal time for the agency as it advances ambitious exploration goals, strengthens partnerships across government and industry, and delivers scientific and technological value for the nation.”
SpaceX Pulls Off Dual-Coast Starlink Launch Doubleheader
SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets Wednesday, each carrying Starlink satellites, one from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and another from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. As SPACE reports, “First up was a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 of the broadband internet relay units (Group 6-99) into low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The satellites were successfully deployed about an hour and five minutes after the 8:42 a.m. EST (1342 GMT) liftoff … Then came 27 more Starlink satellites (Group 15-13), riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Lifting off at 10:27 a.m. EST”
Full Story (SPACE – videos)
AIAA Announces Next Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Aircraft
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2025 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce that Rakesh Kapania, Norris and Wendy Mitchell Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Virginia Tech, will serve as the next editor-in-chief of the Journal of Aircraft, with service commencing in January 2026.
Kapania succeeds Mark Drela, Terry J. Kohler Professor of Fluid Dynamics in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who has led the journal since 2023.
The AIAA Publications Committee oversees the search and selection effort for new editors-in-chief. The search committee was led by Misty Davies, NASA Ames Intelligent Systems Division, and an AIAA Publications Committee member. Kapania was chosen from a group of highly qualified candidates.
“Being selected as the Editor-in-Chief of AIAA’s Journal of Aircraft, one of the most prestigious journals in aircraft engineering, is a tremendous honor. Succeeding one of the giants of aircraft engineering, Mark Drela, is very humbling. I am thrilled to take this role at a time when there are enormous ongoing developments in all facets of aircraft engineering, including advanced air mobility, autonomy, artificial intelligence, materials, advanced manufacturing, and hypersonic vehicles.” said Kapania.
Kapania received his doctoral degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University, M.S. from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and B.S. from the Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, India. At Virginia Tech he has taught courses related to aerospace structures and computational methods. His research interests are analysis and design of aerospace structures, computational aeroelasticity, composite structures, multidisciplinary analysis and design optimization, and machine learning. Kapania has published nearly 240 archival journal articles and more than 385 proceeding papers, a significant number of them at AIAA conferences. He has guided/co-guided 59 Ph.D. and 77 M.S. students and 20 Postdoctoral Fellows. Kapania has a long history of service to AIAA, serving on technical committees, two tours of duty as an associate editor of the AIAA Journal, as a member of the editorial advisory board of the AIAA Education Series, and as Faculty Advisor to Virginia Tech’s Design/ Build/Fly team. A winner of the AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Award (2016) and Boeing Welliver Summer Fellowship (1996), Kapania is a Fellow of AIAA and the Royal Aeronautical Society.
The Journal of Aircraft is devoted to the advancement of the applied science and technology of airborne flight through the dissemination of original archival papers describing significant advances in aircraft, the operation of aircraft, and applications of aircraft technology to other fields.
For more information on the Journal of Aircraft, contact David Arthur, Senior Director, Publications.
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. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.
AIAA Statement on Senate Confirmation of Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2025 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) issued the following statement from AIAA CEO Clay Mowry on the United States Senate’s confirmation of Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator:
“Congratulations to Jared Isaacman on his confirmation as NASA’s 15th administrator. His leadership comes at a pivotal time for the agency as it advances ambitious exploration goals, strengthens partnerships across government and industry, and delivers scientific and technological value for the nation.
Administrator Isaacman brings a unique combination of operational and leadership experience to NASA. As a flight-rated pilot and commander of two commercial space missions, he understands the demands of human flight firsthand, both in the atmosphere and in low Earth orbit. We appreciated working with him during ASCEND 2021, where he spoke after his first space flight. Combined with his record of entrepreneurial leadership, his background positions him well to guide NASA through an increasingly complex technical and policy environment.
AIAA looks forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with NASA under his leadership. Our community remains committed to supporting the agency’s mission by strengthening the aerospace workforce, advancing research and innovation, and sustaining U.S. leadership in civil space and aeronautics.”
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, and follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.