Tag: aerospace engineering
U.S. DOT Selects Peraton For ATC Modernization Integrator Role
Aviation Week reports, “Peraton has been chosen as the sole integrator in the ambitious U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) plan to upgrade the country’s air traffic control (ATC) infrastructure by 2029, the agency announced late Dec. 4.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
China Temporarily Without Emergency Launch Capabilities Following Space Station Lifeboat Crisis
Space News reports, “China could be without emergency launch capability to Tiangong space station for months, leaving no rapid-response option for any new crisis following the Shenzhou-20 incident.”
Full Story (Space News)
Honda Plans First Flight of its Full-Scale Hybrid eVTOL Prototype in Early 2026
Aviation International News reports “At the Dubai Airshow, the aviation division of Japanese automotive group Honda finally talked openly about its plans to bring a hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft to market. Until now, the company—which already makes the HondaJet—has been working in stealth mode.”
Full Story (Aviation International News – Subscription Publication)
Video
Honda’s first full-scale hybrid eVTOL prototype to make first flight in Early 2026
AIN; YouTube; Framegrab
Air Force Authorizes SpaceX to Develop SLC-37 in Florida as Starship Launch Site
SPACE reports, “SpaceX just took a big step toward launching its Starship megarocket from Florida. The U.S. Air Force has given SpaceX permission to develop Space Launch Complex-37 (SLC-37) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as a launch site for Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. All 11 of the giant vehicle’s test flights to date have flown from Starbase, SpaceX’s facility in South Texas.”
Full Story (SPACE)
New Boeing CFO Highlights Improved Economic Outlook
Aviation Week reports, “Boeing CFO Jay Malave said Dec. 2 that the company expects to report a $2 billion cash burn for all of 2025, better than predicted before, and that in 2026 it will record low-single-digit billions of dollars of positive free cashflow that grows annually.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
8 Spacecraft Are Docked to the ISS for the 1st Time Ever
SPACE reports, “All eight docking ports for spacecraft on the current configuration of the International Space Station (ISS) are fully occupied for the first time in the complex’s history, NASA officials said in a statement on Monday (Dec. 1).”
Full Story (SPACE)
A Half Century of Deep Space Exploration Is Just the Beginning
FROM THE INSTITUTE
For 50 years, Lockheed Martin and NASA have collaborated to advance understanding of the solar system, designing, building, and operating the spacecraft and instruments that transformed planetary science into precise, data‐driven exploration. During the “50 Years of Deep Space Exploration” session at the HUB during AIAA AVIATION Forum and ASCEND in July, Whitley Poyser, Lockheed Martin’s Director of Deep Space Exploration Mission Segment, traced this partnership from its origins in 1975 through today’s ambitious missions – and offered a glimpse of what lies ahead.
Full Story (Aerospace America)
Airbus Places Cold-Weather Takeoff Restrictions on A320neos Powered by PW1100G Engines
Aerotime reports, “Airbus has introduced new cold-weather takeoff restrictions for A320neo-family aircraft equipped with Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines, following operational issues reported in freezing fog conditions. The new restriction applies to aircraft powered by PW1100G engines and limits takeoffs during freezing fog when the visibility drops below 150 meters. Airbus said it has updated the ground-engine operating procedure for icing conditions, a change intended to reduce the risk of performance degradation during the most severe winter weather.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Russian Launch Site Mishap Leaves Country’s Space Program in Limbo
The New York Times reports, “The launchpad Russia uses for sending astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station is out of commission after a mishap last week during the liftoff of a Soyuz rocket. The rocket itself headed to space without incident, taking three astronauts — Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev of Russia and Chris Williams of NASA — to the space station. But the force of the rocket’s exhaust shoved a service platform used for prelaunch preparations out of its protective shelter. The platform fell into the flame trench below.”
Full Story (New York Times – subscription publication)