Ars Technica reports, “In recent weeks, copies of an intriguing policy document have started to spread among space lobbyists on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The document bears the title ‘Athena,’ and it purports to summarize the actions that private astronaut Jared Isaacman would have taken, were his nomination to become NASA administrator confirmed. The 62-page plan is notable both for the ideas to remake NASA that it espouses as well as the manner in which it has been leaked to the space community.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
Tag: aerospace engineering
Anduril’s YFQ-44A Drone Wingman Prototype Makes First Flight
Breaking Defense reports, “Defense tech startup Anduril’s prototype bid for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program achieved its first flight, the service announced [Friday]. The YFQ-44A drone flew ‘at a California test location’ at an undisclosed time today, the Air Force said in a press release. The drone is the second to reach the flight testing stage for the Air Force’s drone wingman program, following General Atomics’s YFQ-42A that took off for the first time in August.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
Toronto Metropolitan University Student Branch: Building a Professional Community
Blue Origin Successfully Test-Fires New Glenn Rocket Engines at Cape Canaveral
Ars Technica reports, “The road to the second flight of Blue Origin’s heavy-lifting New Glenn rocket got a lot clearer Thursday night with a success test-firing of the launcher’s seven main engines on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Standing on a seaside launch pad, the New Glenn rocket ignited its seven BE-4 main engines at 9:59 pm EDT Thursday (01:59 UTC Friday). The engines burned for 38 seconds while the rocket remained firmly on the ground, according to a social media post by Blue Origin.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
Washington 101 for the Next Generation of Aerospace Innovators
FROM THE INSTITUTE
As commercial spaceflight expands and small satellites reshape the space economy, one reality remains unchanged: policy discussed in Washington, DC, matters. This was AIAA’s Director of Public Policy & Government Relations Ryan Cooperman’s core message at the SmallSat Education Conference at NASA Kennedy Space Center, where he joined over 700 students and educators passionate about space. He offered a crash course on the U.S. legislative process in which he discussed how policy is made, who shapes it, and why it matters to the future of aerospace.
Full Story (Aerospace America)
ISS Marks 25 Years of Uninterrupted Human Presence in Orbit
AP News reports, “It’s an unprecedented space streak: 25 years of people living off-planet without even a moment’s pause. The International Space Station marks a quarter-century of continuous occupancy this weekend, boasting a guest list of nearly 300 — mostly professional astronauts but also the occasional space touristand movie director. The first full-time residents opened the hatch on Nov. 2, 2000.”
Full Story (AP News)
USAF Considering Expanding CCA Pairing Capabilities Beyond F-22
Aviation Week reports, “The U.S. Air Force is only set, for now, to pair Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) with the Lockheed Martin F-22, though consideration is still ongoing for the rest of its fighter types. The service in a new report to Congress says the Raptor is the ‘threshold platform’ for CCA, though integration with F-16s, F-35As, F-15Es and F-15EXs is an emerging consideration. Uncrewed aircraft will eventually be paired with the upcoming Boeing F-47.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Japan’s HTV-X Spacecraft Arrives at International Space Station
Ars Technica reports, “A cargo ship from Japan pulled alongside the International Space Station on Wednesday, maneuvering close enough for the lab’s robotic arm to reach out and grab it as the vehicles soared 260 miles over the South Atlantic Ocean. ‘HTV capture complete,’ Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui radioed from the ISS. ‘I just want to say congratulations to all teams and people involved in this mission. Also, thank you very much for your hard work and support for the first HTV-X mission.’”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
Russian Cosmonauts Perform Spacewalk Outside ISS to Install Experiments
SPACE reports Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky completed a 6 hour and 54-minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station “on Tuesday (Oct. 28) to continue and expand on the work they began during an extravehicular activity (EVA) on Oct. 16.”
Full Story (SPACE)
NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Research Aircraft Performs First Flight
Aviation Week reports, “NASA began flight tests of its needle-nosed X-59 Quesst quiet supersonic research aircraft with a 1 hr. 7 min. initial sortie from Palmdale, California, to the nearby Edwards AFB on Oct. 28. Flown by NASA X-59 lead pilot Nils Larson, the much-anticipated first flight of the Lockheed Martin-built aircraft began at 8:14 a.m. Pacific time with an unrestricted climb from Palmdale’s 12,000 ft.-long runway 07/25.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)