Wisk Aero’s Generation 6 aircraft
Wisk Aero | YouTube
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2026 – Reston, Va. – AIAA is pleased to welcome NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman back to the ASCEND stage to open ASCEND 2026 at 8 a.m., Tuesday, 19 May, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC. Isaacman first appeared at ASCEND in 2021, just after returning from commanding Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight.
Registration for ASCEND 2026 is available online. Journalists should request a Press Pass.
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND is the world’s premier outcomes-focused, interdisciplinary space event designed to accelerate building our off-world future. Lockheed Martin is the Founding Sponsor of ASCEND. For ASCEND 2026, Commercial Space Federation (CSF) is the Premier Event Partner. Event partners include: BryceTech, ISS National Laboratory, Novaspace, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Space Force Association (SFA), Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), and The Aerospace Corporation.
Since 2020, ASCEND has promoted the collaborative, interdisciplinary, outcomes-driven community of professionals, students, and enthusiasts around the world who are accelerating humanity’s progress toward our off-world future.
Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
AIAA is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With more than 33,000 individual members from 91 countries, and over 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. Visit www.aiaa.org or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Space News reports, “Voyager Technologies says it is ready should NASA change plans for supporting development of commercial space stations. In March, NASA outlined a proposed new direction for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations, or CLD, program. The agency, outlining its concerns that a commercial market for space stations had not emerged, said it was considering instead procuring a new “core module” for the International Space Station that commercial modules could attach to as a precursor to standalone stations.”
Full Story (Space News)
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory will bring a full day of programming to ASCEND 2026 on Tuesday, 19 May, plus nearly 60 technical papers on ISS utilization and space-based research expected to be presented on Wednesday and Thursday, 20–21 May. From microgravity-enabled medical breakthroughs to startup innovation in low Earth orbit (LEO), the ISS National Lab sessions are designed to show how researchers and commercial players alike are using the orbiting laboratory as an engine for science, technology, and a sustainable space economy.
FROM THE INSTITUTE
Discover how aviation is transforming at AIAA AVIATION Forum 2026. Join industry leaders, government officials, and academic experts in San Diego, a premier aviation center, to examine the next-generation technologies and strategies that are reshaping the industry.
Defense News reports, “The U.S. Air Force approved low-rate initial production of Boeing’s T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer, setting the stage for the long-awaited replacement of the service’s 60-year-old T-38 Talon. The April 23 decision authorizes a $219 million contract for the first 14 aircraft, along with spares, support equipment and training, the Air Force announced Monday. The service is targeting initial operational capability in 2027.”
Full Story (Defense News)
SPACE reports astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have directly analyzed the surface of a distant super-Earth, revealing a dark, airless, Mercury-like world.
Full Story (SPACE)
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The next era of space starts here. SGx 2026: Inventing New Orbits brings together students, young professionals, and leaders from NASA, Blue Origin, Airbus, Northrop Grumman, and beyond for two days of TEDx-style talks, hands-on workshops, and high-voltage networking at the Washington Hilton. Catch a National Geographic screening on Sally Ride, compete in the space art competition, and hear what’s next straight from the people building it. Early bird pricing ends 10 May.
Breaking Defense reports, “The Navy is seeking to purchase P-8A Poseidon aircraft once again, after pausing procurement in fiscal 2025 and FY26, this year’s budget request shows. The FY27 budget request, released in April, requests 12 new P-8A aircraft for just over $4.2 billion. The Navy said that FY27 is the last planned year of production, and that the last aircraft delivery is expected in the first quarter of FY32.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched 45 payloads on an overnight rideshare mission aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Station early Sunday morning. The mission, dubbed CAS500-2, is named for the primary payload called Compact Advanced Satellite 500-2 from the Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KAI). It’s the second of two satellites that KAI calls Phase 1 of its CAS500 program, which is designed for ‘precision ground-based observation.'”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Spaceflight Now; YouTube