Aviation Week reports, “The first stage of a Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket being prepared for launch on a commercial mission for Lockheed Martin was destroyed Sept. 29 during preflight testing at the company’s Briggs, Texas, facility. ‘During testing at Firefly’s facility in Briggs Texas, the first stage of Firefly’s Alpha Flight 7 rocket experienced an event that resulted in a loss of the stage,’ the company said in a statement.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: aerospace engineering
Blue Origin to Grow New Shepard Fleet
Aviation Week reports, “Blue Origin is developing three new suborbital New Shepard launch systems and mulling expanding flight services beyond West Texas, the company said Sept. 28. The current two-ship fleet will be retired by the end of 2027, with the first of three new spacecraft expected to debut next year, Senior Vice President Phil Joyce said during the Global Spaceport Alliance forum ahead of the International Astronautical Congress being held in Sydney this week.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
B-21 Flight Test Pace Speeds Up as USAF, Northrop Plan to Increase Production
Aviation Week reports, “The second B-21 flight test aircraft has already flown a second time since its delivery sortie from Northrop Grumman to the U.S. Air Force, as the company says the bombers are increasing their pace of tests that have validated their predictions. The company and the service are finalizing plans on how to use congressionally added funds to increase production capacity for the bomber, says Tom Jones, corporate vice president and president of Aeronautics Systems at Northrop Grumman.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Amazon’s Project Kuiper Constellation Reaches 129 Satellites with ULA Launch
Via Satellite reports, “Amazon’s Project Kuiper constellation reaches 129 satellites after United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched another batch on Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was Kuiper’s fifth launch overall, and the third mission with ULA on an Atlas V rocket. Amazon confirmed post-launch the mission was successful. The launch deployed 27 Kuiper satellites to an altitude of 465 kilometers, and they will orbit-raise to their final altitude.”
Full Story (Via Satellite)
Video
ULA Atlas V Launches Project Kuiper (Launch takes place at the 54:45 mark)
NASASpaceflight; YouTube
Boeing Delivers First of Two 777 Jets to China’s Suparna Airlines
Reuters reports, “Boeing delivered on Wednesday the first of two 777 freighters ordered by China’s Suparna Airlines, the U.S. planemaker said on Thursday via its official WeChat account. It marks the first new-build freighter handed to a Chinese carrier since the U.S.-China tariff war began.”
Full Story (Reuters)
SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 28 Starlink Satellites from Cape Canaveral
Spaceflight Now reports the Starlink 10-15 mission came a day after SpaceX launched a trio of spacecraft to study the effects of the Sun. “Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station” took place at 4:39 a.m. EDT.
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Video
SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral (Launch takes place at the 59:47 mark)
Spaceflight Now; YouTube
Archer’s Midnight eVTOL Achieves 7,000-foot Milestone
Military Aerospace reports, “Archer Aviation Inc. in Salinas, Calif., announced that its Midnight aircraft completed its highest altitude flight to date, reaching 7,000 feet as part of ongoing envelope expansion testing.”
Full Story (Military Aerospace)
SpaceX Performs Starship Static Fire Test Ahead of 11th Test Flight
SPACE reports SpaceX performed a full-duration static fire test with its latest Starship spacecraft recently to help gear up for the 11th test flight of the massive “megarocket, which may be just around the corner.”
Full Story (SPACE – with video)
US Air Force Chief Says F-47 is Being Built and Will Make First Flight in 2028
Defense News reports, “The Air Force’s first F-47 fighter is now being built by Boeing, and the advanced jet is expected to have its initial flight in 2028, Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said Monday. Allvin, speaking at the Air and Space Forces’ Air, Space and Cyber Conference, said that Boeing’s team worked quickly to start manufacturing the sixth-generation fighter after their selection was announced in March.”
Full Story (Defense News)
Firefly Aerospace Anticipates Resumption of Alpha Launches Soon
Space News reports, “Firefly Aerospace expects to resume Alpha launches in the ‘coming weeks’ with two flights planned before the end of the year. The company shared details of its return-to-flight efforts during a Sept. 22 earnings call, its first since going public on the Nasdaq Aug. 7.”
Full Story (Space News)