Tag: aerospace engineering

Why Wind Tunnels and Aerodynamic Prediction Tools Matter in Aerospace Engineering

FROM THE INSTITUTE
Rich Wahls, Sustainable Flight National Partnership Mission Integration Manager with NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) and AIAA Fellow, delivered the Applied Aerodynamics Award Lecture this week at the 2025 AIAA AVIATION Forum, offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of aerodynamic testing and the future of flight.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

“Live from the ISS”: 2025 ASCEND Opens with ISS Astronauts, A Sit-Down with Axiom Space CEO

FROM THE INSTITUTE
2025 ASCEND opened Tuesday to a packed room of spellbound space industry members as they watched a live linkup with NASA flight engineers – Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers, USAF, and Col. Anne McClain, USA – onboard the ISS. The conversation, facilitated by Dave Cavossa, president of the Commercial Space Federation (CSF), touched on the ISS’s contributions as an orbiting science laboratory over the last 25 years, and key lessons learned that will benefit future orbiting stations.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

SpaceX Launches NASA’s TRACERS Mission to Study the Origins of Space Weather

Ars Technica reports, “Two NASA satellites rocketed into orbit from California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday, commencing a $170 million mission to study a phenomenon of space physics that has eluded researchers since the dawn of the Space Age. The twin spacecraft are part of the NASA-funded TRACERS mission, which will spend at least a year measuring plasma conditions in narrow regions of Earth’s magnetic field known as polar cusps.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Two Powerful Communications Satellites, Lands First Stage Booster

SPACE reports, “A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched two powerful communications satellites on July 22, then aced its landing on a ship at sea. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 5:12 p.m. EDT (2112 GMT), carrying SES’ O3b mPOWER 9 and 10 satellites toward medium Earth orbit (MEO), about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) above our planet.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Technology Can’t Replace Human Pilots, Safety Expert Warns at AIAA AVIATION Forum

FROM THE INSTITUTE
In a stark warning to aviation technologists and policymakers, veteran air safety investigator Greg Feith cautioned against overrelying on automation, emphasizing that human pilots remain critical to aviation safety. Speaking at the 2025 AIAA AVIATION Forum, Feith, a former senior investigator with the NTSB, urged the aviation industry to continue to value human intervention in flight operations at a time when adoption of automation is growing across general and commercial aviation systems.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

AIAA Volunteer Leaders Gather in Las Vegas

FROM THE INSTITUTE
More than 40 volunteer leaders from the United States and Australia met in Las Vegas for the 2025 AIAA Regional Leadership Conference. Attendees heard vital updates from Institute leaders on the new logo and branding rollout, plus details on upcoming events. A powerful aspect of the day was the exchange of best practices, as participants shared insights to support planning events in their local areas.
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Future of Aviation: Where Digital Capabilities Fuel Human-Led Innovation and Expertise

FROM THE INSTITUTE
It’s the year 2050 and in city centers like New York, people are immersed in “vertical living,” with minimal need to go to a surface street to get places. This futuristic vision was how Dr. Tim Persons, a principal and AI leader at PwC with more than three decades of AI and digital experience, opened this year’s AIAA AVIATION Forum at Caesar’s Forum in Las Vegas. “This is science fiction – the question is, how do we convert it to science fact?” he challenged the audience.
Full Story (Aerospace America)