SPACE reports, “NASA is asking private industry and academia for ideas for new rescue services for its astronauts on Earth in the event of emergencies during rocket launches, spacecraft free flight or landings.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Tag: aerospace engineering
Joby Performs Piloted eVTOL Aircraft Transition Flights
Aviation International News reports, “Joby Aviation has completed several piloted test flights with its eVTOL aircraft prototype, covering full transition from vertical to cruise flight and back again. On April 29, the company reported that the first such flight happened a week ago on April 22 and that since then, multiple transition flights have been made with three different pilots at the controls.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
US Space Force Develops Framework for War Fighting in Space
SPACE reports that the U.S. Space Force now has an official “Space Warfighting” doctrine outlining how the service “can train and prepare units” for a war fought in space. “The document ‘establishes a common lexicon for counterspace operations’ and lays out a ‘range of responsible offensive and defensive actions Guardians may employ to maintain control of space’ and ensure the success of the U.S. military, according to a Space Force statement.”
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Lockheed to Upgrade F-35 with Sixth-Gen Tech and Turn it into a ‘Ferrari’
Defense News reports, “Lockheed Martin plans to fold technologies it developed in its unsuccessful bid for the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance platform into the F-35 and F-22 Raptor to create a “supercharged” fifth-generation fighter, company executives said. Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet told investors in a Tuesday earnings call the company is not going to challenge the Air Force’s March 21 decision to award the F-47 contract to Boeing. Instead, he said, the company will focus on upgrading the F-35 and F-22 Raptor fighters with sixth-generation technology.”
Full Story (Defense News)
Venus Aerospace in Pursuit of Detonation-Powered Hypersonic Flight
Aviation Week reports, “Rotating detonation engines have huge potential for realizing efficient high-speed flight, but they are proving fiendishly difficult to get right. In the five short years since focusing on the concept, Andrew Duggleby, chief technology officer and co-founder of the pioneering hypersonic propulsion systems developer Venus Aerospace, says he has learned that five key steps are required to make a detonation engine work.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Pulsar Fusion Unveils ‘Sunbird’ Nuclear Rocket Concept Designed to Reach Mars in Half the Time
SPACE reports, “Pulsar Fusion just released a video showcasing its planned Sunbird nuclear fusion rocket, which is designed to reach speeds of about 329,000 mph (500,000 kph). That would make it the fastest self-propelled object ever created by humankind. (NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has reached greater velocities during close solar flybys, thanks to the sun’s powerful gravitational pull.)”
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Video
Pulsar Fusion Sunbird – Migratory Transfer Vehicle
(Pulsar Fusion; YouTube)
Blue Origin Launches All-Woman Crew on NS-31 Mission
Space News reports, “Blue Shepard launched six women, including a pop star and TV show host, on a suborbital flight of the company’s New Shepard vehicle April 14. New Shepard lifted off at 9:30 a.m. Eastern from the company’s Launch Site One in West Texas after a problem-free countdown. The vehicle’s capsule, RSS Kármán Line, reached a peak altitude of 106 kilometers before landing 10 minutes and 21 seconds after liftoff.”
Full Story (Space News)
More Info (AIAA Statement)
Video
Blue Origin’s launch with Katy Perry and Gayle King
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)
NASA’s Deep Space Network to Add New Dish in Australia to Improve Communications with Spacecraft
SPACE reports that NASA’s Deep Space Network is getting a new dish. This one will be at the DSN facility in Canberra, Australia. “The new dish, Deep Space Station 33, will be a 112-foot-wide (34 meters) multifrequency beam-waveguide antenna (BWG), according to the NASA statement.”
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SkyDrive Flies Air Taxi Prototype in Osaka
Aviation International News reports that on April 9, SkyDrive’s three-seat SD-05 eVTOL aircraft prototype made its first public demonstration flights at the World Expo 2025 event in Osaka, Japan. “ During the flight, which lasted about four minutes, the remotely piloted and highly automated aircraft reached an altitude of 5 meters, according to SkyDrive.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
Video
Public Flight of SKYDRIVE Model SD-05
(SkyDrive, Inc; YouTube)
NASA Requests Proposals for Private Astronaut Space Station Mission
Aviation Week reports, “NASA has requested proposals from American-led companies for two private astronaut missions to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of its ongoing strategy to transition the scientific development activities underway aboard the orbital lab to commercially owned and operated successors.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)