Defense News reports, “The Army has ordered an aviation “safety stand up,” with additional aviation training across the force following a dozen mishaps that have resulted in 10 fatalities in only the first six months of the fiscal year. By comparison, the Army had 10 mishaps and 14 fatalities for all fiscal 2023.”
Full Story (Defense News)
Tag: Aerospace Industry News
Boeing to Launch First Crewed Test Flight Tonight
The Washington Post reports, “A decade after NASA awarded Boeing a contract to fly astronauts to the ISS, Boeing will finally attempt to fly its Starliner spacecraft with people onboard. If all goes to plan, at 10:34 p.m. on Monday, the company is set to fly a pair of veteran astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, on a mission that will be one of the most significant tests for Boeing’s space division — and for NASA — in years.”
Full Story (Washington Post)
Boeing Starliner Crewed Test Flight Passes Critical Review
Space News reports, “The first crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is a step closer to launch after completing a major pre-launch review April 25. NASA announced at an April 25 briefing that, at the completion of the two-day Flight Test Readiness Review, officials approved plans to proceed with the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, with a launch scheduled for 10:34 p.m. Eastern May 6 from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex (SLC) 41.”
Full Story (Space News)
SpaceX Has Nearly 6,000 Starlink Satellites on Orbit Following Sunday’s Falcon 9 Launch
Spaceflght Now reports that the milestone comes as a result of the 34th dedicated Starlink launch of the year for SpaceX. “Liftoff of the Starlink 6-58 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 8:53 p.m. EDT (0053 UTC). This was SpaceX’s 34th dedicated Starlink launch of 2024,” which placed another 23 Starlink satellites into orbit, bringing the total number in orbit to 5,999.
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Video
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
Crewed Starliner Launch Scrubbed Due to Valve Issue
Space News reports, “Controllers scrubbed the first attempt to launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner on a crewed test flight May 6 because of a valve problem with the rocket, delaying the launch by at least four days. The launch director for the Atlas 5 rocket called for the scrub a little more than two hours before the scheduled 10:34 p.m. Eastern launch of the Crew Flight Test mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.”
Full Story (Space News)
SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches on Next Starlink Mission
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX completed its latest Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A NASA’s Kennedy Space Center early Wednesday evening. The Starlink 6-51 mission came about a week-and-a-half after the launch of its first Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission from that same launch pad.” Liftoff occurred at 5:26 p.m. EDT.
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Video
SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 with 23 Starlink satellites from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
NASA’s Viper Moon Rover Undergoing Preparations for Mission Later this Year
SPACE reports that with its “mighty mast,” NASA’s Polar Exploration Rover dubbed VIPER continues to be prepped for its mission to the moon slated for late 2024. It has “earned its ‘neck’ and ‘head,’ aka its ‘mast,’ meaning it now stands proudly at 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall.”
Full Story (SPACE)
SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Galileo Satellites from KSC
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX hit some notable milestones with the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Saturday. Most notably, the weekend flight marked the first time that the European Commission’s Galileo satellites (similar to the United State’s Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites) launched onboard an American-made rocket and from U.S. soil.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Video
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Florida with navigation satellites for Europe
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
Archer, Joby to Provide Air Taxi Service in Abu Dhabi
Flying Magazine reports, “Two titans in the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi industry are building on their previously announced plans to serve the United Arab Emirates. At the inaugural DriftX conference in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation, both headquartered in California, signed agreements with Abu Dhabi government agencies to introduce their respective air taxis in the Emirate.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
Army Partners with Electra.aero for Electric Aircraft Testing
Flying Magazine reports, “The Army on Thursday awarded a $1.9 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Electra.aero, the manufacturer of a nine-passenger, hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) design, to perform powered wind tunnel testing. The manufacturer’s flagship, hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft requires only the space of a soccer field to launch and touch down.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
NASA Might Adjust Artemis III to Have Starship and Orion Dock in Low-Earth Orbit
Ars Technica reports that NASA “is privately considering modifications to its Artemis plan to land astronauts on the surface of the Moon later this decade. Multiple sources have confirmed that NASA is studying alternatives to the planned Artemis III landing of two astronauts on the Moon, nominally scheduled for September 2026, due to concerns about hardware readiness and mission complexity.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
FAA Updates Policy to Require Reentry Licensing
Aviation Week reports, “After Varda Space’s reentry capsule got stuck in orbit for eight months without permission to return to Earth, the FAA has updated its policy and will no longer allow return capsules to launch into space without reentry authorization.”
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US Navy Receives First Two Textron T-54s
Janes reports, “US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) accepted delivery of the first two Textron T-54 Multi-Engine Training System (METS) aircraft at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi, Texas, the service announced on 22 April. The aircraft are set to begin training students at NAS Corpus Christi’s Training Air Wing Four in boreal spring 2025.”
Full Story (Janes)
Gulfstream Delivers First Two G700s
Aviation International News reports, “Gulfstream Aerospace has delivered the first two $75 million G700s to customers, the Savannah, Georgia-based aircraft manufacturer said yesterday afternoon. Both are now in service with undisclosed customers in the U.S. The company’s 7,750-nm flagship aircraft received FAA approval on March 29, followed by production certification and cabin interior approval on April 8.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
NASA and Rocket Lab Launch Solar Sail
The New Zealand Herald reports, “NASA has launched its new solar sail mission from Mahia Peninsula. Once at a Sun-synchronous orbit, about 1000 km above Earth, the spacecraft will deploy its sails and use the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, instead of rocket fuel. If the microwave oven-sized CubeSat is successfully deployed, the operation would be a precursor to larger-scale missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA said.”
Full Story (New Zealand Herald)
Blue Ghost Mission 1 to Deliver NASA Electric Moon Dust Shield
SPACE reports, “NASA is sending a technology demonstrator to the moon on the upcoming private Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 in order to test how to repel and remove lunar dust using electricity … The EDS system will fly aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, which will put a lunar lander on the moon’s surface later in 2024. A total of ten agency payloads will launch to the moon on Blue Ghost Mission 1, including the EDS prototype.”
Full Story (SPACE)
US Navy Looking at Adding Sierra Nevada to Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS
Flight Global reports, “The US Navy (USN) has been in discussions with Sierra Nevada about adding the company to the service’s Blue Water Maritime Logistics Unmanned Aerial System…”
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U.S. Coast Guard Re-ups Arriel Support Contract with Safran
Aviation International News reports, “Safran Helicopter Engines will continue to support its Arriel engines powering U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) MH-65 helicopters, following the renewal of its support-by-the-hour (SBH) contract. More than 240 Arriel engines are covered under the five-year renewal period. Engine support will be provided by Safran Helicopter Engines USA in Grand Prairie, Texas.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
CST-100 Starliner Arrives at Pad for Crewed Test Flight
Space News reports, “Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is now installed on the Atlas 5 rocket that will launch the spacecraft on a crewed test flight to the International Space Station next month. The spacecraft rolled out from Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center to Space Launch Complex 41 in the early morning hours April 16.”
Full Story (Space News)
Wilbur Air to Partner with Electra for 100 Aircraft
FlightGlobal reports, “Newly launched Australian start-up Wilbur Air has ambitious plans for electric aviation operations on the continent using an envisioned system of “mini-airports.” The fledgling operator is a subsidiary of Australian air taxi infrastructure developer Skyportz. Wilbur Air’s first publicly disclosed partner is Virginia-based Electra.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal – Subscription Publication)