Tag: Aerospace Industry News

Delta Rocket Makes Final Flight

Ars Technica reports, “The final flight of United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy rocket took off Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a classified spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. The Delta IV Heavy, one of the world’s most powerful rockets, launched for the 16th and final time Tuesday. It was the 45th and last flight of a Delta IV launcher and the final rocket named Delta to ever launch, ending a string of 389 missions dating back to 1960.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

Videos

Delta IV Heavy launches for final time with secret US spy satellite, 9 April 2024
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

Delta Air Lines Reports Narrow Q1 Profit and Says Travel Demand Remains Strong

The Associated Press reports that Delta Air Lines is reporting a small first-quarter profit and says travel demand is strong heading into summer. The airline’s CEO says recent flight scares seem to be…
Full Story (Associated Press)

Navy Eyes First Test Flight of MQ-25 In Spring 2025

Defense Daily reports, “After Boeing delivered the first MQ-25 Stingray to the Navy in February for testing, a lead official said Monday the service is on schedule for the first flight test with that platform in spring 2025.”
Full Story (Defense News – Subscription Publication)

Russian Space Officials Abort Planned Test Launch of New Heavy-lift Rocket

The Associated Press reports that a Russian Angara-A5 rocket was set to launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome at 5:00 AM ET Tuesday, but the launch was scrubbed just two minutes before liftoff. “Yuri Borisov, head of Roscosmos state space corporation, said the automatic safety system canceled the launch after registering a flaw in the oxidizer tank pressurization system.”
Full Story (Associated Press)

Flying Magazine Takes a First Look at Joby’s eVOTL Future

Flying Magazine reports, “Today, Joby is a roughly $4 billion-cap enterprise on the cusp of its type certification for-credit testing with the FAA on an evolution of the very vehicle [JoeBen] Bevirt envisioned would lift him from that dusty bus stop into the peaceful meadow near his parents’ forest home.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

ULA Vulcan Unlikely to Launch Again Until Fall

Ars Technica reports, “After the impressive debut of the Vulcan rocket in January, it is unclear when the heavy lift vehicle will fly again. The uncertainty is due to a couple of factors, including the rocket’s readiness and, perhaps more critically, what will fly on top of it.”

Full Story (Ars Technica)

China’s Three Major Airlines End 2023 with Losses

Aviation Week reports, “Despite the reopening and relaxing of China’s borders in January 2023, the country’s three state-owned airlines—Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines—all ended 2023 with losses, although these deficits have narrowed.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Falling Chinese Space Junk Creates Spectacular Fireball Over Southern California

SPACE reports, “A big piece of Chinese space junk crashed to Earth over Southern California early Tuesday morning (April 2), putting on quite a show for observers in the Golden State.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Videos

Fireball over California
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

Manufacturing Strategies Highlight Key Difference Between Joby and Archer

Aviation Week reports, “In many ways, Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation are highly similar startups. The two front-runners in the nascent U.S. air taxi market are both developing piloted, four-passenger electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles with the goal of launching commercial service next year.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Gulfstream G700 Achieves FAA Certification

Flying Magazine reports, “Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has obtained FAA type certification for the G700, the Savannah, Georgia-based company announced Friday. The milestone paves the way for deliveries of the long-awaited business jet.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)