Aviation Daily reports, “The United States Air Force has awarded Boeing a massive $2.4 billion contract for the continued development and production of the E-7A Wedgetail. This investment marks a critical milestone in replacing the aging AWACS fleet with a modern airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform to maintain air superiority.”
Full Story (Aviation Daily)
Tag: Aerospace News
Goddard’s Legacy at 100: Liquid Propulsion Still Driving NASA’s Artemis Ambitions
SPACE reports, “100 years ago, a liquid-fueled rocket flew into the sky for the very first time. The unlikely contraption was designed by Clark University physics professor Robbert Goddard, and launched from a cabbage field in Auburn, Massachusetts on March 16, 1926.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Joby Aviation Demonstrates Electric Air Taxi Flights Over San Francisco Bay
AVWEB reports, “Joby Aviation has completed a series of demonstration flights across the San Francisco Bay Area, showcasing its electric air taxi in one of the nation’s most congested cities.” The “aircraft (N545JX) departed from Oakland International Airport, flew across the Bay toward the Golden Gate Bridge, and turned above the Marin Headlands.”
Full Story (AVWEB)
NASA Begins Assembly of Nuclear-Powered Dragonfly Drone for 2028 Titan Mission
SPACE reports, “NASA is one step closer to sending a drone mission to another world. Technicians at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland have begun building and testing the nuclear-powered Dragonfly rotorcraft, which will launch toward the huge Saturn moon Titan in 2028.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Joby Advances Toward Certification with First FAA-Conforming Flight Tests
Aviation News Daily reports, “Joby Aviation has officially commenced flight testing of its first FAA-conforming aircraft, marking a critical advancement toward Type Inspection Authorization (TIA)and commercial passenger service. This development coincides with a major White House-backed initiative that allows mature eVTOL designs to begin early operations across the United States this year.”
Full Story (Aviation News Daily)
Podcast: Axiom CEO Discusses the Next Wave of Commercial Activity in LEO
Space News reports, “In this episode of the Space News Space Minds podcast, host David Ariosto talks with Jonathan Cirtain, CEO and President of Axiom Space. They discuss the challenges — and wonders — of launching a career in an evolving space industry; a key financial sign that the space economy is maturing; and how a commercial presence in low Earth orbit can prepare humanity to explore farther into space.”
Full Story (Space News)
B-21 Raider Reaches Key Milestone With Tanker Refueling Trials
Defense One reports, “Key refueling-related tests for the B-21 Raider are now underway, an Air Force spokesperson confirmed to Defense One, the latest milestone towards delivering the next-generation bomber by 2027. On Tuesday, several open-source intelligence accounts and plane spotters posted images of a B-21 approaching a KC-135 tanker over California”
Full Story (Defense One)
Firefly Alpha Returns to Flight With Successful Orbital Launch
SPACE reports, “Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket launched for the seventh time ever today (March 11), bouncing back from two explosive mishaps in 2025.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Video
Firefly’s Alpha rocket launches from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. (Launch occurs at the 00:29 mark)
VideoFromSpace; YouTube
Dassault Unveils Falcon 10X as First Flight Nears
Aviation Week reports, “Dassault Aviation unveiled the long-awaited Falcon 10X business jet as it prepares for an intense period of flight trials to finally get the product into user hands. The Falcon 10X is Dassault’s biggest bet yet on the business jet market, both literally and figuratively. The clean-sheet design marks the French manufacturer’s entry into an entirely new segment of flying with an aircraft that retails for around $80 million, before full cabin fitting.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Video
Dassault’s New Falcon 10X Business Jet makes its debut.
AIN; YouTube
NASA Satellite Reentry Expected to Exceed Agency Risk Threshold
Ars Technica reports, “A NASA satellite that spent more than a decade coursing through the Van Allen radiation belts encircling Earth is about to fall back into the atmosphere. Most of the spacecraft will burn up during reentry, but a fraction of the material making up the 1,323-pound (600-kilogram) satellite will likely reach Earth’s surface without vaporizing in the atmosphere. Uncontrolled reentries of satellites with comparable mass happen quite regularly—multiple times per month, according to one recent study—but most of them are older spacecraft or spent rocket bodies.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)