Aviation Week reports, “Cracks in engine attachment components that have stalled Boeing’s 777-9 certification program were found in a fourth test aircraft that has not flown in nearly three years, Aviation Week has learned. The latest discovery, on WH004, is expected to help narrow down Boeing’s investigation into the failures in the thrust links—assemblies that connect the airframe with the aircraft’s GE Aerospace GE9X engines.
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: August 2024
NASA Targeting Sept. 6 for Bringing Uncrewed Starliner Back to Earth
Aviation Week reports, “Following its decision to continue the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT) without its crew for safety reasons, NASA on Aug. 29 set the spacecraft’s departure from the International Space Station (ISS) for no earlier than Sept. 6. Starliner’s undocking from the ISS is targeted for 6:04 p…”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Boeing’s 777-9 Certification Program Paused to Address Engine Component Crack
Aviation Week reports, “Cracks in engine attachment components that have stalled Boeing’s 777-9 certification program were found in a fourth test aircraft that has not flown in nearly three years, Aviation Week has learned. The latest discovery, on WH004, is expected to help narrow down Boeing’s investigation into the failures in the thrust links—assemblies that connect the airframe with the aircraft’s GE Aerospace GE9X engines.
Full Story (Aviation Week)
FAA Temporarily Suspends Falcon 9 Launches to Investigate Booster Landing Mishap
Space News reports, “Falcon 9 launches are temporarily on hold as the Federal Aviation Administration looks into any public safety implications of the failed landing of a booster early Aug. 28. In an Aug. 28 statement, the FAA stated it was aware of the incident earlier that day when a Falcon 9 booster landed on a droneship on an otherwise successful launch of 21 Starlink satellites. Upon landing, flames erupted from the booster’s base and the vehicle tipped over seconds later.”
Full Story (Space News)
Video
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 22 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
Boeing Boosts Its Forecast for China’s Commercial Jet Fleet Demand
MarketWatch reports, “China will more than double its commercial airplane fleet by 2043, says Boeing, thanks to the expansion of the aviation industry to meet growing passenger travel and cargo demand. The U.S. plane maker said Tuesday in its annual 20-year forecast that China will need 8,830 new commercial airplanes through 2043, up from its 8,560…”
Full Story (MarketWatch)
SpaceX Falcon 9 Booster Explodes on Droneship, Ending String of 267 Successful Landings
Spaceflight Now reports, “Update 5:20 a.m. EDT: SpaceX is scrubbing the Starlink 9-5 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base to allow more time to review the data from the B1062 landing failure. For the first time in more than three years, SpaceX lost one of its reusable Falcon 9 boosters during a landing attempt amid the Starlink 8-6 mission on Wednesday morning. As it was touching down on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ a green flash could be seen around the Merlin engines before the engine section was engulfed in flames and the booster toppled over and exploded.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Video
SpaceX Falcon 9 Booster Explodes on Droneship (1:16:36 mark)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
Boom Eyes Third XB-1 Test Flight After Successful Second Sortie
Flight Global reports, “Boom Supersonic’s successful second test flight of its XB-1 demonstrator on 26 August positions the company to accelerate the pace of the flight-test programme, with a third flight potentially coming next month.”
Full Story (Flight Global – Subscription Publication)
Helium Leak Causes Delay of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Astronaut Launch Until August 28
SPACE reports that SpaceX has pushed the launch of the historic Polaris Dawn astronaut mission back 24 hours, to Wednesday morning (Aug. 28), due to a helium leak. “’Teams are taking a closer look at a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect umbilical. Falcon and Dragon remain healthy and the crew continues to be ready for their multi-day mission to low Earth orbit,’ SpaceX announced in an X post on Monday evening (Aug. 26).”
Full Story (SPACE)
Electric-plane Future Poised to Take Off
CBS News reports that advances being made in aviation technology allow a plane to be powered by batteries, promising a more environmentally-friendly, quieter and cheaper ride. Beta’s CEO and founder Kyle Clark said with batteries improving every year, “he believes that, in the-not-distant future, we will be flying on electric-powered jetliners.”
Full Story (CBS News)
NASA Confirms Boeing Starliner Astronauts Will Return Home on SpaceX Dragon in 2025
SPACE reports that NASA decided Saturday (Aug. 24) to return its two Boeing Starliner astronauts to Earth in February 2025. Their Starliner capsule will come back empty over thruster concerns. “NASA and Boeing jointly decided that Williams and Wilmore will not head back to Earth aboard the same Starliner capsule that brought them to the ISS. Rather, they will climb aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule for their descent to our planet, a vessel dedicated to the Crew-9 mission set to launch in September that will be modified to accommodate the Starliner astronauts.”
Full Story (SPACE)