Tag: August 2024

Dan Dumbacher Recognized with Allyship Award

AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher is being recognized by Women in Aerospace with their 2024 Allyship Award. This honor is presented to an individual ‘who actively promotes and aspires to advance a culture of inclusion for women through purposeful, positive and intentional efforts that benefit women in the aerospace community’.  We are extremely proud of Dan and his ongoing efforts to advance women in the aerospace community. Congratulations Dan! The award will be presented at the WIA’s 39th Annual Awards Dinner and Ceremony in Arlington, Virginia, on 10 October.
Full Story (WIA)

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus Cargo Freighter Arrives at ISS

SPACE reports, “Northrop Grumman’s robotic Cygnus freighter reached the International Space Station (ISS) early Tuesday morning (Aug. 6), carrying about 4 tons of supplies to the orbiting lab. The Cygnus, which launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday (Aug. 4), was captured by the station’s robotic arm on Tuesday at 3:11 a.m. (0711 GMT), as the duo were flying over the South Atlantic Ocean.”
Full Story (SPACE)

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)

Boeing’s 777-9 Certification Program Paused to Address Engine Component Cracks

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)

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)

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)

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)

Intuitive Machines to Lead Coalition in Pursuit of Taking Over NASA’s VIPER Lunar Rover

Space News reports, “Intuitive Machines says it is organizing a coalition of organizations that will offer to take over a NASA lunar rover mission, launching it on one of the company’s landers. In an Aug. 13 earnings call, Intuitive Machines executives said they were planning to respond to a request for information (RFI). … Steve Altemus, chief executive of Intuitive Machines, said on the call that his company, which also responded to an earlier call for ‘expressions of interest’ from NASA regarding VIPER, is working with other companies, universities and international partners on responding to NASA’s RFI.”
Full Story (Space News)

Piper M700 Cleared for Unpaved Field Operations by FAA

Flying Magazine reports, “Piper Aircraft’s M700 Fury has received FAA approval for unpaved field operations, the company announced Monday. According to Piper, the M700 Fury, which was certified in March, underwent ‘rigorous testing for unpaved field certification.’”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)


Video

Piper Introduces the M700 Fury
(Piper Aircraft, Inc.; YouTube)

Airbus and Astroscale Expand Collaboration On In-Orbit Servicing

Space News reports, “Airbus is expanding its partnership with in-orbit servicing venture Astroscale to explore ways to collaborate beyond potentially removing space junk and refueling satellites. The companies announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Aug. 12 — between Airbus Defense and Space and the Japanese venture’s British subsidiary — to focus on U.K.-based in-orbit servicing and manufacturing opportunities in particular.”
Full Story (Space News)

NASA Issues RFI on Potential VIPER Partnerships

Space News reports, “NASA is requesting concepts from companies and organizations willing to take over a robotic lunar rover that the agency announced last month it would cancel even through it is nearly complete. NASA issued a request for information (RFI) Aug. 9 for the operation of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) spacecraft. NASA announced July 17 it planned to cancel the rover, citing development delays and cost overruns amid broader budget pressures in the agency’s science programs.”
Full Story (Space News)

NASA Shuts Down NEOWISE Spacecraft, Closing More than a Decade of Asteroid Observations

Spaceflight Now reports, “A spacecraft that helped bolster planetary defense is now at the end of its operational mission. On Thursday, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California sent the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft into its final hibernation mode by shutting off its transmitter. The command, issued from the Earth Orbiting Missions Operations Center at JPL, brought to an end more than a decade of observations of comets and asteroids that helped further the understanding of celestial bodies that could potentially pose a threat to Earth.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Starliner Crew May Return Home with SpaceX in 2025

The New York Times reports that for weeks, NASA has downplayed problems experienced by Starliner, but on Wednesday, NASA officials admitted that the issues might be more serious than first thought and that the astronauts might not return on the Boeing vehicle. “The agency is exploring a backup option for the astronauts, Suni Wiliams and Butch Wilmore, to instead hitch a ride back to Earth on a spacecraft built by Boeing’s competitor SpaceX. The astronauts’ stay in orbit, which was to be as short as eight days, could be extended into next year.”
Full Story (New York Times)

Beta Granted FAA Approval to Begin eVTOL Pilot Training

Flying Magazine reports, “Beta will train additional company and FAA personnel using dual controls on its flagship electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) Alia 250. The company on Wednesday said the agency granted it a letter of authorization (LOA) to start dual seat pilot training of “manufacturer and FAA personnel,” such as the aviation safety inspector who will ultimately help certify the aircraft for commercial service.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

NASA Chief to Make Final Call On When Starliner Crew Returns Home

Ars Technica reports, “NASA on Tuesday confirmed that it is delaying the launch of its next astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Crew 9, until at least September 24. This is a significant slip from the previous date of August 18. The space agency said the delay was necessary for ‘operational flexibility’ as it continues to deliberate on the viability of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. In the release, NASA stated, ‘This adjustment allows more time for mission managers to finalize return planning for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test currently docked to the orbiting laboratory.’”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

First MH-139A Grey Wolf Delivered to US Air Force

Defense News reports, “Boeing announced on Monday it has delivered the first production MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter to the U.S. Air Force.” Boeing’s MH-139A Grey Wolf is slated to conduct security patrols at nuclear missile fields, but plans to slash the fleet have triggered cost overruns. “The helicopter will be stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, Boeing said.”
Full Story (Defense News)

U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Tiltrotor Shifts to Next Development Phase

Defense News reports, “The U.S. Army’s future long-range aircraft is moving out of technology development and into the critical engineering and manufacturing development phase, the service announced Friday. The Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program, or FLRAA, is estimated to be worth approximately $70 billion across its lifespan, including foreign military sales, and is set to replace roughly 2,000 Black Hawk utility helicopters.”
Full Story (Defense News)