Spaceflight Now reports, “NASA officially selected United Launch Alliance’s Centaur 5 as the upper stage for its Space Launch System rocket starting with the Artemis 4 mission, scheduled to launch no earlier than early 2028. The Centaur 5 was developed as the upper stage of ULA’s Vulcan rocket. The launch vehicle flew four times since its debut in January 2024 and the upper stage performed well across all flights.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Tag: Confirms
Airbus Confirms Air Astana Order for 25 A320neo Family Jets
Aerotime reports, “Airbus has confirmed that Kazakhstan’s flag carrier Air Astana has placed an order for 25 A320neo family aircraft, its largest ever order with the European manufacturer. On March 2, 2026, Airbus announced that five A320neo and 20 A321neo aircraft would be deployed with both Air Astana and its low-cost subsidiary FlyArystan as part of the overall fleet expansion and renewal.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Lockheed CEO Confirms RQ-170’s Role in Complex Maduro Operation
Defense One reports, “An extremely secretive Air Force spy drone was used in the U.S. military’s operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro this month, Lockheed Martin’s CEO confirmed, marking a rare disclosure of the aircraft’s operations.”
Full Story (Defense One)
Rolls-Royce Confirms Completion of Trent 1000 Durability Enhancement Testing
Aviation Week reports, “Rolls-Royce says it has competed certification testing of a major upgrade to the Trent 1000 to address durability problems and is now looking to secure the delayed certification of the so-called Durability Enhancement.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Space Station Cracking Presents “Highest” Risk and Consequence Problem, NASA Confirms
Ars Technica reports, “US space officials do not like to talk about the perils of flying astronauts on the aging International Space Station, elements of which are now more than a quarter of a century old. However, a new report confirms that NASA managers responsible for operating the space station are seriously concerned about a small Russian part of the station, essentially a tunnel that connects a larger module to a docking port, which is leaking. … A new report, published Thursday by NASA’s inspector general, provides details not previously released by the space agency that underline the severity of the problem.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)