SPACE reports, “NASA’s next special delivery to the International Space Station has a launch date, but it’s going to be one for early-birds. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch an uncrewed Dragon cargo ship packed with tons of supplies on Monday, April 21, from the historic Pad 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Liftoff is set for 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 GMT), making it a predawn launch.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Tag: engineering
US Army Begins 3D Printing Swarms of Small Aerial Drones
Breaking Defense reports, “The US Army has begun 3D printing swarms of small aerial drones for soldiers to train against, in anticipation of a decision on how to proceed with an initiative to cheaply and quickly mass produce drones, according to two senior Army leaders.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
SpaceX Astronauts Splash Down in Pacific for First Time
The New York Times reports that four private astronauts ended a mission in a SpaceX vehicle on Friday by splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, marking a first for the company. “The Fram2 mission had circled the Earth for four days in a north-south orbit. The journey was the first time people have been able to look down directly at the North and South Poles from orbit.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)
Video
Fram2 Astronauts Launch on Polar Orbit Mission (Splashdown occurs at 08:12)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)
EVA Air Orders Six A350-1000s and Three A321neo Aircraft
Aerotime reports, “Taiwanese carrier EVA Air has finalized an order for six long-range A350-1000s and three single-aisle A321neo aircraft, completing a deal first revealed by the airline in March 2025. With these new orders, EVA Air’s total aircraft backlog will now include 24 A350-1000s and 18 A321neo aircraft, Airbus announced in a statement on April 7, 2025.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
NASA Demonstrates Its Electric Moon Dust Shield Works on Lunar Surface
SPACE reports, “New shielding technology from NASA that protects against damaging lunar dust just passed a trial run on the moon’s surface, marking an important milestone in the agency’s lunar aspirations. The Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) flew aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost, the first privately funded lunar lander to make a fully successful touchdown on the moon.”
Full Story (SPACE)
First Piloted Hydrogen-Electric Helicopter Flight Takes Place
Aviation Week reports, “The first flight of a hydrogen-powered helicopter has been accomplished in Canada by Unither Bioelectronics. A subsidiary of bioetechnology company United Therapeutics (UT), Unither modified the piston-powered Robinson R44 to hydrogen-electric propulsion using a fuel cell power system.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
US Space Force Selects Rocket Lab and Stoke Space to Compete for Future National Security Launches
SPACE reports, “Private launch companies Rocket Lab and Stoke Space have been selected to compete for future U.S. national security space launches. The two launch companies were awarded ‘National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 contracts’ by the U.S. Space Force on March 27, broadening the military branch’s launch options and strengthening access to space.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Navy Partners with Shift5 to Prevent Future Gearbox Disasters on V-22 Osprey
Defense News reports, “The Navy has awarded defense and aviation technology company Shift5 a contract to test predictive maintenance technology on the V-22 Osprey, which the company hopes might prevent gearbox catastrophes that have proven fatal in recent years.”
Full Story (Defense News)
NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Captures Its First Cosmic Images
SPACE reports, “On April 1, NASA announced its brand new infrared space telescope, SPHEREx, has officially opened its eyes to the cosmos as well. This first light, as it’s called, shows that all of the spacecraft’s systems are working just as expected. ‘Based on the images we are seeing, we can now say that the instrument team nailed it,’ Jamie Bock, SPHEREx’s principal investigator at Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said in a statement.”
Full Story (SPACE)
NASA’s X-59 Supersonic Jet Passes Key ‘Cruise Control’ Test Ahead of First Flight
SPACE reports, “NASA’s new X-59 supersonic jet is a step closer to flight after passing an important ground test in March. Known as “engine speed hold,” the test ensured that the X-59 can maintain a specific speed when it flies for the first time later this year. “Engine speed hold is essentially the aircraft’s version of cruise control,” Paul Dees, NASA’s X-59 deputy propulsion lead at Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, said in a statement. “The pilot engages speed hold at their current speed, then can adjust it incrementally up or down as needed.”
Full Story (SPACE)