Aviation Week reports, “In a relatively complex mission, the first Ariane 6 medium- to heavy-lift launcher placed payloads into orbit in its debut flight July 9 and partially demonstrated its technology features. In a two-booster version, the so-called Ariane 62 lifted off at 4 p.m. local time (3 p.m. EDT) from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
First launch of ESA’s Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
Flying Magazine reports that Lilium partner UrbanLink Air Mobility “on Tuesday announced a partnership with California-based vertiport developer and operator Skyway Technologies to install eVTOL hubs in South Florida and Puerto Rico. The partners plan to release more information on locations and routes in those markets in the coming months, with plans to launch service in 2026.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dr. Axelrad’s address, “The Evolution and Impact of Global Navigation Satellite Systems,” set for Oct. 1, 2024
July 10, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) are pleased to announce that Penina Axelrad, distinguished professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Yvonne C. Brill Lectureship in Aerospace Engineering.
Dr. Axelrad will present her lecture, “The Evolution and Impact of Global Navigation Satellite Systems,” on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 11 a.m. ET, in conjunction with the NAE Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Registration for this lecture is free and open to the public.
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) provide the basis for smartphones to effectively guide us to our destinations, safe and flexible navigation for tens of thousands of airline flights per day, seamless synchronization of power grids, and precise timing of financial transactions. GNSS also enable scientific observation of Earth’s variable gravity field, soil water content and vegetation, and even Earth’s atmosphere and ocean surface winds. Dr. Axelrad’s lecture will discuss what we can learn from the remarkable evolution of a military navigation system into a global utility, and will explore where today’s advances in the utilization of signals-of-opportunity, optical communications, atomic clocks, and quantum sensing might lead.
Dr. Axelrad is a distinguished professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985 and 1986, respectively. In 1991, she earned her doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University.
Since 1992, she has been a faculty member in aerospace engineering sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, with a focus on astrodynamics and satellite navigation, and she served as department chair from 2012 to 2017. She has supervised 26 doctoral graduates and taught courses on topics including GPS, dynamics and systems, spacecraft dynamics, and estimation.
Axelrad and her students have made key contributions to GPS receiver autonomous integrity monitoring, GPS-based attitude determination, the characterization of multipath effects in GPS measurements, the utilization of reflected GPS signals for remote sensing of Earth’s surface, and direct positioning. Her current research interests include new technologies and algorithms for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) in space, airborne, and land environments.
Axelrad is a member of the NAE and an AIAA Fellow. She also is a fellow of the Institute of Navigation (ION). She is a past recipient of the AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award, the ION Johannes Kepler Award, and the Women in Aerospace Educator Award.
AIAA, with the participation and support of the NAE, created the Yvonne C. Brill Lectureship in Aerospace Engineering to honor the memory of the late pioneering rocket scientist, AIAA Honorary Fellow, and NAE member Yvonne C. Brill. Brill was best known for developing a revolutionary propulsion system that remains the industry standard for geostationary satellite station-keeping. The lectureship emphasizes research or engineering issues for space travel and exploration, aerospace education of students and the public, and other aerospace issues such as ensuring a diverse and robust engineering community.
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AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270
NAE Media Contact: Sabrina Steinberg, [email protected], 202.334.2622
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
About NAE
Founded in 1964, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is a private, independent, nonprofit institution that provides engineering leadership in service to the nation. The mission of the NAE is to advance the welfare and prosperity of the nation by providing independent advice on matters involving engineering and technology, and by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and public appreciation of engineering. Follow NAE on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Flying Magazine reports that NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or NEOWISE, “has taken millions of infrared measurements and studied tens of thousands of asteroids, comets, stars, galaxies, and other objects.” In late 2024 or early 2025, the spacecraft “is expected to come home in pieces following the conclusion of its second mission later this month.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
Reuters reports, “Airbus confirmed on Monday it had delivered 323 airplanes in the first half of the year, up 2% from 316 in the same period of 2023. The world’s largest planemaker also said in a monthly bulletin that it had won 327 gross orders in the first six months of 2024, or a net total of 310 after cancellations.”
Full Story (Reuters)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and Blue Origin’s non-profit Club for the Future are pleased to announce the recipient of their 2024 Resilient Student Scholarship is Rylie Tatum from Mableton, GA. Rylie is a recent high school graduate of The Lovett School, Atlanta, GA. She will attend Princeton University in the Fall.
“We created the AIAA and Club for the Future’s Resilient Student Scholarship with a strong commitment to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the aerospace industry. As our newest scholarship, it’s specifically designed to empower and inspire students who have faced unique challenges including disabilities and socioeconomic circumstances, as well as first-generation college students. We’re thrilled to present this $10,000 scholarship and a professional mentor to Rylie. We can’t wait to see how she shapes the future of aerospace,” said Laura McGill, chair, AIAA Foundation.
Throughout high school, Rylie took the highest-level STEM courses available. She formed a robotics team at her school and has been captain of the FIRST Tech Challenge team for three years. In this role, she encourages and leads a female team. At the 2022 FIRST National Championships, Rylie conducted a presentation, “Where Are All of the Black Girls in Robotics,” where she highlighted academic research and her personal experiences to illustrate how to support and motivate girls to get into robotics.
When Rylie realized that a lack of feminine care products leads to young women missing out on their education, she began creating an app to network organizations across Atlanta to increase product access for them. “As a Black girl interested in engineering, I have experience in being the only representation in the room, but a lack of women in the engineering field partially stems from female students avoiding STEM-related classes,” noted Rylie. “Constant absenteeism for a week per month results in discouragement for aspiring female engineers, so the idea of period poverty restricting others from studying engineering prompted me to take action.” Over the last three years, she has led annual feminine care drives with the Girl Up club to provide 18,000 products and benefit 4,000 girls. She also hopes to design period product dispensers that will use sensors, capture datasets for trends, and use automation to solve a significant problem that does not receive the visibility and investment that it deserves.
Rylie’s ultimate goal is to earn her Ph.D. in Aerospace, Astronautical, or Mechanical Engineering to conduct colonization models on the moon. She aspires to be the first African American female astronaut of Caribbean descent to work on the moon or Mars and encourage and enable the next generation of STEMinists.
“We are incredibly proud to award Rylie Tatum with this scholarship, recognizing her remarkable achievements in advocating for young women,” said Michael Edmonds, President of Club for the Future. “Our collaboration with AIAA to create the Resilient Student Scholarship is focused on fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within STEAM careers. Rylie is already an inspiration for the next generation, and we look forward to seeing her impact grow. Congratulations, Rylie!”
The 2025 Resilient Student Scholarship will be open for applicants in December 2024.
Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
AIAA is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
About Club for the Future
Founded by Blue Origin, Club for the Future is a non-profit with the mission to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue careers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) for the benefit of Earth. The Club and its partners are doing this through the Postcards to Space program, providing space-focused lessons and events, and activating ambassadors around the world.
SPACE reports, “Two Chinese astronauts continued installing space debris protection outside the nation’s Tiangong space station” during a July 3 EVA. “Ye Guangfu and Li Cong, two members of the three-person Shenzhou 18 mission, spent about 6.5 hours working outside Tiangong on Wednesday (July 3). Li Guangsu assisted the expedition from inside Tiangong, operating the station’s robotic arm.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Breaking Defense reports, “A reprogramming request recently submitted to Capitol Hill by the Pentagon asks for permission to shift an additional $150 million into the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, a budget increase of nearly 40 percent.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
SPACE reports, “Boeing’s Starliner capsule is performing well enough on its first-ever astronaut mission that it will likely be able to stay in orbit beyond the initially envisioned 45-day limit, NASA says. Starliner, which launched on June 5, is docked at the International Space Station(ISS) on an indefinite mission extension.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Aviation Week Network reports, “American Airlines has signed a conditional purchase agreement with ZeroAvia for 100 hydrogen-electric engines to power regional jets. The airline has also increased its investment in the U.S.-UK startup.”
Full Story (Aviation Week Network)