SPACE reports, “At long last, particles of water–ice have been discovered in the frozen Kuiper Belt of another star. The discovery, made by the James Webb Space Telescope, is a major step forward in filling in gaps in our understanding of how exoplanets develop.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Tag: engineering
Joby Achieves Testing Milestone with Simultaneous Flight of Two eVTOL Aircraft
CompositesWorld reports, “Joby Aviation Inc. (Santa Cruz, Calif., U.S.) has successfully flown two of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft simultaneously for the first time, marking another important milestone in the company’s flight testing program.”
Full Story (CompositesWorld)
Video
Joby Aviation’s Two Aircraft Flight
(Joby Aviation; YouTube)
Venus Aerospace Conducts Landmark 1st Launch with Potentially Revolutionary Rocket Engine
SPACE reports, “Houston-based startup Venus Aerospace has completed the first-ever test flight of a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) in the United States. The launch took place on Wednesday (May 14) from Spaceport America in New Mexico. A small rocket equipped with Venus’ RDRE lifted off at 9:37 a.m. EDT (1337 GMT; 7:37 a.m. local time in New Mexico).”
Full Story (SPACE)
Rocket Lab Electron Rocket Launches Private Japanese Earth-observing Satellite
SPACE reports, “Rocket Lab launched an Earth-observing satellite for the Japanese company iQPS early Saturday morning (May 17). An Electron rocket lifted off from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site on Saturday at 4:17 a.m. EDT (0817 GMT; 8:17 p.m. local New Zealand time).”
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Video
Rocket Lab electron rocket launches private Japanese Earth-observing satellite. (Launch occurs at 19:29)
(Rocket Lab; YouTube)
Virgin Galactic on Track for Production of New Spaceplanes
Space News reports, “Virgin Galactic says production of its new suborbital spaceplanes remains on track to allow commercial flights to begin in the middle of next year as it contemplates restarting ticket sales. The company spent much of a May 15 earnings call talking about the technical progress it has made in the assembly of its first Delta-class vehicles, or SpaceShips, in areas such as structures, propulsion and avionics.”
Full Story (Space News)
SpaceX Tests Raptor Engines That Will Power Next Starship Rocket
Ars Technica reports, “SpaceX fired six Raptor engines on the company’s next Starship rocket Monday, clearing a major hurdle on the path to launch later this month on a high-stakes test flight to get the private rocket program back on track. Starship ignited its Raptor engines Monday morning on a test stand near SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in South Texas.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
DIU Expands Vendor Pool for ‘Hybrid Space Architecture’ Program
Breaking Defense reports, “The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has added 13 more companies to its pool of contractors developing an ambitious multi-agency effort to create a multi-orbit, public-private satellite communications (SATCOM) network largely impervious to jamming — with the goal of launching a pilot in 2026. The move, announced Monday by DIU, brings the total number of companies, ranging from software startups to big defense primes, participating in the ‘Hybrid Space Architecture’ program to 25.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
Vertical Aerospace Announces Development of Long-Range Hybrid Air-Taxi Variant of its VX4
Reuters reports, “Vertical Aerospace said on Monday it is developing a long-range hybrid-electric variant of its air-taxi VX4, aiming to expand into commercial markets including defense and logistics. U.S.-listed shares of the British electric aircraft firm rose more than 6% before the bell.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Video
VX4 eVTOL Test Flight
Vertical Aerospace
SpaceX Launches Another 26 Starlink Satellites to Orbit
SPACE reports, “SpaceX launched 26 more of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit from California Monday night (May 12), on the first leg of a spaceflight doubleheader. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 26 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on California’s central coast Monday at 9:15 p.m. EDT (6:15 p.m. local California time; 0115 GMT on May 13).”
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Video
SpaceX launches 26 Starlink satellites from California. (Launch occurs at 00:11)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)
Aurora Flight Sciences Extends sUAS Range with New Upgrades
Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “Aurora Flight Sciences has begun production of the latest version of its SKIRON-XGroup 2 uncrewed aircraft system (UAS), incorporating upgrades aimed at improving flight performance and operational usability. Now in its third generation, SKIRON-X sUAS received avionics and ground control station (GCS) upgrades, an improved nose cone design, and an optional long-range radio.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)