Tag: engineering

June 1 Set as New Target Date for Starliner’s Crew Flight Test

Spaceflight Now reports that the latest launch date was announced late Wednesday evening, following a Tuesday night notice that May 25 was off the table. Liftoff of the Atlas 5 rocket on June 1 is set for 12:25 p.m. EDT (1625 UTC). A press briefing is now set for Friday, May 24, at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) to discuss the work done and the path forward to launch. “Williams and Wilmore continue to remain in quarantine in Houston, Texas, and have spent the additional weeks conducting further simulator training to prepare for the mission.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Joby Aviation Eyes Saudi Arabia for Electric Air Taxi Network

Flying Magazine reports, “Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi manufacturer Joby Aviation is setting its sights on Saudi Arabia.  The manufacturer on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mukamalah Aviation—a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company Saudi Aramco that according to Joby operates the world’s largest fleet of corporate aircraft—to introduce its eVTOL air taxi in the country.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

Ariane 6 Inaugural Flight Attempt Scheduled for July 2024

SpaceWatch.Global reports, “The Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force has announced that Ariane 6’s first launch attempt will happen within the first two weeks of July 2024, on track with the launch period it communicated in November. Furthermore, the task force will give the tentative date for the first launch attempt at the ILA airshow in Berlin, Germany, which will hold from 5 June to 9 June, where all the task force members will be present.”
Full Story (SpaceWatch.Global)

SpaceX Starship Fueled Up Ahead of 4th Test Flight

SPACE reports, “SpaceX just fueled up its giant Starship rocket, checking another box ahead of the vehicle’s fourth test flight. The company performed a ‘wet dress rehearsal’ with Starship at its Starbase site in South Texas today (May 20), filling both of the vehicle’s stages with supercold liquid oxygen and liquid methane in a key prelaunch test.”
Full Story (SPACE)

AIAA Statement on Blue Origin’s Successful NS-25 Mission

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 19, 2024 – Reston, Va – AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:

“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate AIAA Corporate Member Blue Origin on its successful NS-25 mission. We congratulate Mason, Sylvain, Ed, Ken, Carol, and Gopi on their inspirational mission. We share the excitement around the NS-25 mission that embodies the promises of space for the benefit of Earth.

We are especially thrilled to celebrate Ed Dwight’s flight. After being selected as the nation’s first Black astronaut candidate in the 1960s, Ed was not granted the opportunity to fly to space – until now. We hope Ed’s flight inspires future generations to pursue their dreams and persevere. We celebrate this spirit in the new Space4All campaign aiming to inspire, prepare, and employ a diverse space workforce. Space4All is the national space STEM awareness campaign being led by a public-private partnership including AIAA and Blue Origin, and more than 150 corporate, federal, non-profit, and community-based organizations including the National Space Council and the U.S. Department of Education.”

Media contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270

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, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.

Biden Signs Comprehensive Aviation Safety Bill into Law

Reuters reports, “President Joe Biden signed on Thursday sweeping aviation legislation that will boost U.S. air traffic controller staffing, increase funding to avert runway close-call incidents and speed up refunds for canceled flights. The $105 billion, five-year measure reauthorizes the Federal Aviation Administration. It prohibits airlines from charging fees for families to sit together, requires airplanes to be equipped with 25-hour cockpit recording devices, raises maximum civil penalties for airline consumer violations from $25,000 per violation to $75,000 and boosts aircraft production scrutiny.”Full Story (Reuters)

Pentagon Planning Commercial ‘Space Reserve” to Support Military Satellites

SPACE reports, “The U.S. Department of Defense is developing a plan to use the ever-growing American commercial space industry for national security purposes. The plan, known as the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve would allow the U.S. Space Force to use the capabilities of the commercial space sector through “pre-negotiated contractual agreements which would be activated in times of crisis or conflict,” according to the service’s “Commercial Space Strategy” document, which was released in April 2024.”
Full Story (SPACE)