Tag: engineering

Astrobotic Announces Peregrine Reentry Plans

Aviation Week reports Astrobotic Technology said that it is “projecting its troubled Peregrine lunar lander will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean around 4 p.m. EST on Jan. 18, two days earlier than previous estimates.” Space News reports Astrobotic “said it had to perform a two-step process to put the spacecraft on that reentry trajectory. One involved a series of 23 short burns by the spacecraft’s main engines. Astrobotic first tested those main engines Jan. 13, confirming they worked. However, the company said at the time that, because of the oxidizer leak, the fuel-to-oxidizer ratio ‘is well outside of the normal operating range of the main engines making long controlled burns impossible.’” The company “said it also oriented the spacecraft so that the force from the leaking propellant would push the spacecraft towards the desired reentry zone over the South Pacific, ensuring that any debris that survives reentry will fall outside of populated regions.”
Full Story (Aviation Week); More Info (Space News)

Report: Space Investment Bounced Back in 2023, Increased M&A Expected into 2024

CNBC reports that investment in the space sector “bounced back last year, rebounding closer to the record high of 2021, according to a report Tuesday by New York-based Space Capital.” The firm’s fourth-quarter report “found that space infrastructure companies brought in $2.6 billion of private investment during the period. That brought the sector to $12.5 billion in total investment for 2023, well above last year’s $9.3 billion raised but still below the $15.3 billion brought in during 2021.” Top raises during the “fourth quarter included funds announced by space companies Firefly Aerospace, Ursa Major, D-Orbit, Stoke Space and True Anomaly.” Anderson told the outlet “we expect to see even more” merger and acquisition activity in 2024.
Full Story (CNBC)

NASA and Lockheed Martin Unveil X-59 “Quiet” Supersonic Demonstrator

Defense Daily reported that on January 12, NASA and Skunk Works “rolled out the X-59 ‘quiet’ supersonic demonstrator aircraft in Palmdale, Calif.” FlightGlobal reports that during the “roll-out ceremony at Lockheed’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, the sleek, single-engine jet was hailed by its developers as a potentially ‘revolutionary’ step forward that could unlock commercial supersonic flights over populated areas.” Pam Melroy, NASA’s deputy administrator, said, “As we unveil this technological marvel, it’s really important to understand the profound impact the X-59 holds for the aviation industry. … Today, supersonic flight brings a thunderous boom. It is restricted across populated areas for good reason. And the X-59 is going to break that barrier.”
Full Story (Defense Daily); More Info (FlightGlobal)

China Won’t Beat US in Getting to the Moon, NASA Administrator Says

SPACE reports, “NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is unconcerned that China will beat the United States in returning astronauts to the moon.” During a media teleconference on Tuesday, “Nelson dismissed concerns that the U.S. could lose the race to put human boots back on the moon.” Nelson said, “I do not have a concern that China is going to land before us. I think that China has a very aggressive plan. I think they would like to land before us, because that might give them some PR coup. But the fact is that I don’t think they will. I think it is true that their date that they announced keeps getting earlier. But specifically, with us landing in September of ‘26, that will be the first landing.”
Full Story (SPACE)

SpaceX Eyes February for Third Starship Test Flight

Space News reports, “SpaceX expects to conduct the third integrated test flight of its Starship vehicle in February as it works to demonstrate key technologies needed to land humans on the moon.” On Tuesday, “Jessica Jensen, vice president of customer operations and integration at SpaceX, said securing an updated Federal Aviation Administration launch license was the key factor driving the schedule for that test flight.” She said, “From a hardware readiness perspective, we are targeting to be ready in January.”
Full Story (Space News)

Elysian Aircraft Aims to Launch Electric Plane by 2033

Aerospace America reports Elysian Aircraft, a Netherlands-based company, is planning to launch a “90-passenger, prop-driven electric plane that would have a range of 800 kilometers” by 2033. The design includes a “fossil fuel turbogenerator in its tail cone to recharge the batteries and power the motors driving the propellers in the event a plane was diverted or delayed.” The key feature is an “unusually wide wingspan” of 43 meters, allowing the batteries to be placed inside the wings, reducing fuselage weight.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

Following Propellant Leak, Engineers Look to Find New Mission for Peregrine

Reuters reports Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander “has ‘no chance’ of a soft landing on the moon after springing a propellant leak in the first few hours of its journey in space, the company said on Tuesday about the first such U.S. attempt in five decades. There was 40 hours of fuel left on the lander that will allow it to operate ‘as a spacecraft’ even as engineers determine what its new mission in orbit will be, the space robotics firm said.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Boeing Revises Guidance for 737 Max Inspections

The New York Times reports, “Federal regulators on Tuesday said Boeing was revising its instructions for how airlines should inspect its 737 Max 9, delaying the manufacturer’s effort to get the jet back in the air after a panel in one of the planes blew out during a flight late last week.” The Federal Aviation Administration said the planemaker “would change the instructions it had released on Monday based on feedback, but the agency did not provide more details.” The FAA said, “Upon receiving the revised version of instructions from Boeing, the F.A.A. will conduct a thorough review. The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)