Aviation Week reports that the first all-European private astronaut crew “is working toward a planned 14-day visit aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to carry out more than 30 science and technology investigations.” It is anticipated they “will have an economic potential as well as pay scientific dividends beyond those already afforded by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) long-standing partnership in the 15-nation NASA led orbital laboratory.” Axiom Space is “leading its third private astronaut mission (AX-3), which is planned for launch no sooner than January from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket.” The crew will “be Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei; Turkey’s first astronaut, Alper Gezeravci, a Turkish Air Force fighter pilot; and ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden.” The commander will “be retired NASA astronaut Mike Lopez Alegria, Axiom’s chief astronaut.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: engineering
Amazon Launches Aviation Maintenance Career Training Program
Aviation Week reported that Amazon has “joined widespread efforts to grow the aviation maintenance workforce pipeline.” It has “partnered with a recently launched Part 147 school in Lakeland, Florida to offer a career training program for workers interested in pursuing a new career path in MRO.” The partnership is “part of Amazon’s Career Choice program, which enables its employees to learn new skills to launch career paths internally or in other industries.” The program “includes a vertical called Pathways, in which Amazon covers tuition costs to help employees earn certifications in areas such as technology, health care, transportation, mechanical and industrial systems, and business and administration systems.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
SpaceX Launches Two Missions in One Day
Orlando (FL) Sentinel reported that after abiding by NASA’s request “to give its Psyche mission on a Falcon Heavy launch its full attention this week, SpaceX lined up and knocked out a Falcon 9 launch just hours later on Friday.” The day “began with Falcon Heavy making its eighth ever flight lifting off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-A cutting through haze and clouds at 10:19 a.m. to successfully bring to space NASA’s $700 million probe that had a six-year flight ahead of it for a rendezvous with a metal-rich asteroid also named Psyche.” Sandwiched in between Falcon Heavy’s launch pad “and its booster landing zones was the Falcon 9 rocket on Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 that had been holding off launch with its Starlink satellite payload since weather forced it to stand down last Sunday.” But with Psyche safely in space, SpaceX “was ready to go and weather stayed green for it to launch that Falcon 9 eight hours and 42 minutes later carrying another 22 Starlink internet satellites into space.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)
Video
SpaceX Starlink 113 launch and Falcon 9 first stage landing, 13 October 2023
(SciNews; YouTube)
AIAA Publishes Global Vision on Space Safety, Security, and Sustainability by 2023 ASCEND Diverse Dozen
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today announced it has published the 2023 ASCEND Diverse Dozen (D12) Op-Eds that address the most important issues surrounding space safety, security, and sustainability. The document is available for download here .
The 2023 ASCEND D12 will deliver a thought leadership presentation of their visions for space during a dedicated session at the upcoming ASCEND event, on Tuesday, 24 October, 1130-1230 hrs PT, Caesars Forum, Las Vegas.
D12 is a partnership between ASCEND and astrodynamicist Moriba Jah, cofounder/chief scientist at Privateer, and associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics at the University of Texas. The 2023 ASCEND D12 represent nine countries and include:
- Mustapha Agbadi, Partner, Policy and Legal Compliance, Bismerk Solicitors, United Kingdom
- Sahil Bhatia, Student, University of Bremen, India
- Pablo Carlos Budassi, Designer and CEO, Awe Infographics, Argentina
- Allen Herbert, Space Agrifood Advocate, United Arab Emirates
- Malkia Kelelue, Space Science and Astronomy Officer, Kenya Space Agency, Kenya
- Michelle Lucas, Founder and CEO, Higher Orbits, United States
- Yumna Majeed, Founder, Exploration—Cosmos to Classroom, Pakistan
- Claire Nelson, OASEAS, Space Futures Forum, United States
- Chau Nguyen, Chief Technology Officer, NYSA LLC, United States
- Grecia Olano O’Brien, Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec, Canada
- Kristen Price, Chief Counsel/Senior Director—Legal and Compliance, Blue Origin, United States
- Alejandro J. Roman Molinas, General Director of Aerospace Development, Paraguayan Space Agency, Paraguay
Registration for the 2023 ASCEND event is open. Journalists from around the world are invited to cover 2023 ASCEND; press passes are available for credentialed media by request.
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About ASCEND
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND, which stands for Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery, is the world’s premier collaborative, outcomes-driven, interdisciplinary community designed to accelerate the building of our off-world future. For more information, visit ascend.events, or follow ASCEND on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
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, and Instagram.
AIAA Statement on NASA’s Psyche Launch
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:
“Congratulations to NASA on today’s successful launch to study the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. We believe this mission is fueled by our human drive to learn more about the origins of our solar system. We look forward to following the mission’s progress.
We commend NASA’s entire Psyche team, including AIAA Corporate Members: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Maxar Technologies, and SpaceX, along with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Malin Space Science Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NASA Glenn Research Center, NASA Headquarters, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Planetary Science Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Southwest Research Institute, University of Arizona, University of California Los Angeles, Yale University, and over a dozen other universities and research institutions. We applaud the international partnership on this mission with the German Space Agency (DLR), the Côte d’Azur Observatory in France, and Technical University of Denmark.
On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we recognize the professionals in the aerospace industry involved in making this mission a success. We applaud the Psyche team for making important contributions to shaping the future of aerospace.”
AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
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.
NASA Delays Test Flights of X-59 to 2024
Aviation Week in paywalled coverage reports NASA “has pushed back the first flight of the X-59 low-boom supersonic demonstrator to 2024 after a series of subsystem issues encountered during check-out tests at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, late this summer proved harder to solve than expected.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
NASA Postpones Spacewalk Due to Coolant Leak from Russian ISS Module
SPACE reports NASA officials have postponed a planned spacewalk from the ISS “as a precautionary measure after a leak of ammonia coolant was spotted Monday (Oct. 9) in a backup radiator on the Russian Nauka science module. Another spacewalk on Oct. 20 is also postponed and new dates will be announced shortly, NASA officials stated.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Boeing Flies Upgraded AH-64E Apache Attack Helicopter for First Time
Defense News reports Boeing announced at the AUSA conference that it has “flown a new version of the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter with upgraded capabilities.” Boeing said in a statement that the “Version 6.5 attack helicopter, which Boeing went under contract to produce with the U.S. Army in December 2021, includes software updates and improvements to the pilot interface.” According to Boeing, “some upgrades are an optimized route and attack planning capability, enhanced Link 16 features, and an open-systems architecture that will allow for easy technology insertion later on.”
Full Story (Defense News)
NASA Using SpaceX Falcon Heavy to Launch Psyche Mission
The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports NASA is using SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket “for the first time, aiming to send a probe named Psyche to an asteroid with the same name this week.” The Psyche probe is “set to lift off from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A as early as 10:16 a.m. Thursday, although weather forecasts show only a 20% chance for good conditions. … The $700 million satellite managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory aims to unlock the asteroid Psyche’s secrets, which scientists suspect is metal-rich.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)
GA-ASI Completes Test of Small UAS Aerial Recovery System
The Drive reports GA-ASI has “begun flight demonstrations of a system it’s developed that will allow small drones to be launched and recovered in mid-air from larger uncrewed aerial vehicles. … The concept is known to the company as the Aerial Recovery System for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems/Air-Launched Effects (SUAS/ALE).” A media release from GA-ASI “reveals that a system demonstration took place over the Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, on September 20, 2023.”
Full Story (The Drive)