Tag: engineering

SpaceX Launches 22 More Starlink Satellites

SPACE reports that SpaceX “launched 22 more of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit early this morning (Oct. 5), on the company’s 70th orbital mission of the year.” The Starlink spacecraft “lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station tonight at 1:36 a.m. EDT (0536 GMT).” The rocket had originally “been targeted to launch on Wednesday at 10:45 p.m. EDT (0245 GMT on Oct. 5), but was delayed several hours by poor weather conditions.” As to plan, the Falcon 9’s first stage “returned to Earth for a vertical landing at sea on the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions about 8.5 minutes after launch.” It was the eighth “liftoff and landing for this Falcon 9 first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description.” This morning’s flight “was the 70th orbital mission for SpaceX in 2023. The majority of those launches have been dedicated to building out the Starlink megaconstellation, which currently consists of more than 4,800 operational satellites.”
Full Story (SPACE)

 

 

 

 

Video

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral with Starlink internet satellites
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

Challenger Center and AIAA Open Nominations for 2024 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Three winners will be honored for enthusiasm and dedication to STEM education

Washington and Reston, Va. (October 4, 2023) –  Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced they are accepting nominations for the 2024 Trailblazing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educator Award. The annual award celebrates K-12 teachers going above and beyond to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators. Nominations can be submitted to aiaa.org/TrailblazingSTEMEducatorAward through December 15, 2023.

Three winners will be selected from the nominations. Each winner and their respective school or organization will be awarded $5,000 each, and receive free access to Challenger Center’s STEM education programs, along with a trip to Washington, DC, to be honored at the 2024 AIAA Awards Gala, as well as a special presentation ceremony at their school. The winners also will have the opportunity to attend a space launch experience.

“To build a strong workforce of tomorrow, we must first ignite and foster an interest in STEM in young students today. Teachers are key to cultivating their potential,” said Lance Bush, president and CEO of Challenger Center. “We are excited to partner with AIAA to recognize our country’s most remarkable STEM educators who are creating dynamic learning experiences and are dedicated to making STEM education come alive for their students.”

“Educators are invaluable to our communities. We share a commitment with Challenger Center to support trailblazing educators because they are the clear force multiplier to inspiring our future workforce,” said Dan Dumbacher, executive director, AIAA. “We need a diverse and robust STEM next generation who use what they learn today to innovate and invent tomorrow. We can’t wait to recognize passionate and inspirational educators who spark students’ interest in STEM subjects, especially the science and engineering behind aerospace.”

The award recognizes teachers who connect classroom lessons to the country’s current and future plans of STEM exploration and innovation, introduce students to STEM careers, and activate students’ imagination about space exploration.

The U.S. aerospace and defense industry leads the world in innovation, while still facing challenges of staffing a properly skilled and qualified workforce. Crucial gaps in diversity, equity, and inclusion must be addressed – more STEM-literate graduates are needed, greater participation is needed by women and ethnic minorities, and early retirements are creating a growing knowledge gap.

About Challenger Center
As a leader in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, Challenger Center provides hundreds of thousands of students annually with experiential education programs that engage students in hands-on learning opportunities. These programs, delivered in Challenger Learning Centers and classrooms, strengthen knowledge in STEM subjects and inspire students to pursue careers in these important fields. Challenger Center was created by the Challenger families to honor the crew of shuttle flight STS-51-L. For more information about Challenger Center, please visit https://www.challenger.org/ or connect on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

About AIAA Foundation
The AIAA Foundation inspires and supports the next generation of aerospace professionals. From classroom to career, the AIAA Foundation enables innovative K-12 and university programming, including STEM classroom grants, scholarships, conferences, and hands-on competitions. Founded in 1996, the AIAA Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational organization connected to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

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, andInstagram.

Contacts

 

Challenger Center
Sara Espinosa
[email protected]
202-827-1575

AIAA
Rebecca Gray
[email protected]
804-397-5270

Crew Readies for Virgin Galactic’s Fourth Commercial Spaceflight

SPACE reports that Virgin Galactic “is preparing for its fourth commercial spaceflight mission.” Galactic 04 will “carry a three-person crew accompanied by the company’s head astronaut instructor, as well as the two pilots at the helm of Virgin’s SpaceShipTwo vehicle, VSS Unity.” Their flight “to the edge space is scheduled to take place on Friday, (Oct. 6).” The mission “will take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico.” VSS Unity and its crew “will be brought to altitude by the spaceplane’s double-cockpit carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, which will release VSS Unity at around 50,000 feet (15,000 meters).” After release, a “firing of VSS Unity’s rocket motor will put it on a suborbital trajectory, bringing the space plane and crew to the edge of space for a few minutes of weightlessness and a great view of their home planet.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Reliable Robotics Completes Study for USAF Examining Autonomous Flight

Aviation Week reports that Reliable Robotics “has completed a study for the U.S. Air Force examining retrofitting the service’s large multi-engine jets with its autonomous flight control technology and says only ‘modest’ changes would be needed to accommodate its systems.” The study “did not focus on any specific airframe.”
Full Story (Aviation Week – Subscription Publication)

Boeing Plans to Set Record 737 Production Goal for July 2025

Reuters reports that two sources with knowledge of the matter say Boeing “plans to push production of its bestselling 737 narrowbody jet to a record of at least 57 per month by July 2025.” The sources said the plan was in Boeing’s “latest version of its master schedule for suppliers, which was reaffirmed by the planemaker in mid-September.”
Full Story (Reuters)

AIAA Mourns the Passing of Ming Chang

It is with a very heavy heart that we share Ming Chang, AIAA Aeronautics Domain Lead and AIAA Associate Fellow, passed away Sunday, 1 October 2023. Ming was a pioneer throughout his career in aeronautical engineering. Ming’s leadership driving AIAA to address the important challenges of the aeronautical world will be long remembered. His AIAA service is directly responsible for the Institute’s aeronautics domain leadership. Everyone at AIAA extends our deepest condolences to Ming’s family through this difficult time.

SpaceX Launches 69th Orbital Flight of 2023 from Florida

Orlando Sentinel reported that a SpaceX Falcon 9 “took off from the 39th time from Cape Canaveral this year, marking the 49th SpaceX flight from the Space Coast and 69th orbital mission among all of its launch sites.” The rocket “lifted off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 10 p.m. after poor weather conditions delayed earlier attempts.” The first-stage booster “made its 10th flight once again making a recovery landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.” SpaceX has “flown all but three of the Space Coast’s 52 missions this year, with Relativity Space adding one and United Launch Alliance managing two more.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)

 

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Starlink 6-19 Mission
(NASA Spaceflight; YouTube)

Blue Origin’s New Shepard Rocket May Fly Soon Following Closing of FAA Investigation

The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports that on Wednesday, the FAA “said it had closed its investigation into the flight of an uncrewed Blue Origin New Shepard rocket that ended with its booster destroyed and a capsule that had to use its emergency escape system.” The September 12, 2022, “mishap” was due to a “structural failure of an engine nozzle caused by higher than expected engine operating temperatures,” according to a release from the FAA. With the nozzle too hot, it “caused a trajectory change about one minute after liftoff from Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site.” The capsule on the NS-23 mission “that was carrying science payloads performed as designed, though, blasting away from the booster after which it performed a parachute-assisted landing near the launch site.” The FAA’s investigation “resulted in 21 corrective actions Blue Origin had to undertake, including a redesign of the engine and nozzle components so the rocket boosters won’t suffer the same fate on future missions.” While the rocket “remains grounded for now, Blue Origin on its social media posted that flights would resume shortly.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)