SPACE reports that Axiom Space “named the full crew of four people who will fly to the International Space Station on the Ax-3 mission no sooner than January 2024, in a company announcement Tuesday (Sept. 12).” The crew will be “headed by former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, a dual U.S.-Spanish citizen who also commanded Ax-1 in 2022.” Also on board “will be Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei, who flew to suborbital space with Virgin Galactic’s first commercial launch in June; Marcus Wandt of Sweden, a European Space Agency astronaut; and Turkey’s first citizen in space, Alper Gezeravcı.” It will “be López-Alegría’s sixth mission, Villadei’s second, and the first for Wandt and Gezeravcı.” Ax-3 will “launch to the ISS from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is the only American vehicle currently certified by NASA to carry humans to and from the orbiting complex, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Tag: engineering
Wizz Air May Reduce Capacity as Much as 10% from Pratt & Whitney Engine Issues
Aviation Week reports that Wizz Air “may need to reduce its capacity by 10% due to Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan (GTF) engine issues and increased engine removals.” The Hungary-based ULCC “has also begun to exchange several Airbus A321neos from its UAE joint venture Wizz Air Abu Dhabi with A321ceos.”
Full Story (Aviation Week – Subscription publication)
L3Harris, BAE Systems Deliver First EC-37B Compass Call to US Air Force
FlightGlobal reports L3Harris and BAE Systems have delivered the first EC-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft to the US Air Force. The article mentions that while the previous EC-130H Compass Call “was based on the Lockheed Martin turboprop transport,” the EC-37B is built on the Gulfstream G550 platform. BAE Systems “oversaw the production of the electronic attack package, while L3Harris was the prime contractor for integrating those mission systems into the Gulfstream jet.” BAE Systems “says the new aircraft will deliver much needed electronic attack capability to the USAF, which is in the process of reorienting its forces to survive in well-defended airspace contested by a modern adversary.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)
Returning Crew-6 Astronauts Express Satisfaction with Scientific Opportunities Aboard ISS
Aviation Week reports that just over a week “after returning to Earth after a 186-day mission to the International Space Station, three of NASA’s four Crew-6 astronauts expressed satisfaction with their contributions to a work agenda that included 280 science investigations and technology demonstrations.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 Engine for Gulfstream Officially Receives FAA Approval
Aviation Week reports that Rolls-Royce has “earned FAA type certification for its Pearl 700 engine designed for Gulfstream’s new G700 and G800 ultra-long-range business jets.” The engine, which “was custom designed to power the two aircraft, received EASA certification in September 2022.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
NASA Leadership to Call Frank Rubio after Record-Breaking Mission
The AP reports that on Wednesday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy “will speak with agency astronaut Frank Rubio about his record-breaking mission aboard the International Space Station.” Rubio, who is “serving on a year-long mission aboard the orbiting laboratory, today surpassed NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei’s U.S. record of 355 days in space as the longest single spaceflight by an American.” When he “lands on Earth at the end of the month, Rubio will have 371 days in space.”
Full Story (Associated Press)
ULA Launches Atlas V Rocket Carrying SILENTBARKER/NROL-107 Mission
The Orlando Sentinel reports that United Launch Alliance launched an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday morning, “on a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office and Space Force called SILENTBARKER/NROL-107.” Last week, NRO Director Chris Scolese said the classified mission’s primary goal is to place watchdog satellites in geostationary Earth orbit “so that we can understand the intentions of other countries to see what they’re doing in the GEO belts and see if there’s any indications of threats or if it’s just normal operations.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)
Video
Atlas V SILENTBARKER/NROL-107 Mission, September 10, 2023
(ULA; YouTube)
Airbus Working to Improve A220 Autothrottle Design
Aviation Week reported that Airbus is “working on improving the A220’s autothrottle design, after several reports of crew errors that could have led to a tail strike or more serious incidents.” The aircraft’s autopilot “will be modified, too.” In the meantime, procedures “are temporarily added in the takeoff phase.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
GE Aerospace Chosen to Provide Digital Backbone for Bell V-280 Valor
FlightGlobal reports that “GE Aerospace will provide digital backbone, voice and data recorder, and health awareness system for Bell V-280 Valor, which the US Army selected as its next-generation troop carrying aircraft.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)
Terran Orbital Announces Satellite Production Increase
Space News reports that on Thursday, satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital “plans to accelerate production at its factory in California, promising deliveries in 30 to 60 days” beginning next year. Terran Orbital Cofounder, Chairman, and CEO Marc Bell said the company is marketing this effort as a “responsive space initiative” to shorten production timelines. Bell said the 30-60 day service “will be available in late 2024.” The company will “rely on increased automation and robotics systems to speed up production, said Bell.”
Full Story (Space News)