Tag: FAA

FAA Clears Falcon 9 to Resume Launches

Space News reports SpaceX is ready to resume Falcon 9 rocket launches as soon as July 27 after completing an investigation into an upper stage anomaly two weeks earlier. “SpaceX said it is targeting as soon as July 27 at 12:21 a.m. Eastern for the rocket’s return to flight, carrying a set of Starlink satellites on the Group 10-9 mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Two other Falcon 9 launches, also of Starlink satellites, are tentatively scheduled for July 28 from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base.”
Full Story (Space News)

Boeing’s 777X Receives FAA Green Light for Certification Flights

The Seattle Times reports that the FAA has granted Boeing authority to begin flying its new 777X with FAA personnel on board — beginning a series of test flights needed “to win approval for the 777X to enter passenger service.”
Full Story (Seattle Times)

FAA Approves Joby Aviation’s Use of In-House Software for Air-Taxi Operations

Reuters reports, “Joby Aviation said on Thursday the FAA has authorized the use of the air-taxi maker’s in-house software to perform tasks such as managing pilot workload and matching passengers with aircraft similar to ride-hailing apps. The nod for the operating system, known as ElevateOS, comes as Joby gears up to launch its commercial air-taxi operations as early as 2025.”
Full Story (Reuters)

FAA Unveils Air Taxi Airworthiness Guidance to Help Streamline Certification Process

Flight Global reports “The Federal Aviation Administration has released proposed guidance intended to help developers of electric air taxis better navigate the type-certification process and better understand how their aircraft will be evaluated by the regulator.”
Full Story (Flight Global)

FAA Requiring G500 and G600 Inspections Due to Engine-Mount ‘Quality Escape’

FlightGlobal reports, “The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered inspections of the Gulfstream G500 and G600 fleet in response to a ‘quality escape’ involving improperly installed engine-mounting hardware. In a 7 June airworthiness directive, the agency says it identified issues with Gulfstream’s installation of engines on new production aircraft and with aftermarket engine installations.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

Archer Aviation Receives FAA Approval to Start Commercial Services

Reuters reports, “Archer Aviation said on Wednesday the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted the company a certificate to begin commercial operations, making it the second electric air taxi maker to achieve the key milestone.”
Full Story (Reuters)

SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Receives FAA Go-Ahead for Launch

Reuters reports the FAA “on Tuesday said it issued a license for SpaceX’s fourth flight of its Starship rocket system, another test mission along the company’s path to building a reusable satellite launcher and moon lander. SpaceX is aiming to launch its nearly 400-foot-tall (122-meter), two-stage Starship as early as Thursday at 7 a.m. CDT (1200 GMT) from its rocket facilities in south Texas, from which past flights in the company’s test-to-failure development campaign have launched.”
Full Story (Reuters)

FAA Updates Policy to Require Reentry Licensing

Aviation Week reports, “After Varda Space’s reentry capsule got stuck in orbit for eight months without permission to return to Earth, the FAA has updated its policy and will no longer allow return capsules to launch into space without reentry authorization.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

FAA to Allow Boom Supersonic to Break Sound Barrier

Flying Magazine reports, “For the first time in its history, the FAA has issued a special flight authorization to allow Boom Supersonic to break the sound barrier. The approval will allow the Colorado startup to fly its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft faster than Mach 1 up to 20 times over the next year in the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor in Mojave, California.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

Boom Receives FAA Clearance for XB-1 Supersonic Tests

Aviation Week reports, “In what the FAA has termed ‘a major federal action,’ the U.S. aviation regulator has granted Boom permission to conduct supersonic overland tests of the company’s XB-1 demonstrator. The special flight authorization (SFA) is the first ever issued by the FAA for tests of a civil supersonic aircraft, as all non-military aircraft are currently prohibited from operating above Mach 1 over land in the U.S.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)