Aviation Week reports, “An air-launched missile-carrying uncrewed aircraft developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for DARPA’s LongShot project has been designated the X-68A ahead of flight tests expected by year-end. The LongShot is designed to be carried by fighters and bombers, or as a palletized munition on airlifters, and launched to fly ahead and engage targets with its own internally carried air-to-air missiles. The goal is to increase launch platform survivability and extend combat reach.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: February 2026
Countdown to Goddard Centennial with New Model Rocket for Launches
From the Institute
To mark the 100th anniversary of Robert Goddard’s historic launch, a low-cost replica of his pioneering liquid fueled rocket gives schools and the public a powerful way to introduce the birth of modern rocketry. The anniversary represents a unique opportunity to inspire a new generation to follow in the footsteps of Goddard, who as a youngster began tinkering with kites, balloons, and eventually chemical compounds – all with the encouragement of his father, who bought him a telescope and a subscription to Scientific American.
Space Systems Command Seeks Industry Input on GEO Refueling Services
Aviation Week reports, “The U.S. Space Systems Command is looking for companies that could provide refueling services in geostationary orbit to spacecraft configured for such operations. The goal is to find vendors that, by 2030, could provide the service through standard interfaces that the service has previously approved, Space Systems Command said in a Feb. 13 request for information. Among the information the government is seeking is cost and schedule estimates to get to a first flight.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
New Legislation Aims to Expedite FAA Type Certification for eVTOLs
Flying Magazine reports, “A bipartisan bill introduced Friday in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives would require the FAA to ‘streamline’ its type certification process for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis and other advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft. That could include the use of standards agreed upon by the developers themselves to prove the aircraft are fit to carry passengers.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
Video
Wisk Aero’s Generation 6 aircraft
Wisk Aero | YouTube
ISS Back to Full Strength with Arrival of New Crew
AP News reports, “The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday’s arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns. SpaceX delivered the U.S., French and Russian astronauts a day after launching them from Cape Canaveral.”
Full Story (AP News)
AIAA SciTech Forum Student Paper Competitions
FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA Student Paper Competitions recognize outstanding student research presented at AIAA forums and events. The competitions give undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to present original technical work, gain professional recognition, and receive feedback from their peers in industry and academia. We are pleased to announce the winners of the competitions held at AIAA SciTech Forum 2026.
New Crew Launches to ISS Following NASA’s First Medical Evacuation
AP News reports, “A new crew rocketed toward the International Space Station on Friday to replace the astronauts who returned to Earth early in NASA’s first medical evacuation. SpaceX launched the replacements as soon as possible at NASA’s request, sending the U.S., French and Russian astronauts on an expected eight- to nine-month mission stretching until fall. The four should arrive at the orbiting lab on Saturday, filling the vacancies left by their evacuated colleagues last month and bringing the space station back to full staff.”
Full Story (AP News)
Forget Cloud: Istari Unveils “Ground,” A New Data Sharing Infrastructure Tailored for Aerospace
The internet – convenient, data-centralized, and governed by a single “I agree” consent button – is fundamentally misaligned with the needs of aerospace, defense, and other sectors that guard valuable intellectual property and classified information. That’s the message from Will Roper, chief executive officer and founder of Istari Digital and former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, at an AIAA SciTech Forum 2026 session titled, “A Level Digital Playing Field – Vision & Urgency.”
Full Story (Aerospace America)
FAA Chief Says Canada Nears Certification of Long-Delayed Gulfstream Jets
Flying Magazine reports, “Regulators in Canada are close to completing their certification of some long-delayed Gulfstream business jets, the head of the FAA said Tuesday. ‘I think we’ve resolved the issues with Canada,’ FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters in Washington, D.C., according to Reuters.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
SpaceX Adds 24 Satellites to Starlink Constellation After West Coast Launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. As SPACE reports, “The launch, on a Falcon 9 rocket, began at 12:11 p.m. EST (1711 GMT or 9:11 a.m. PDT local time) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Video
SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites from California (Launch at the 10 second mark)
VideoFromSpace; YouTube