Breaking Defense reports, “A US Air Force wingman drone for the first time ‘successfully’ fired a live munition, an AMRAAM air-to-air missile, during a recent test, Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach revealed to Breaking Defense.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
Tag: first
SpaceX to Launch First Starlink V3 Satellites on Starship Test Flight
Spaceflight Now reports the mission will also test out a series of improvements to the launcher to help push it closer to full reusability. “Liftoff from Pad 2 at SpaceX’s Starbase facilities in southern Texas is scheduled during a 90-minute window that opens at 5:45 p.m. CDT (6:45 p.m. EDT / 2245 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
LeoLabs Deploys First Mobile Space Tracking Radar
Via Satellite reports, “LeoLabs has debuted a new mobile space domain awareness (SDA) tracking radar housed in a shipping container, deploying the first radar in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Full Story (Via Satellite)
Astrolab’s Debut Lunar Rover to Deliver Four NASA Payloads to the Moon
Space News reports, “Astrolab’s first lunar rover will carry four NASA payloads on a mission planned to launch later this year. Astrolab announced May 18 that it had reached agreements with four NASA centers to fly payloads on its FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform, or FLIP, rover scheduled to launch on Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 lander late this year.”
Full Story (Space News)
Boeing MQ-25 Stingray Hits Key Milestone with First Production Flight
Aerotime reports, “The US Navy’s first production-representative Boeing MQ-25 Stingray completed its maiden flight on April 25, 2026, taking off from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, in the most significant step yet toward fielding the service’s first carrier-based unmanned aircraft. The flight, originally targeted for the end of 2025, was conducted with a Boeing-owned TA-4J Skyhawk and a US Navy UC-12M Huron acting as chase aircraft. A first attempt on April 22, 2026, was aborted for undisclosed reasons.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
NetJets Receives First Ultra-Long-Range Global 8000 Jet
Flying Magazine reports, “The world’s largest private jet operator this week added the world’s fastest business jet to its fleet as premium travel inches toward a return to supersonic speeds. NetJets on Thursday took delivery of its first ultra-long-range Bombardier Global 8000 at the manufacturer’s Laurent Beaudoin Completion Centre in Dorval, Quebec. NetJets plans to build a 24-strong fleet of the aircraft, which received Transport Canada and FAA certification in late 2025. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) followed suit in January.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
Rocket Lab Sends First Open Cosmos Satellites Into Polar Orbit
Space News reports, “A Rocket Lab Electron launched the first satellites for a new constellation being developed by Open Cosmos that will use spectrum previously assigned to Rivada Space Networks. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 5:52 a.m. Eastern Jan. 22. It deployed two satellites into a circular polar orbit at an altitude of about 1,050 kilometers one hour and nine minutes after liftoff.”
Full Story (Space News)
Video
RocketLab Electron Launch from New Zealand (Launch takes place at the 23:07 mark)
The Launch Pad | YouTube
Long March 12A Reaches Orbit in Reusable Rocket Debut, Booster Landing Falls Short
Space News reports, “A first launch of the Long March 12A Chinese state-owned reusable rocket reached orbit late Monday, but attempted recovery of the first stage downrange failed. The Long March 12A rocket lifted off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Dec. 22 (0200 UTC, Dec. 23) from a dedicated pad at Jiuquan spaceport’s Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Zone. Amateur footage of the launch quickly appeared on Chinese social media.”
Full Story (Space News)
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NASA’s Perseverance Rover May Have Discovered its First Meteorite on Mars
SPACE reports, “NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has found a possible meteorite on the surface of the Red Planet. Perseverance spotted an unusual “sculpted, high-standing” rock nestled among “low-lying, flat and fragmented surrounding rocks”, which got the attention of scientists right away.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Boeing Delivers First of Two 777 Jets to China’s Suparna Airlines
Reuters reports, “Boeing delivered on Wednesday the first of two 777 freighters ordered by China’s Suparna Airlines, the U.S. planemaker said on Thursday via its official WeChat account. It marks the first new-build freighter handed to a Chinese carrier since the U.S.-China tariff war began.”
Full Story (Reuters)