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)
Tag: first
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)
More Info (Video)
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)
First US Navy E-130J Phoenix II Command Aircraft Rolls Out
FlightGlobal reports the first airframe for the US Navy’s new E-130J Phoenix II strategic airborne command post “has rolled off the production line,” marking a milestone in “the $3.5 billion TACAMO modernisation … programme.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)
Cargo Dragon Completes First “Boost Kit” Maneuver to Help Maintain Space Station’s Altitude
Aviation Week reports, “NASA’s 33rd SpaceX Cargo Dragon resupply mission to the ISS has completed its first “boost kit” propulsion maneuver to help maintain the orbital laboratory’s altitude. The maneuver, conducted on Sept. 3, lasted 5 min. and 3 sec., raising the low point of the nearly 1 million-lb. ISS’s orbit by about 1 mi., a NASA mission update said. The maneuver positioned the orbital lab in a 260- by 256.3-mi.-high orbit as it circles the Earth at a 51.6-deg. inclination to the equator.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Joby Performs First eVTOL Flight Between Two U.S. Airports
Aerotime reports, “Joby Aviation, the US-based company developing all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxis for commercial passenger service, has announced that it has successfully operated one of its demonstrator aircraft (registration N545JX) alongside other aircraft in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) controlled airspace by completing its first flight between two US airports – Marina (OAR) and Monterey (MRY), both located in the state of California.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Full Story (Aerotime)
First Australian-built Orbital Rocket Crashes Shortly After Liftoff
The Guardian reports, “The Eris rocket was built by Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space and briefly blasted off from the Bowen orbital spaceport in north Queensland on Wednesday morning, after months of waiting for the right conditions. The spaceship hovered for less than a minute before crashing in a giant plume of smoke, but it was history-making nonetheless – the attempted launch of an orbital rocket designed and made in Australia.”
Full Story (The Guardian)
Video
First Australian-made rocket crashes 14 seconds after liftoff.
Firstpost; YouTube