Tag: first

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)

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

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper

Spaceflight Now reports, “Amazon now has the third launch of its Project Kuiper broadband internet satellites in the books. This time around, they launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission, dubbed KF-01 or Kuiper Falcon 1, lifted off at 2:30 a.m. EDT (0630 UTC). The rocket took off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and will begin deploying the 24 Project Kuiper satellites about 56 minutes after liftoff.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)



 Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 24 Project Kuiper Satellites for Amazon, July 16, 2025 (Launch takes place at the 1:00:24 mark)
Spaceflight Now; YouTube

Saab Gripen E Jet Completes First AI-controlled Flight Tests

Aerotime reports, “Saab has completed a series of flight tests integrating artificial intelligence into its Gripen E fighter jet, the company announced on June 11, 2025. Conducted in partnership with the German-based defense AI firm Helsing, the flights over the Baltic Sea saw the AI agent, named Centaur, take autonomous control of the aircraft during simulated Beyond Visual Range (BVR) combat scenarios.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Captures Its First Cosmic Images

SPACE reports, “On April 1, NASA announced its brand new infrared space telescope, SPHEREx, has officially opened its eyes to the cosmos as well. This first light, as it’s called, shows that all of the spacecraft’s systems are working just as expected. ‘Based on the images we are seeing, we can now say that the instrument team nailed it,’ Jamie Bock, SPHEREx’s principal investigator at Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said in a statement.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Ireland Plans to Buy First Fighter Jets in 50 Years

Aerotime reports, “Ireland’s planned purchase of combat jets and the development of a long-overdue national radar system mark a historic turning point in the country’s approach to air defence, ending decades of reliance on the United Kingdom to protect Irish skies. Since 1998, when the Irish Air Corps disbanded its Light Strike Squadron, which operated aging French Fouga CM170 Magister jets, Ireland has had no combat jets. The country also lacks a primary radar system. Without these capabilities, a ‘secret bilateral pact’ has seen the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) tasked with intercepting and responding to aerial threats in Irish airspace.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

NASA’s Two Stuck Astronauts Perform Their First Spacewalk Together

AP News reports, “NASA’s two stuck astronauts took their first spacewalk together Thursday, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in. Commander Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore floated out to perform maintenance work and wipe the station’s exterior for evidence of any microbes that might still be alive after launching from Earth and escaping through vents.”
Full Story (AP News)