FROM THE INSTITUTE
The United States is setting out on an ambitious journey to modernize our air traffic control system once again, but let’s not fall into the trap of thinking there’s a clear finish line. This is a journey without an endpoint.
Tag: future
SpaceX Halts New Commercial Rideshare Reservations Beyond 2028 as Launch Schedule Fills
SatNews reports, “SpaceX has stopped accepting new commercial launch bookings for both its Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) Transporter series and mid-inclination Bandwagon missions beyond late 2028.”
Full Story (SatNews)
Full Story (SatNews)
The Space Station’s Past and Future Converge at ASCEND 2026
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory will bring a full day of programming to ASCEND 2026 on Tuesday, 19 May, plus nearly 60 technical papers on ISS utilization and space-based research expected to be presented on Wednesday and Thursday, 20–21 May. From microgravity-enabled medical breakthroughs to startup innovation in low Earth orbit (LEO), the ISS National Lab sessions are designed to show how researchers and commercial players alike are using the orbiting laboratory as an engine for science, technology, and a sustainable space economy.
Building the STEM Pipeline
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The United States is in the midst of a “space revolution,” but the hands that will inherit the Earth and the space surrounding it is in short supply. “We need more hands on deck,” said Amy Medina Jorge, astronaut and middle school teacher from Texas who flew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-32 mission in May 2025. Medina and Kristen Yip of Blue Origin spoke on the HUB Stage at AIAA SciTech Forum 2026 about building the talent pipeline for space.
Resilient Student Scholarship Empowers Future Aerospace Researcher
FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA and Club for the Future’s Resilient Student Scholarship supports students interested in pursuing a degree in aerospace. The recipient of the 2025 $10,000 AIAA and Club for the Future Resilient Student Scholarship, Robert Morris, is a bright star in his first year at Howard University.
Advanced Autonomy Critical for Future Air Superiority
FROM THE INSTITUTE
Chuck Yeager predicted that autonomous aircraft would someday dominate the future of air combat. Last October, Yeager’s vision was realized when Anduril Industries’ YFQ-44A Fury became the first next-gen autonomous fighter jet to fly its full mission profile without direct human intervention.
NASA Underscores Role of Moon as Testbed for Future Human Mars Missions
Space News reports, “NASA engineers working on the agency’s architecture for human Mars missions said during a panel at the AIAA SciTech Forum … that they were skeptical crewed missions to Mars of any kind … could be successful without first demonstrating technologies on the moon.”
Full Story (Space News)
Electric-plane Future Poised to Take Off
CBS News reports that advances being made in aviation technology allow a plane to be powered by batteries, promising a more environmentally-friendly, quieter and cheaper ride. Beta’s CEO and founder Kyle Clark said with batteries improving every year, “he believes that, in the-not-distant future, we will be flying on electric-powered jetliners.”
Full Story (CBS News)
Embraer CEO Touts Company Future
Aviation International News reported that Embraer CEO Francisco Gomes Neto spoke at Embraer’s Media Day presentation in New York on Friday and “said the company is now reaping the harvest from the investments and changes it made in recent years.” He pointed “to the portfolio of new products the Brazilian manufacturer has introduced over the past decade in its commercial, defense, and private aviation markets.” This portfolio “includes the E-Jets E2, the C-390 Millennium military transport, and, on the private aviation side, the Praetor family and upgrades to its Phenom light jets.” He explained that Embraer currently “employs a staff of 100 engineers committed to developing production efficiencies and cost reduction, which has allowed it to not only maintain margins on its products but even increase them in some cases.” One of the company’s “standing projects is to reduce the production time of its aircraft by 30 percent by the end of 2025.”
More Info (Aviation International News)
Future Space Missions Are Being Designed to Take Advantage of New Generation of Very Large Launch Vehicles
The Space Review reported on future space missions being designed “to take advantage of a new generation of very large launch vehicles” that will “offer greater mass and volume” at lower prices. SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn have been considered as possible options for several NASA missions. NASA’s expensive Space Launch System has also been examined for future missions, although it will only be used for Artemis missions through the late 2020s. Panelists at the ASCEND space event “argued that science missions were needed to increase the SLS flight rate and make that vehicle more sustainable.”
Full Story (The Space Review)