Spaceflight Now reports, “A robotic lander from Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is now in orbit around the Moon and going through its final preparations to land in the coming weeks. On Thursday, the company announced that its Blue Ghost lander fired its main engine and thrusters for four minutes and 15 seconds in a maneuver called the Lunar Orbit Insertion, which put it in an elliptical orbit around the Moon.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Tag: Industry News
Starliner Crew May Return Home with SpaceX in 2025
The New York Times reports that for weeks, NASA has downplayed problems experienced by Starliner, but on Wednesday, NASA officials admitted that the issues might be more serious than first thought and that the astronauts might not return on the Boeing vehicle. “The agency is exploring a backup option for the astronauts, Suni Wiliams and Butch Wilmore, to instead hitch a ride back to Earth on a spacecraft built by Boeing’s competitor SpaceX. The astronauts’ stay in orbit, which was to be as short as eight days, could be extended into next year.”
Full Story (New York Times)
First Boeing Starliner Astronauts, Wilmore and Williams, Ready to Launch to ISS
SPACE reports, “Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams told Space.com and a small group of reporters at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) that they are excited for the first launch of Boeing Starliner, now set to fly to the International Space Station for a roughly 10-day mission set to go no earlier than May 1.”
Full Story (SPACE)
ULA Delta IV Heavy Set to Fly Once More
Ars Technica reports United Launch Alliance’s last Delta IV Heavy rocket is set to lift off Thursday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, the US government’s spy satellite agency. “Weather permitting, the Delta IV Heavy will light up its three hydrogen-fueled RS-68 engines at 1:40 pm EDT (17:40 UTC) Thursday, the opening of a four-hour launch window.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
NASA, Boeing Target May 1 for First Crewed Starliner Flight to Space Station
Spaceflight Now reports, “NASA is five weeks away from putting astronauts aboard a new commercial crew capsule. May 1 is the target launch date for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on the Crew Flight Test-1 (CFT-1) mission the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams on board.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Boom’s XB-1 Supersonic Demonstrator Takes Flight for First Time
Aviation Week reports, “Boom Supersonic flew its XB-1 demonstrator—the world’s first privately developed faster-than-sound civil aircraft—for the first time at Mojave Air & Space Port, California, on March 22.” The successful flight “marks a step toward the development of the company’s planned Mach 1.7 Overture airliner later this decade.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Russia Launches One-man, Two-woman Crew to Space Station
CBS News reports, “Two days after a rare last-second launch abort, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft blasted off Saturday on a flight to the International Space Station, carrying two short-duration crew members and a NASA astronaut bound for a six-month tour of duty.” The Soyuz is expected to catch up with the space station Monday, “moving in for docking at a port on the station’s Earth-facing Prichal module at 11:09 a.m. local time.”
Full Story (CBS News)
Eve Air Mobility Brands UATM Solution ‘Vector’
Aviation Week reports, “Eve Air Mobility has chosen the name Vector for its in-development urban air traffic management (UATM) solution, with first deliveries now planned for 2026.” The Embraer spinoff is “the only major air taxi OEM that is also developing a UATM solution, considered critical to enabling high-density operations of drones and electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicles.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
DoD Innovation Unit to Study Firefly Vehicle for Missions Beyond Earth Orbit
Space News reports, “The Defense Innovation Unit announced March 21 it has signed an agreement with Firefly Aerospace to study the potential use of the company’s Elytra orbital vehicle for missions beyond geosynchronous Earth orbit.” According to the article, once the study contract is complete, as many as two demonstration flights could occur, “in the region between GEO orbit and the moon, known as cislunar space.”
Full Story (Space News)
Airbus Wins Most of Japan JAL’s Order for 42 New Planes
Reuters reports that Japan Airlines will buy 42 planes from Airbus and Boeing, it said on Thursday, in a breakthrough for European planemaker Airbus, which will provide single-aisle jets to the long-time Boeing customer for the first time. South Korea’s largest carrier, Korean Airalso said it would order 33 Airbus A350s in a deal valued at $13.7 billion that is its first purchase of that aircraft family.
Full Story (Reuters)