Tag: July 2024

Air New Zealand Becomes First Major Carrier to Pull Back from Climate Goal

BBC News reports, “Air New Zealand has abandoned a 2030 goal to cut its carbon emissions, blaming difficulties securing more efficient planes and sustainable jet fuel. The move makes it the first major carrier to back away from such a climate target. The airline added it is working on a new short-term target and it remains committed to an industry-wide goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.”
Full Story (BBC News)

Joby Completes Landmark 523-Mile Hydrogen-Electric Flight

Aviation International reports, “Joby Aviation, a next generation aviation company, today announced it has successfully flown a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-electric air taxi demonstrator 523 miles, with water as the only by-product. The aircraft, which takes off and lands vertically, builds on Joby’s successful battery-electric air taxi development program, and demonstrates the potential for hydrogen to unlock emissions-free, regional journeys that don’t require a runway.”
Full Story (Aviation International)

FAA Clears Falcon 9 to Resume Launches

Space News reports SpaceX is ready to resume Falcon 9 rocket launches as soon as July 27 after completing an investigation into an upper stage anomaly two weeks earlier. “SpaceX said it is targeting as soon as July 27 at 12:21 a.m. Eastern for the rocket’s return to flight, carrying a set of Starlink satellites on the Group 10-9 mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Two other Falcon 9 launches, also of Starlink satellites, are tentatively scheduled for July 28 from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base.”
Full Story (Space News)

 

Safran Joins Boeing X-66A Sustainable Flight Demonstrator Project

Aviation Week reports, “Boeing has selected Safran to provide the electrical power generation system for the airframer’s X-66A aircraft which is in development as part of NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project. The Safran Electrical & Power system, consisting of a variable frequency generator and its associated control unit, will be adapted to integrate with the Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofan that has also been selected for the aircraft.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

NASA Readies Artemis 2 Core Stage for Vehicle Assembly Building

Spaceflight Now reports the massive 212-foot-long core stage of the Space Launch System rocket arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center late Tuesday morning. “On Wednesday, teams from Jacobs, the prime contractor for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program at the Kennedy Space Center, will unpack the core stage and slowly roll it into the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)