Flying Magazine reports, “The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has awarded a $105 million contract to Merlin to build virtually autonomously operated C-130J Super Hercules transports. Although the description of the resulting aircraft is that they have ‘reduced aircrew capability,’ one of the requirements for the contract is that they be able to fly takeoff to touchdown without human intervention.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
Tag: June 2024
Virgin Galactic Retires Its Space Tourism Vehicle ‘Unity’ – Plans for Larger Replacement
Flying Magazine reports, “Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity space tourism vehicle has been retired after its seventh flight on Saturday, and it will be at least two years before replacement craft are ready.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
DARPA Announces 6 New Designs for Uncrewed VTOL Military Aircraft
SPACE reports, “The U.S. military could soon have new uncrewed aircraft that carry weapons and take off and land vertically. The vehicles could undergo test flights as early as 2026. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced it is moving into a new testing phase for proposed experimental aircraft in which designs will be assessed for risk and analyzed for efficiency.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Video
DARPA’s AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY X-Plane program
(DARPAtv; YouTube)
FAA Unveils Air Taxi Airworthiness Guidance to Help Streamline Certification Process
Flight Global reports “The Federal Aviation Administration has released proposed guidance intended to help developers of electric air taxis better navigate the type-certification process and better understand how their aircraft will be evaluated by the regulator.”
Full Story (Flight Global)
Virgin Galactic Chalks Up 7th Commercial Sub-Orbital Space Flight
CBS News reports, “Two pilots, a Turkish research astronaut and three private citizens rocketed to space and back Saturday aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity spaceplane, enjoying spectacular views of Earth and about three minutes of weightlessness before gliding back to touchdown in New Mexico. It was the company’s 12th piloted up-and-down sub-orbital flight.”
Full Story (CBS News)
FAA Requiring G500 and G600 Inspections Due to Engine-Mount ‘Quality Escape’
FlightGlobal reports, “The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered inspections of the Gulfstream G500 and G600 fleet in response to a ‘quality escape’ involving improperly installed engine-mounting hardware. In a 7 June airworthiness directive, the agency says it identified issues with Gulfstream’s installation of engines on new production aircraft and with aftermarket engine installations.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)
US Air Force Close to Having Rapid Electronic Warfare Update Capability
Defense News reports, “The Air Force is ‘very close’ to being able to rapidly update electronic warfare systems with fresh battlefield data in a matter of hours, one of the service’s commanders said Wednesday.”
Full Story (Defense News)
Archer Aviation Receives FAA Approval to Start Commercial Services
Reuters reports, “Archer Aviation said on Wednesday the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted the company a certificate to begin commercial operations, making it the second electric air taxi maker to achieve the key milestone.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Joby Aviation Attains Autonomous Flight Developer Xwing
Flying Magazaine reports, “Joby on Tuesday announced it acquired the autonomy division of Xwing, the developer of autonomous gate-to-gate flight software Superpilot, as it looks ahead to a transition to self-flying air taxi services. The manufacturer plans to initially operate the aircraft with onboard pilots and has a partnership with Delta Air Lines to launch commercial service as early as next year.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Receives FAA Go-Ahead for Launch
Reuters reports the FAA “on Tuesday said it issued a license for SpaceX’s fourth flight of its Starship rocket system, another test mission along the company’s path to building a reusable satellite launcher and moon lander. SpaceX is aiming to launch its nearly 400-foot-tall (122-meter), two-stage Starship as early as Thursday at 7 a.m. CDT (1200 GMT) from its rocket facilities in south Texas, from which past flights in the company’s test-to-failure development campaign have launched.”
Full Story (Reuters)
China’s Chang’e-6 Collects Moon Samples and Launches Them into Lunar Orbit
Space News reports, “Material from the far side of the moon has begun its journey for Earth after Chinese spacecraft collected samples and launched them into lunar orbit. The Chang’e-6 mission ascent vehicle lifted off from atop the mission lander in Apollo crater at 7:38 p.m. Eastern June 3 (2338 UTC), the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced. The ascender is now tracking the Chang’e-6 orbiter in a retrograde low lunar orbit.”
Full Story (Space News)
Opinion: US Army Would Benefit from Drone Operator Branch
Breaking Defense reports, “In this op-ed, John Ferrari explains why, despite the Army’s reservations, a new drone corps could be good for innovation.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
AIAA Statement on Fourth SpaceX Starship Test Flight
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) issued the following statement from AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher:
“Congratulations to the SpaceX team on today’s test flight of Starship from Starbase, Texas. The live images from onboard the vehicle give everyone a breathtaking view of these test flights.
We are excited to witness this new launch vehicle continuing its development toward commercial operation. The art and science of engineering requires testing. From today’s flight, we know the team is gaining valuable data they will learn from as they keep improving Starship’s design.
It is important to see commercial space launch companies advancing technology to extend the human neighborhood from low Earth orbit to the moon, and on to Mars. Expanding these boundaries takes innovation and hard work.
AIAA recognizes the countless industry professionals who have helped design, build, and test Starship. We applaud AIAA Corporate Member SpaceX for taking this step forward in shaping the future of aerospace.”
Media contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.
Video
SpaceX Starship launches on 4th test flight
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube; Launch occurs at 33:22)