FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA and Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University (Thunderbird) announced the launch of the Global Space Leadership and Strategy Series, a new executive-level online program designed to prepare leaders for the increasingly complex, global, and high-stakes space economy.
Tag: June 2026
Technology Is Ready, Systems Are Not: AVIATION Forum Probes Electric Aviation’s Next Hurdles
FROM THE INSTITUTE
Electric aviation may have proven it can fly, but whether it can scale is now the central question, according to industry and government experts at AIAA AVIATION Forum 2026. The session explored how more electric and hybrid‑electric aircraft can transition from high‑profile demonstrations to routine service in regional markets.
Call for Technical Briefings Now Open for AIAA DEFENSE Forum
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The Institute is requesting technical briefings for AIAA DEFENSE Forum 2027. Share your ideas and contribute to shaping the 2027 forum program. Deadline: 13 August 2026.
DARPA and Aurora Prepare X-65 CRANE for Next Phase of Flight Testing
Aviation International News reports, “The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) says its experimental uncrewed X-65 has moved a step closer to its first flight, with its wings manufactured and ready to be assembled with the fuselage. On June 23, project partner Aurora Flight Sciences it has received the first wing set and has started integrating this with the rest of the aircraft.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
EASA Orders Urgent Inspections of 16 Airbus A380s Over Wing Crack Concerns
Aerotime reports, “The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has demanded that 16 Airbus A380 aircraft are urgently inspected, including five that must be checked before flying commercially again. On June 22, 2026, EASA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (2026-0119-E) calling for wing mid spars inspections of 15 A380s operated by Emirates and one by Qantas.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
SpaceX Tests Next-Generation Orbital Cargo Return Capability
Aviation Week reports, “A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket dispatched a new spacecraft designed to return science samples and items manufactured in microgravity back to Earth, a service the company intends to sell to researchers and entrepreneurs.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Faster, Higher, Farther – Experts Chart the Next Era of High-Speed Civil Flight
FROM THE INSTITUTE
At AIAA AVIATION Forum 2026, industry and government leaders described a high-speed aviation sector that is technically close to commercial reality yet still constrained by economics, regulation, and environmental concerns. Across supersonic jets, rocket-powered point-to-point concepts and low-boom demonstrators, panelists arrived at a shared conclusion: the technology is largely ready. The questions now involve financing, markets, standards, and proof that high-speed travel can be economically viable while remaining environmentally and socially acceptable.
NASA Turns Focus to Revolutionary Aircraft Concepts for Mid-Century
Aviation Week reports, “In 2010, U.S. industry completed a series of studies that set NASA’s aeronautics research agenda for the next two decades: hybrid wing bodies, truss-braced wings, hybrid-electric propulsion and high-rate composites. As industry prepares to select technologies for a next-generation single-aisle airliner to enter service in the mid-2030s, NASA has shifted its focus to the horizon to identify concepts and technologies for aircraft entering service in 2050 and beyond.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
SpaceX Continues Starlink Expansion with California Launch
SPACE reports a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday, June 21, 2026. Launch took place “at 12:39 p.m. EDT (1639 GMT or 9:39 a.m. PDT local time) from Space Launch Complex 4 East … SpaceX confirmed deployment of the Starlink batch (Group 17-28) about an hour after their launch.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Video
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base (Launch occurs at the 0:07 mark)
VideoFromSpace; YouTube
Sikorsky Support Extends S-92 Offshore Service Life Into the 2030s
Vertical Magazine reports, “Improved product support and a commitment to the future of the S-92 from Sikorsky will see an anticipated wave of retirement from the type’s offshore role delayed until the 2030s, according to Milestone CEO Pat Sheedy.”
Full Story (Vertical Magazine)