Tag: March 2025

Ireland Plans to Buy First Fighter Jets in 50 Years

Aerotime reports, “Ireland’s planned purchase of combat jets and the development of a long-overdue national radar system mark a historic turning point in the country’s approach to air defence, ending decades of reliance on the United Kingdom to protect Irish skies. Since 1998, when the Irish Air Corps disbanded its Light Strike Squadron, which operated aging French Fouga CM170 Magister jets, Ireland has had no combat jets. The country also lacks a primary radar system. Without these capabilities, a ‘secret bilateral pact’ has seen the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) tasked with intercepting and responding to aerial threats in Irish airspace.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

Roscomos’ Progress MS-30 Cargo Spacecraft Docks at ISS

SPACE reports, “A new delivery of food, fuel and supplies has arrived at the International Space Station by way of a Russian supply ship. Roscomsos’ Progress MS-30 (or Progress 91, as referred to by NASA) cargo spacecraft autonomously docked to the aft port of the space station’s Zvezda service module on Saturday (March 1) as the two vehicles orbited 260 miles (418 kilometers) over the South Atlantic Ocean. The 6:02 p.m. EST (2302 GMT) link up came two days after the Progress launched from the Baikonur Cosmdrome in Kazakhstan.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Beta Electric Air Taxi to Perform Statewide Demo in Utah

Flying Magazine reports, “Utah residents, electric air taxis may be en route to a city near you—and next week is your first chance to see them fly. A pair of state agencies are working with manufacturer Beta Technologies and 47G—a coalition spanning industry, academia, and government that aims to cement Utah as the headquarters for aerospace companies—to conduct demonstration flights of Beta’s Alia electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL).”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

Firefly Becomes First Commercial Company to Make a Successful Lunar Landing

Ars Technica reports, “Firefly Aerospace became the first commercial company to make a picture-perfect landing on the Moon early Sunday, touching down on an ancient basaltic plain, named Mare Crisium, to fulfill a $101 million contract with NASA. The lunar lander, called Blue Ghost, settled onto the Moon’s surface at 2:34 am CST (3:34 am EST; 08:34 UTC). A few dozen engineers in Firefly’s mission control room monitored real-time data streaming down from a quarter-million miles away.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

Firefly Alpha Selected to Launch Earth Science SmallSat Mission for NASA

Space News reports, “NASA selected Firefly Aerospace to launch a trio of Earth science smallsats that will study the formation of storms. The agency said March 4 that it awarded a task order through its Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract to Firefly to launch the three-satellite Investigation of Convective Updrafts (INCUS) mission. NASA did not disclose the value of the task order, a practice it has followed on other VADR awards. The INCUS satellites will launch on a Firefly Alpha rocket from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.”
Full Story (Space News)

SpaceX to Invest $1.8 Billion in Florida for Starship Program Expansion

Reuters reports, “SpaceX is planning to invest at least $1.8 billion to build new Starship launchpads and processing facilities on Florida’s Space Coast, eyeing a key expansion for the rocket program beyond Texas amid pending environmental reviews, according to the state’s governor. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been looking to build new Starship launchpads near its primary launch sites in Florida, as it works in Texas on early development and testing of the next-generation rocket designed to loft bigger loads of satellites into space and put humans on the moon later this decade.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Beta Unveils Second Alia CX300 Electric Aircraft Bound for Flight Tests in Norway

Aviation International reports, “Beta Technologies has rolled out the second Alia CX300 electric aircraft from its scaled manufacturing facility in Burlington, Vermont, the company announced on March 4. Later this year, Beta will ship that aircraft off to Norway for a series of flight demonstrations to be conducted by helicopter operator Bristow Norway, a subsidiary of its partner and customer Bristow Group.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Disrupts Florida Airports With Unsuccessful Test Flight

The New York Times reports, “Starship — the huge spacecraft that Elon Musk says will one day take people to Mars — failed during its latest test flight on Thursday when its upper stage exploded in space, raining debris and disrupting air traffic at airports from Florida to Pennsylvania. It was the second consecutive test flight of the most powerful rocket ever built where the upper-stage spacecraft malfunctioned. It started spinning out of control after several engines went out and then lost contact with mission control.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)

 

 

 

 

Video

SpaceX Starship launches on flight 8, catches booster but loses ship again (Launch at 00:25:35 mark)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

Airbus Marks Milestone Upon Surpassing 16,000 Aircraft Deliveries

Aerotime reports, “European aerospace manufacturer Airbus has surpassed 16,000 aircraft deliveries in its latest performance update. Airbus confirmed on March 7, 2025, that since its inception, 16,028 aircraft have now been delivered with the 16,000th plane (an A321neo) seemingly going to British low-cost airline Jet2 through a lease arrangement with ICBS Leasing.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

X-37B Spaceplane Lands Ending 434-Day Mission

Ars Technica reports, “The US military’s robotic mini-space shuttle dropped out of orbit and glided to a runway in California late Thursday, ending a 434-day mission that pioneered new ways of maneuvering in space. The X-37B spaceplane touched down on Runway 12 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, at 11:22 pm local time Thursday (2:22 am EST Friday), capping its high-flying mission with an automated reentry and landing on the nearly three-mile-long runway at the West Coast’s spaceport.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

Flight Tests Prove Capability of Sikorsky’s ‘Rotor Blown Wing’ Drone

Defense News reports, “Through extensive flight tests earlier this year, Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky has proven the capability of a ‘rotor blown wing’ unmanned aircraft system that can fly like a helicopter or an airplane, the company announced Monday. The drone is a 115-pound, battery-powered twin prop-rotor aircraft that the company said can be scaled larger, ‘requiring hybrid-electric propulsion.’”
Full Story (Defense News)

 

 

 

 

Video

Sikorsky Flies Rotor Blown Wing UAS in Helicopter and Airplane Modes
(Lockheed Martin; YouTube)

Launch of NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions Scrubbed Due to Spacecraft Issue and Poor Weather

Spaceflight Now reports, “Update March 11, 12:39 a.m. ET: NASA and SpaceX scrubbed the launch attempt Monday night. NASA is preparing to launch its first ride share flight in support of the Science Mission Directorate with two missions flying on the same Falcon 9 rocket. However, a last-minute issue what NASA described as “a SPHEREx ground data-flow issue” cause the mission to scrub.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Airbus Debuts New Light Twin-Engined H140 Helicopter

Aerotime reports, “Airbus Helicopters has introduced its H140 rotorcraft which is expected to enter service in 2028 for emergency medical services.  The multi-mission helicopter was unveiled during the vertical lift industry show VERTICON in Dallas, Texas, Airbus announced on March 11, 2025. The company said that the helicopter “raises the bar” in the light twin-engined category, for “performance, cost-effectiveness, and passenger and crew comfort.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

 

 

Video

Airbus Introduces the Light Twin-Engined H140
(Vision Effect TV; YouTube)

Three STEM Educators and Schools Receive Cash Awards and Free STEM Programming

Washington and Reston, Va. (March 13, 2025) – Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announce Kelsy Achtenberg, Allan Miller, and Kevin L. Simmons as the winners of the 2025 Trailblazing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educator Award. Each teacher and their respective schools will be awarded $5,000. Additionally, each teacher will receive free access to Challenger Center STEM programming, a trip to Washington, D.C., to be honored at the 2025 AIAA Awards Gala, and an invitation to attend a future space launch experience and VIP tour.

In its fourth year, the award celebrates K-12 teachers who go above and beyond to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators. The three winners come from schools across the United States and were selected from a competitive pool of nominations. The nominations demonstrate the remarkable efforts teachers make every day to empower underserved and underrepresented students in STEM while using unique strategies, tools, and lessons in and out of the classroom to further energize students.

The 2025 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award recipients are:

Kelsy Achtenberg, STEM coordinator, math lead, and Dean of Students at The Innovation School, Bismarck, North Dakota

With 13 years of teaching experience, Kelsy has spent the past eight focused on STEM education. During this time, she guided The Innovation School to become a Yass Prize quarterfinalist, a VELA grant recipient, and a Canopy Project school. Her excellence in teaching has earned nominations for Junior Achievement Teacher of the Year, LifeChanger of the Year, Chamber of Commerce Teacher of the Year, and the prestigious Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Holding a Master of Education in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, she crafts innovative, hands-on, project-based lessons. Her commitment to inclusivity in STEM shines through many of her initiatives, including a school makerspace designed specifically for students with dyslexia.

Allan Miller, Applied STEM and Design Technology teacher at Williston Central School, Williston, Vermont

A distinguished educator with 40 years of experience, Allan currently guides 3rd-8th graders through project-based experiences focusing on hands-on STEM activities. He spent 25 years teaching in Alaska, beginning at a Tlingit community school in Yakutat. Now a NASA Solar System Ambassador, Allan has been a Mercury Messenger Fellow, Explorer School Project Leader, and helped establish the Educator Astronaut Teacher corps. His career extends beyond the classroom: as a 1989 Reagan/Gorbachev Fellow, he taught in a Soviet school; as a 2007 Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow, he coordinated international projects for the National Science Foundation; and as a 2020 Fulbright Distinguished Educator Fellow, he trained over 500 Uzbekistan teachers on STEM education best practices. In 2023 and 2025, he led a Fulbright project in Nha Trang, Vietnam, training faculty and students at a teacher’s college on building problem-solving skills through STEM. His awards include the 2005 Alaska Challenger Center Teacher of the Year, 2008 NSTA Mohling Aerospace Educator Award, and 2013 UVM Tarrant Foundation Educational Leadership Award; he is a 2022 Vermont nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics.

Kevin L. Simmons, founder of the Wolfpack CubeSat Development Team (WCDT) and Aerospace and Innovation Academy, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Kevin brings 21 years of educator experience to engage middle and high school students in aerospace and STEM education. His WCDT program empowers students aged 10–18 to design, build, and launch CubeSats—two have already flown, with a third set for 2025 via Firefly Aerospace’s DREAM 2.0. Under his leadership, WCDT students have produced over 110 technical papers and presented at major conferences such as the International Astronautical Congress and SmallSat. Kevin also works with his team to create educational resources—such as children’s books and podcasts— to make space science accessible to a wider audience. His accolades include induction into the Space Worker Hall of Fame and the AIAA Educator Achievement Award, and he co-founded the annual SmallSat Education Conference at NASA Kennedy Space Center. Kevin also is an advocate, mentoring students who have participated in AIAA Congressional Visits Day and Florida Space Day, helping them learn how to advocate for accessible STEM policies and connect with leaders.

“We are honored to present the 2025 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award to Kelsy, Allan, and Kevin. They are each committed to providing students with world-class STEM education opportunities, especially the kinds of project-based, hands-on learning that immerses students in real-world challenges and equips them with the skills to innovate,” said Mike Kincaid, President and Executive Director of Challenger Center. “With leaders like them, we’re building a dynamic, capable generation of STEM pioneers.”

The U.S. aerospace and defense industry leads the world in innovation, while still facing challenges of staffing a properly skilled and qualified workforce. Crucial gaps must be addressed – more STEM-literate graduates are desperately needed and greater participation is needed from women and communities traditionally excluded from the world of aerospace. These educators are working tirelessly to inspire and prepare the up-and-coming generation of leaders.

“These three Trailblazing STEM Educator Award winners are remarkable educators! AIAA believes teachers are invaluable members of their communities. We are pleased to fuel the work of these educators with extra resources to help them continue going above and beyond. They’re enabling a robust STEM-literate next generation, shaping the future of aerospace,” said AIAA CEO Clay Mowry.

The winners will be recognized at the 2025 AIAA Awards Gala, scheduled for 30 April at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C. The evening celebrates the most influential and inspiring individuals in aerospace. Tickets are available now.

Each winner can select from Challenger Center’s suite of hands-on, simulated learning experiences based on their classes’ needs: Center Missions, delivered at Challenger Learning Centers around the globe; and Virtual Missions, delivered by Challenger Learning Center Flight Directors to students in and out of the classroom.

Contacts
AIAA – Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270
Challenger Center – Julia Austin, [email protected], 202-827-1575

About Challenger Center
As a leader in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, Challenger Center provides hundreds of thousands of students annually with experiential education programs that engage students in hands-on learning opportunities. These programs, delivered in Challenger Learning Centers and classrooms, strengthen knowledge in STEM subjects and inspire students to pursue careers in these important fields. Challenger Center was created by the Challenger families to honor the crew of shuttle flight STS-51L. For more information about Challenger Center, please visit www.challenger.org or connect on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.About AIAA Foundation
The AIAA Foundation inspires and supports the next generation of aerospace professionals. From classroom to career, the AIAA Foundation enables innovative K-12 and university programming, including STEM classroom grants, scholarships, conferences, and hands-on competitions. Founded in 1996, the AIAA Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational organization connected to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)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 www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Boeing Outperforms Airbus in Deliveries for February 2025

Aerotime reports, “Boeing delivered 44 new aircraft in February 2025, outperforming rival Airbus for the second month in a row. The European planemaker delivered 40 aircraft to customers during the same period. This is a decrease from the 45 aircraft delivered in January 2025. In February 2025, Boeing received 13 new aircraft orders, down from 36 in January 2025.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

Global Shortfall in Firefighting Rotorcraft Prompts Reboot of Bell’s 214ST

Aviation Week reports, “Bell’s 214ST is set to become the latest legacy helicopter to go back into production to address global shortfalls in rotary-wing firefighting capability. Australia’s McDermott Aviation, which owns the type certificate to the twin-engine, 8-metric-ton helicopter, is planning to produce new-build versions of the rotorcraft. It will be powered by either the General Electric CT7/T700 or Safran’s Aneto turboshaft. McDermott currently owns all 24 of the remaining operational 214STs of the 85 that were built. It has been using them on firefighting contracts, most notably in Greece, where the company had 14 aircraft deployed last year.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

SpaceX Launches NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions

The New York Times reports, “Two NASA missions launched from the California coast and soared toward the stars late Tuesday night, overcoming a week of delays to get to orbit. Both aim to unravel mysteries about the universe — one by peering far from Earth, the other by looking closer to home. The rocket’s chief passenger is SPHEREx, a space telescope that will take images of the entire sky in more than a hundred colors that are invisible to the human eye. Accompanying the telescope is a suite of satellites known collectively as PUNCH, which will study the sun’s outer atmosphere and solar wind.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)

 

Video

SpaceX launches NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions (Launch at 58:01 mark)
(NASA; YouTube)

Joby and Virgin Atlantic to Launch Air Taxi in UK

Aerotime reports, “In a groundbreaking move set to launch air taxi services in the UK, Joby Aviation has announced a strategic partnership with Virgin Atlantic. The new partnership, which was unveiled on March 15, 2025, marks a significant step toward launching zero-emission, high-speed air taxi services across the country. According to the United States venture-backed aviation company, the new air taxi service will initially connect key Virgin Atlantic hubs, including London Heathrow (LHR) and Manchester Airport (MAN), with regional cities.”
Full Story (Aerotime)