Tag: March 2025

NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Discovers Large Organic Molecules

Aviation Week reports, “Samples of pulverized rock from the Martian surface gathered and analyzed by NASA’s Curiosity rover have found the largest collection of organic samples to date on the red planet. Findings published March 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identifies the organics as molecular compounds of decane, undecane and dodecane, which are respectively comprised of 10, 11 and 12 carbon.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Airbus Expects Next Jet Will Be ‘Evolutionary Not Revolutionary’

Reuters reports, “Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said on Tuesday the planemaker’s next single-aisle jet would be ‘evolutionary rather than revolutionary’, but that this could include an open-rotor engine such as one being studied by supplier CFM. The head of the world’s largest planemaker was speaking at the start of an event aimed at focusing attention on ongoing innovation following the company’s decision last month to delay development of a radical hydrogen-powered regional aircraft.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum Launcher Set to Overtake V-2 as Germany’s Largest Rocket

Ars Technica reports, “Seven years ago, three classmates at the Technical University of Munich believed their student engineering project might hold some promise in the private sector. At the time, one of the co-founders, Daniel Metzler, led a team of 40 students working on rocket engines and launching sounding rockets. Josef Fleischmann was on the team that won the first SpaceX Hyperloop competition. Together with another classmate, Markus Brandl, they crafted rocket parts in a campus workshop before taking the leap and establishing Isar Aerospace, named for the river running through the Bavarian capital.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

Boeing Awarded Air Force’s Next-Gen Fighter Contract

Defense One reports, “Boeing will develop and build a sixth-generation fighter jet for the Air Force, President Donald Trump announced Friday, ending months of deliberation about whether to proceed with the effort and how much it might cost.  ‘After a rigorous and thorough competition between some of America’s top aerospace companies, the Air Force is going to be awarding the contract for the Next Generation Air Dominance platform to Boeing,’ Trump said. Boeing beat out Lockheed Martin, its only rival for the NGAD contract after Northrop Grumman dropped out last year.”
Full Story (Defense One)

SpaceX Launches its 450th Falcon 9, Sets New Record for Booster Turnaround Time

Spaceflight Now reports, “The National Reconnaissance Office launched its eighth batch of satellites to support its proliferated architecture constellation. The mission includes a number of notable milestones for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket program, including a record-fast turnaround time for its booster. The rocket carried an unspecified number of satellites that are believed to be Starshield, a government variant of the Starlink satellites that are built by SpaceX in partnership with Northrop Grumman. This was SpaceX’s 450th Falcon 9 launch to date.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)



Video

SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 for 450th time (Launch occurs at 32:38)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

NASA to Continue Pursuit of Boeing Starliner Certification

Aviation Week reports, “NASA says it wants to stick with the Boeing CST-100 Starliner to give the space agency options in case the SpaceX Dragon system encounters problems. NASA last year had to lean on the SpaceX system when it experienced technical issues with Starliner during a Crew Flight Test (CFT) that turned a days-long mission into a months-long saga. The propulsion issues drove NASA to return the Boeing capsule to Earth uncrewed and make astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams part of the International Space Station (ISS) crew. They returned to Earth March 18along with NASA’s Crew-9 Dragon commander Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Israeli and U.S. Companies Collaborating on Military Hydrogen-Cell Drones

Defense One reports “As drones continue to reshape the nature of warfare, the limitations on range and power are becoming the difference between success and defeat on the battlefield. Now, an Israel-based drone company and U.S. manufacturing company Mach Industries are working together to co-produce hydrogen fuel cell powered drones, which offer big advantages in range but have previously faced challenges that have kept them from the battlefield.”
Full Story (Defense One)

H2Hub Summit 2025 Offer for AIAA Members

The H2Hub Summit 2025 explores cutting-edge hydrogen innovations, including H2 eVTOLs, H2 Out of Thin Air, H2 Wing-in-Ground (WIG) Vessels, and H2 Drones. Join us on March 19, 2025, for expert insights, networking, and discussions on advancing hydrogen production, infrastructure, and applications in aviation, maritime, and beyond. 
Get your $20 ticket with code AIAA

 

Gray Eagle UAS Performs First Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Flights

Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has conducted its first flight test series of the Gray Eagle® Extended Range (GE-ER) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) using a Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) satellite constellation for aircraft communications. Contracted by the U.S. Army, the flight tests began in January 2025 and mark a significant milestone, reportedly making GE-ER the first long-endurance U.S. Army aircraft to be controlled over the new satellite service. Gray Eagle is also the only U.S. Army UAS capable of leveraging Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and PLEO constellations for secure, inflight adaptable and resilient communication, navigation and data management.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)