Defense Daily reports, “Boston-based Merlin Labs, Inc. said on May 30 that it is using data from flights of a KC-135 at MacDill AFB, Fla., ‘to better understand crew workload drivers and gather data to expand the autonomous capabilities of the Merlin Pilot for military use cases.’”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
Tag: May 2024
Space Debris from SpaceX Dragon Capsule Comes Down in North Carolina Mountains
SPACE reports that a large piece of debris was found on a mountainside in North Carolina last week, suspected to be left over from the reentry of SpaceX’s Crew-7 mission.
Full Story (SPACE)
Sikorsky Performing Flight Trials for VTOL Tail-Sitter UAS
Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, is carrying out flight tests to mature the control laws and aerodynamics of a novel vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed aerial system (VTOL / UAS). The flight tests aim to prove the efficiency and scalability of a twin proprotor ‘rotor blown wing’ configuration, designed to sit on its tail to take-off and land like a helicopter, and transition easily to horizontal forward flight.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)
SNC to Develop Air Force’s ‘Doomsday Plane’ Replacement Using Digital Twin
Breaking Defense reports, “Sierra Nevada Corporation’s behemoth task of converting Boeing 747 jumbo jets into militarized aircraft that can survive nuclear war will be no easy feat, but the mid-size, privately-held firm hopes that a set of special digital tools will ease the process.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
KC-46 Deliveries Suspended Due to Boom Issue
Aviation Week reports, “The U.S. Air Force has not taken delivery of KC-46 tankers from Boeing in more than two months as a new issue on the aircraft’s boom was discovered during inspections.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Air Force Says B-21 Flight Testing and Production ‘Continues to Make Progress’
Flying Magazine reports, “The B-21 Raider ‘continues to make progress’ in flight testing and production, the U.S. Air Force said Wednesday. The stealth strike bomber was unveiled in December 2022 and officially moved into low-rate production earlier this year. In January, Northrop Grumman said six B-21 bombers are in various stages of final assembly and testing at its facility in Palmdale, California.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
AIAA Statement on the Passing of Jeff Bingham
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2024 – Reston, Va – AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:
“AIAA is saddened by the news of the passing of Jeff Bingham. Jeff was a leading influence in the aerospace community helping shape U.S. space policy. We are grateful for his bipartisan, professional approach that propelled the nation’s efforts in space for the future.
Jeff was instrumental in developing the ISS, championing its use as an orbiting scientific laboratory for the benefit of humanity. In addition to his work on the ISS and the National Lab, he was influential via NASA Authorization Acts to establish the objectives and priorities for human space exploration.
Jeff was an AIAA Associate Fellow. We were honored that he shared meaningful insights with our audiences at several AIAA events, helping our community make progress toward the next exploration goals.
His dedication to the aerospace community continues, with his request in lieu of flowers for donations made to any space-related charity in his name to support future space explorers and leaders.
We send our condolences to his family and friends. Godspeed Jeff.”
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.
June 1 Set as New Target Date for Starliner’s Crew Flight Test
Spaceflight Now reports that the latest launch date was announced late Wednesday evening, following a Tuesday night notice that May 25 was off the table. Liftoff of the Atlas 5 rocket on June 1 is set for 12:25 p.m. EDT (1625 UTC). A press briefing is now set for Friday, May 24, at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) to discuss the work done and the path forward to launch. “Williams and Wilmore continue to remain in quarantine in Houston, Texas, and have spent the additional weeks conducting further simulator training to prepare for the mission.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Joby Aviation Eyes Saudi Arabia for Electric Air Taxi Network
Flying Magazine reports, “Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi manufacturer Joby Aviation is setting its sights on Saudi Arabia. The manufacturer on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mukamalah Aviation—a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company Saudi Aramco that according to Joby operates the world’s largest fleet of corporate aircraft—to introduce its eVTOL air taxi in the country.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
SpaceX Starship Fueled Up Ahead of 4th Test Flight
SPACE reports, “SpaceX just fueled up its giant Starship rocket, checking another box ahead of the vehicle’s fourth test flight. The company performed a ‘wet dress rehearsal’ with Starship at its Starbase site in South Texas today (May 20), filling both of the vehicle’s stages with supercold liquid oxygen and liquid methane in a key prelaunch test.”
Full Story (SPACE)