Tag: May 2025

Boeing Books 303 New Orders in May in One of Highest Monthly Order Tallies in Company History

Reuters reports, “Boeing heads into the Paris Air Show after a blockbuster May that included booking 303 new orders and rolling out 38 new 737 MAX jets, a production rate it has been working to reach for more than a year. The company also delivered 45 aircraft last month, it said Tuesday. It was the sixth-highest monthly order tally in Boeing’s history, according to company data.”
Full Story (Reuters)

U.S. Pauses Sale of CFM Aircraft Engine to China

Flying Magazine reports, “The U.S. Commerce Department has paused the sale of some American-made aviation equipment to China, including CFM International’s LEAP 1-C engine, which Chinese airplane maker Comac uses to power its narrowbody C919. The New York Times first reported the export block on Wednesday, citing officials with knowledge of the matter. The department largely confirmed the newspaper’s reporting to Reuters, saying in a statement that it is reviewing “exports of strategic significance to China” and suspending export licenses for certain technology as that review continues.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

FBO Market Expected to Grow to $41.4B by 2031

Flying Magazine reports, “The market for FBOs—the companies that handle services at airports like fueling, hangaring, and aircraft maintenance—is set to grow at a “healthy” rate over the next several years, according to a new report. Market research firm The Insight Partners predicts the fixed base operator market will expand from $25.5 billion in 2024 to $41.4 billion by 2031. Analysts attributed the forecasted gains to a more dynamic business travel environment and demand from established and emerging regions, especially North America, Europe, and Asia.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

SpaceX Targeting Record-Breaking 170 Orbital Launches in 2025

SPACE reports, “SpaceX will end up launching an orbital mission nearly every other day in 2025, if all goes according to plan. “We’re targeting 170 launches by the end of the year,” Anne Mason, director of national security space launch at SpaceX, said during a call with reporters on Wednesday (May 28). That would shatter the company’s single-year record of 134 orbital liftoffs, which was set just last year.”
Full Story (SPACE)

U.S. Suspends Exports of Jet Engine and Semiconductor Technology to China

The New York Times reports, “The Trump administration has suspended some sales to China of critical U.S. technologies, including those related to jet engines, semiconductors and certain chemicals and machinery. The move is a response to China’s recent restrictions on exports of critical minerals to the United States, a decision by Beijing that has threatened to cripple U.S. company supply chains, according to two people familiar with the matter.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)

Space Ops: Blue Origin Prepares to Leapfrog SpaceX to the Moon

Aviation Week reports, “Blue Origin plans to attempt a lunar landing this year. If successful, the MK1, which is 26 ft. tall and 10 ft. in diameter, would become the largest vehicle to touch down on the surface of the Moon, eclipsing the Apollo program’s Lunar Modules (LM) that landed crews six times in 1969-72. Fully fueled, the MK1 weighs 47,000 lb., compared with the 36,200-lb. mass of the extended Apollo LM.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Hermeus Quarterhorse Demonstrator Makes First Flight

Aviation Week reports, “High-speed aircraft developer Hermeus has successfully flown its remotely piloted Quarterhorse Mk. 1 demonstrator at Edwards AFB, California, marking a key step toward the follow-on development of supersonic and hypersonic vehicles. The short flight, which Hermeus describes as a simple “hop,” was achieved after the aircraft completed two high-speed taxi tests earlier on May 21. After takeoff the aircraft climbed briefly to low altitude before making a straight-ahead landing on the base’s 6.2-mi.-long dry lakebed Runway 15/33.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Physicists Record Rocket Launches for Acoustic Insights

The New York Times reports that physicists who record rocket launches and landings are learning important facts about the acoustics of spaceflight. “Rocket launches are loud, and big rockets are louder. Launches used to be occasional spectacles, and not many people minded the noise. But the pace has quickened. SpaceX, the rocket company started by Elon Musk, now sends a Falcon 9 rocket to space at least once every few days from launchpads in Florida and California. Other companies, including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, also have ambitions to send rockets to space at an accelerating pace.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)