Flight Global reports, “The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to launch the Lift Challenge in 2026, seeking novel designs for uncrewed aircraft that can carry payloads more than four times their own weight.”
Tag: November 2025
NASA’s Perseverance Rover May Have Discovered its First Meteorite on Mars
SPACE reports, “NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has found a possible meteorite on the surface of the Red Planet. Perseverance spotted an unusual “sculpted, high-standing” rock nestled among “low-lying, flat and fragmented surrounding rocks”, which got the attention of scientists right away.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Navy and Marines Corps Set to Install Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance Systems in Boeing F/A-18s
Aviation Week reports, “The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, along with two partner operators, are set to install automatic ground collision avoidance systems in Boeing F/A-18 fleets—admitting that the technology could have prevented several fatal crashes. Both the legacy F/A-18 Hornet fleet in the U.S. Marine Corps and Royal Canadian Air Force and the F/A-18E/Fs and EA-18G Growlers in the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force passed major milestones in the process in November.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
AIAA Fellow Hauck Died in November 2025
FROM THE INSTITUTE
Former NASA astronaut Rick Hauck, who flew on three Space Shuttle missions, including the Return to Flight in 1988, died on 8 November. He was 84 years old.
Boeing Starliner’s Next Flight Allowed to Carry Cargo Only
Ars Technica reports, “The US space agency ended months of speculation about the next flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, confirming Monday that the vehicle will carry only cargo to the International Space Station. NASA and Boeing are now targeting no earlier than April 2026 to fly the uncrewed Starliner-1 mission, the space agency said. Launching by next April will require completion of rigorous test, certification, and mission readiness activities, NASA added in a statement.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
AIAA Engages Future Space Leaders at SpaceVision 2025
FROM THE INSTITUTE
SpaceVision, hosted by Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), took place at the University of Washington in Seattle, 6–8 November, and brought together more than 350 university students from across the country. AIAA CEO Clay Mowry participated in two back-to-back panels on 7 November, highlighting both the future of space exploration and practical guidance for emerging professionals.
SpaceX Launches Another Batch of Starlink Satellites from Vandenberg on New Falcon 9
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched a brand new Falcon 9 booster on a mission from California to deploy another batch of satellites for the company’s Starlink internet service. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, occurred for 12:48 a.m. PST (3:48 a.m. EST / 0848 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Video
SpaceX launches a new Falcon 9 rocket from California (Launch ocurrs at the 29:03 mark).
Spaceflight Now; YouTube
DARPA X-plane Steered by Air Bursts to Make First Flight in 2027
Defense News reports, “An experimental DARPA plane that would steer using bursts of air is expected to have its first flight in late 2027, more than two years later than originally planned, after the program was paused and restructured. The unmanned X-65, being built by Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences as part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program, is designed to test a concept called ‘active flow control’ to steer an aircraft.”
Full Story (Defense News)
SpaceX’s Next-Gen Starship Booster Damaged During Testing Friday Morning
Ars Technica reports, “During the pre-dawn hours in South Texas on Friday morning, SpaceX’s next-generation Starship first stage suffered some sort of major damage during pre-launch testing. The company had only rolled the massive rocket out of the factory a day earlier, noting the beginning of its test campaign said on the social media site X: “The first operations will test the booster’s redesigned propellant systems and its structural strength.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
AIAA Announces Candidates for the 2026 Election
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The Council Nominating Committee has selected candidates for next year’s openings on the AIAA Council of Directors. Council Nominating Committee Chair Laura Richard and AIAA Governance and Executive Operations Administrator Susan Silva confirmed the names of the candidates who will appear on the 2026 ballot.
Full Story (Aerospace America)