Tag: November 2025

Anduril’s YFQ-44A Drone Wingman Prototype Makes First Flight

Breaking Defense reports, “Defense tech startup Anduril’s prototype bid for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program achieved its first flight, the service announced [Friday]. The YFQ-44A drone flew ‘at a California test location’ at an undisclosed time today, the Air Force said in a press release. The drone is the second to reach the flight testing stage for the Air Force’s drone wingman program, following General Atomics’s YFQ-42A that took off for the first time in August.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)

Blue Origin Successfully Test-Fires New Glenn Rocket Engines at Cape Canaveral

Ars Technica reports, “The road to the second flight of Blue Origin’s heavy-lifting New Glenn rocket got a lot clearer Thursday night with a success test-firing of the launcher’s seven main engines on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Standing on a seaside launch pad, the New Glenn rocket ignited its seven BE-4 main engines at 9:59 pm EDT Thursday (01:59 UTC Friday). The engines burned for 38 seconds while the rocket remained firmly on the ground, according to a social media post by Blue Origin.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

Embraer Reports Record Q3 2025 Revenue, Backlog at $31.3B

Aerotime reports, “Embraer reported an all-time high third-quarter revenue of $2.0 billion in Q3 2025, up 18% year-on-year, driven by strong growth in its Commercial Aviation and Defense & Security segments. The Brazilian manufacturer delivered 62 aircraft during the quarter (20 commercial jets, 41 executive jets, and one KC-390 Millennium), marking a 5% year-on-year increase.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

“Athena” Plan Lays Out New Blueprint for Remaking NASA

Ars Technica reports, “In recent weeks, copies of an intriguing policy document have started to spread among space lobbyists on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The document bears the title ‘Athena,’ and it purports to summarize the actions that private astronaut Jared Isaacman would have taken, were his nomination to become NASA administrator confirmed. The 62-page plan is notable both for the ideas to remake NASA that it espouses as well as the manner in which it has been leaked to the space community.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

AI Shifts the Paradigm of Aerospace Structural Modeling

From the Institute
Artificial intelligence (AI) can and should be a practical partner in changing the way aerospace structural modeling is accomplished, remarked Wenbin Yu. While physics-based models remain essential, AI can accelerate computation, fill knowledge gaps, integrate workflows, and make advanced simulation tools accessible to more engineers, he added, describing this new paradigm in detail during an AIAA JournalKeynote Seminar Series webinar.

2025 AIAA Best Professional and Student Papers

FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA technical committees (TCs) and integration and outreach committees (IOCs) have selected the best professional and student technical papers presented at recent AIAA forums. With a standard award criteria and selection process from the respective committees, the following technical papers were selected as the “best,” and thereby were presented with a Certificate of Merit. The papers can be found online at the AIAA Aerospace Research Central (arc.aiaa.org), marked as “Best Paper.”
Full Story (Aerospace America)

ISS Marks 25 Years of Continuous Human Presence in Orbit

ISS National Laboratory reports, “This past weekend, the International Space Station (ISS) celebrated a historic milestone: 25 years of continuous human presence in orbit. Since November 2, 2000, more than 290 astronauts from around the globe have lived and worked onboard the space station, advancing science and fostering international cooperation for the benefit of humanity.”
Full Story (ISS National Laboratory)

AIAA Survey: Forecast of Emerging Aerospace Technologies

FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA is working with BryceTech to produce the AIAA 2026 Forecast of Emerging Aerospace Technologies, a strategic assessment of the innovations that will define the aerospace landscape over the next two decades. This forecast will explore technologies driving future competitiveness, national capability, and societal impact. As a member of the AIAA community, your expert perspective will provide valuable insights into these technology trends. Please take a moment to fill out the emerging technology trends survey.

Rocket Lab Launches Earth-observing Radar Satellite to Orbit in 6th Mission for Japanese Company iQPS

SPACE reports, “Rocket Lab launched its sixth mission for the Japanese Earth-imaging company iQPS this afternoon (Nov. 5) from its seaside pad in New Zealand. An Electron rocket carrying the QPS-SAR-14 satellite, nicknamed Yachihoko-I, lifted off from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site today at 2:51 p.m. EST (1951 GMT; 8:51 a.m. on Nov. 6. local New Zealand time).”
Full Story (SPACE)

Video

Rocket Lab launches Japanese Earth-observation satellite. (Launch occurs at the 00:10 mark)
VideoFromSpace; YouTube

Arc Orbital Supply Spacecraft Designed to Deliver Military Supplies Anywhere on Earth Within an Hour

The War Zone reports, “California-based space startup Inversion has unveiled its design for a fully reusable, lifting-body spacecraft named Arc. The spacecraft is intended to deliver critical cargo from space to any point on Earth within an hour, landing on water, snow or soil with a precision of around 50 feet, the company says. The concept, aimed squarely at the defense sector, reflects longstanding U.S. military interest in using space-based systems to rapidly move cargo around the globe to meet commanders’ urgent needs.”
Full Story (The War Zone)

US Army Plans to Buy One Million Drones Over Next Two to Three Years

Breaking Defense reports, “The Army is planning a massive overhaul on how it acquires unmanned aerial systems, setting the ambitious goal of buying one million drones over the next two to three years, an Army spokesperson confirmed to Breaking Defense. Reuters first reported on the drone buy, which could lead to the Army buying half a million to millions of drones annually after the initial acquisition. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told the outlet in an interview: “It is a big lift. But it is a lift we’re very capable of doing.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)

U.S. Navy Installing Automatic Ground Control Avoidance System for F/A-18s, EA-18s

Aviation Week Network reports, “The U.S. Navy is proceeding with an effort to install an automatic ground control avoidance system (Auto GCAS) on Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. Naval Air Systems Command on Nov. 10 published a solicitation for a software update to redesign the digital map computer and flight control computer on the aircraft’s Tactical Aircraft Moving Map Capability (Tammac) in support of the Auto GCAS program.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Becoming a Technical Fellow Takes More Than Expertise

FROM THE INSTITUTE
Early- and mid-career engineers looking for a career boost might want to look beyond everyday problem-solving and consider becoming a technical fellow. Four Senior Technical Fellows at Lockheed Martin — experts in artificial intelligence, sensor fusion, propulsion, and directed energy — who collectively support a technical community of nearly 17,000 professionals, discussed what it takes to become a Technical Fellow during a Hub session at AIAA AVIATION Forum and ASCEND in July.

SpaceX Launches 560th Falcon 9 Rocket to Date Following Saturday Scrub

Spaceflight Now reports, “Following a last minute scrub Saturday morning, SpaceX launched a batch of Starlink satellites in the predawn hours of Sunday morning. The launch came as the Federal Aviation Administration readies a rollout of commercial launch restrictions for U.S. airspace.” The mission was SpaceX’s 560th Falcon 9 rocket launch to date, with liftoff taking place at pad 39A “at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 9 at 3:10 EST (0810 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Video

SpaceX performs its 560th Falcon 9 rocket launch to date from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. (Launch occurs at the 59:12 mark)
Spaceflight Now; YouTube