Defense News reports, “Airbus U.S. Space and Defense has conducted its first demonstration as part of a program to build an autonomous, uncrewed version of the UH-72 Lakota transportation helicopter for the U.S. Marine Corps. The Lakota variant, which Airbus calls the UH-72 Logistics Connector, is the company’s bid for the Marines’ Aerial Logistics Connector program, senior manager for business development Carl Forsling said Monday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Washington.”
Full Story (Defense News)
Tag: October 2024
FAA Grants Inversion Space Reentry License for Orbital Cargo Delivery Capsule Demo
TechCrunch reports, “Inversion Space has become the third company to receive a spacecraft reentry license from the Federal Aviation Administration, paving the way for the startup to launch and return its tech pathfinder mission for orbital delivery later this year. The three-year-old startup has ambitions of transforming space into a new ‘transportation layer for Earth’ using ultra-fast, on-demand cargo deliveries to anywhere on Earth from orbit.”
Full Story (TechCrunch)
Most Florida Airports Back in Service Post-Milton
Aviation International News reports, “Airports across Florida are shrugging off the results of Hurricane Milton today. The storm came ashore as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday evening just south of Sarasota on the state’s Gulf Coast. Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport (KSRQ) will remain shuttered until at least tomorrow as workers continue to clean up and assess damage to the airport’s infrastructure.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
SpaceX Starship Booster Caught by Launch Gantry During Landing
Aviation Week reports, “A SpaceX Super Heavy booster flew itself back to its Boca Chica Beach, Texas, launchpad where it was caught by a pair of mechanical arms on the gantry 7 min. after liftoff, nailing one of the primary goals of the fifth Starship-Super Heavy integrated flight test (IFT-5).”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
More Info (AIAA Statement)
Embraer E190F Freighter Variant Earns FAA Certification
Simple Flying reports, “Embraer has announced that its E190F passenger-to-freighter (P2F) has been fully certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Brazilian planemaker launched its P2F program – which also includes the E195 – in May 2022, with the E190F completing its first flight in April of this year. The company revealed that the E190F received full FAA certification last month following its certification by the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC) in July.”
Full Story (Simple Flying)
Space Force to Test New Orbit-Switching Maneuver on X-37B Space Plane
Defense One reports, “A U.S. X-37B space plane is slated to test a new way of rapidly changing its orbit, part of the Space Force’s quest for fuel-sipping maneuverability. The spacecraft will experiment with aerobraking, which uses Earth’s atmosphere to slow down and switch orbits. “The use of the aerobraking maneuver—a series of passes using the drag of Earth’s atmosphere—enables the spacecraft to change orbits while expending minimal fuel,” the service said in a release today.”
Full Story (Defense One)
As Space Station Ages, Air Leaks from Russian Section Cause Concern
The Washington Post reports, “Russia’s space agency has identified four cracks and about 50 other “areas of concern” in a Russian section of the International Space Station, leading NASA to classify the problem at its highest level of risk and study how to evacuate its astronauts in the case of an emergency. NASA has been so concerned with the cracks that officials have negotiated a deal with their Russian counterparts to seal off the small segment and keep the hatch to it open only during critical operations, the space agency said.”
Full Story (Washington Post)
Aviation Industry Coalition Calls for Measures to Prevent Use of Unapproved Plane Parts
CNBC reports, “A report issued by an aviation industry coalition on Wednesday called for new steps to help prevent future unapproved parts from entering the aviation supply chain. The report from the Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition that was created in February called for strengthening vendor accreditation, digitizing documents and improving part traceability. It also proposed adopting best practices for receiving and inspecting parts and scrapping and destroying non-usable material.”
Full Story (CNBC)
Aurora Unveils High-Speed VTOL X-Plane Concept Design
Aviation Week reports, “Aurora Flight Sciences on Oct. 8 unveiled new details of a notional operational variant of the fan-in-wing concept it is proposing for a high-speed, vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) X-Plane. The operational version of the Boeing-owned company’s candidate for a DARPA demonstrator program would boast nearly the same wingspan and payload weight of a Lockheed Martin C-130J, yet fly up to 90 kt. faster and be able to take off and land vertically like a helicopter.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Small, Autonomous Airlifters Becoming Top Priority for US Air Force
Aviation Week reports, “A new type of military airlifter is rising to the top of the U.S. Air Force’s list of modernization priorities: small, autonomous, electric-powered aircraft capable of short takeoffs and landings—and numbering in the hundreds. Air Force Material Command (AFMC) is in the market research phase for the Next-Generation Intratheater Airlift (NGIA) concept. A five-year prototyping program could begin as early as fiscal 2026, leading to the start in the early 2030s.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)