Defense News reports that the US Air Force “is ramping up plans for incorporating drone wingmen into its fleet, and envisions 1,000 of the so-called collaborative combat aircraft in service as it sketches out ideas.” USAF Secretary Frank Kendall said the service will request congressional funding in 2024 for the CCA program so it can map out operations, organization, and support for the new systems, including the Next Generation Air Dominance program of futuristic fighter aircraft.
Full Story (Defense News)
Tag: Plans
NASA Updates Commercial Space Station Plans
Space News reports that NASA has “released additional details about how it plans to use commercial space stations after the retirement of the International Space Station as some in industry seek to accelerate NASA’s support for them.” NASA published two white papers Feb. 13 “as part of a request for information (RFI) for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations effort to support development of commercial stations.” The documents provide “new details about how NASA expects to work with companies operating those stations and the agency’s needs to conduct research there.” One white paper “lists NASA’s anticipated resource needs for those stations, including crew time, power and volume, broken out for each of the major agency programs anticipated to use commercial stations.” Companies had been “seeking more details about NASA requirements to assist in the planning of their stations.” Overall, including resources “expected to be reserved for a successor to the ISS National Laboratory, NASA expects to require 3,000 to 4,000 hours of crew time a year, which NASA expects to provide through having two astronauts on a commercial station.” The agency stated “that it is open to having private astronaut carry out some of the research activities.”
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Japan Outlines NASA Gateway Plans
Aviation Week reported that Japan has outlined “its planned contributions to NASA’s Gateway lunar-orbiting station and become the first of the four major International Space Station (ISS) partners to join with the U.S. in committing to formally extending operations of the seven-person orbital laboratory for 2024-30.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)