Defense Daily reports, “The V-BAT unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has successfully complete{d} operational test and evaluation with the Coast Guard, clearing the way for the service to begin employing the drones aboard its National Security Cutters (NSCs) for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance uses, the service and drone supplier said on Thursday.
Full Story (Defense Daily)
Tag: Ready
Stratolaunch TA-2 Set to Make First Reusable Test Flight
Aviation Week reports, “Stratolaunch is recycling for another attempt at the first reusable test flight of the Talon A hypersonic testbed after aborting a mission off California on Dec. 13. The planned test of the second Talon (TA-2) was to have been the first under Stratolaunch’s five-flight block buy…”
Full Story (Aviation Week – Subscription Publication)
Southwest Airlines CEO Promises Carrier is “Absolutely Ready” for Holiday Travel
Bloomberg reports that vowing to “avoid a repeat of catastrophic holiday delays that stranded thousands of passengers last year, Southwest Airlines Co.’s leader said the company was ‘absolutely ready’ for an impending travel crush.” Company CEO Bob Jordan said the carrier has overhauled its operations since last year’s debacle, and has “added workers and improved training to new cold-weather equipment and revamped technology.”
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NASA Declares SLS Ready for Crewed Missions
SPACE reports that NASA’s Space Launch System rocket “appears ready to take the next big step – launching astronauts. The debut SLS flight, on Nov. 16, kicked off NASA’s 25-day-long Artemis 1 mission, which sent an uncrewed Orion capsule to lunar orbit and back. … An initial assessment of SLS’ Artemis 1 performance, which NASA released on Nov. 30, gave the rocket high marks, finding that it performed as expected in all areas. Mission team members have now had more time to crunch the numbers, and the reviews continue to be rave, suggesting that no big changes will be required ahead of the first crewed SLS launch.” In a January 27 update, NASA officials wrote, “Building off the assessment conducted shortly after launch, the preliminary post-flight data indicates that all SLS systems performed exceptionally and that the designs are ready to support a crewed flight on Artemis 2.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Starlink Maritime Ready for Yachts, Ships, Oil Rigs
ZDNet reported that “SpaceX boss Elon Musk has announced a new Starlink broadband service for everything from merchant vessels to oil rigs to premium yachts.” Starlink Maritime promises “high-speed, low-latency internet with up to 350 Mbps download while at sea.” Musk tweeted, “Starlink Maritime allows you to connect from some of the most remote waters in the world.” ZDNet reported that “Starlink Maritime’s hardware consists of two terminals and costs $10,000 plus a monthly fee of $5,000.” Starlink software engineer Joseph Scarantino “explained on Twitter that Maritime’s dual-dish setup quadruples performance to reduce latency and signal loss at sea by creating a wider field of view.” SpaceX argues that the price is “actually a lot cheaper than traditional very small aperture satellite (VSAT) internet service.”
Full Story (ZDNet)