Tag: Says

Air Force Says 2023 V-22 Crash Caused by ‘Catastrophic’ Mechanical Failure and ‘Casual’ Crew Decisions

Breaking Defense reports, “Air Force investigators have determined the fatal CV-22B crash that occurred off the coast of Japan in November was caused by a ‘catastrophic failure’ of a proprotor gearbox — a mechanical failure that the service said was made more likely due to the crew’s in-flight decisions and the Osprey program office’s prior failure to effectively communicate relevant data to the military services.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)

China Won’t Beat US in Getting to the Moon, NASA Administrator Says

SPACE reports, “NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is unconcerned that China will beat the United States in returning astronauts to the moon.” During a media teleconference on Tuesday, “Nelson dismissed concerns that the U.S. could lose the race to put human boots back on the moon.” Nelson said, “I do not have a concern that China is going to land before us. I think that China has a very aggressive plan. I think they would like to land before us, because that might give them some PR coup. But the fact is that I don’t think they will. I think it is true that their date that they announced keeps getting earlier. But specifically, with us landing in September of ‘26, that will be the first landing.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Richard Branson Says He Will Not Invest More Money into Virgin Galactic

CNN reports that shares of Virgin Galactic, “the space tourism venture founded by Richard Branson, are plunging after the British billionaire said he has no plans to invest more money in the company as he says it has ‘sufficient funds’ already.” This news contributed to Virgin Galactic’s stock falling 16% at market open on Monday. Virgin Galactic “has had a landmark year, flying its first customers to the edge of space after years of waiting.” But the company “has also been in a state of flux, having just laid off about 20% of its staff and working to introduce a new line of suborbital spacecraft that will supplant the vehicle it’s spent more than a decade developing.”
Full Story (CNN)

Musk Says SpaceX Plans to Launch Starship Again in Six to Eight Weeks

SPACE reports that Elon Musk announced Tuesday on Twitter that the SpaceX is shooting for another liftoff of Starship six to eight weeks from now. That timeline “may be ambitious, however, given the amount of prep work required ahead of the second flight.” For example, the liftoff “damaged Starbase’s orbital launch mount, blasting out a big crater beneath it and sending chunks of concrete flying, along with a huge cloud of dust and other debris.” SpaceX has been “developing and testing a water-cooled steel plate that will sit beneath the mount and prevent a recurrence of this problem, Musk said recently.” The company could also face some regulatory hurdles in a “coalition of environmental groups [that] is currently suing the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the body that issued Starship’s launch license, saying the agency didn’t properly assess the potential damage that the giant vehicle could inflict on the South Texas ecosystem and the human communities around Starbase.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Boeing CEO Says Progress Fixing Supply Chain Issues is Very Slow

Reuters reported that The Boeing Company CEO Dave Calhoun says that progress on resolving supply chain issues has been “frustratingly slow,” though he added that the company has seen improvements in certain areas of the supply chain, such as engine forgings and castings. Calhoun added that the ability of Boeing and Airbus to satisfy customer demand for aircraft will still be constrained “five years from now.”
Full Story (Reuters)