Defense News reports, “AeroVironment announced Tuesday it will deploy a counter-drone capability at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, as part of its effort to lay the groundwork for Golden Dome. The firm, a defense technology company that makes loitering munitions, drones and counter-drone technology, will collaborate with commercial unmanned aerial system, or UAS, business and aviation park Grand Sky on the project.”
Full Story (Defense News)
Tag: Technology
Joby Conducts Successful Demonstration of its Superpilot Autonomous Flight Technology
Military Aerospace reports Joby Aviation Inc. “announced a first-of-its-kind demonstration of its autonomous flight technology. As part of the Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC), a Department-Level Exercise led by Pacific Air Forces, Joby conducted a successful demonstration and validation of its Superpilot autonomous flight technology over the Pacific Ocean and Hawaii, logging more than 7,000 miles of autonomous operations across more than 40 flight hours.”
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Full Story (Military Aerospace)
Technology Can’t Replace Human Pilots, Safety Expert Warns at AIAA AVIATION Forum
FROM THE INSTITUTE
In a stark warning to aviation technologists and policymakers, veteran air safety investigator Greg Feith cautioned against overrelying on automation, emphasizing that human pilots remain critical to aviation safety. Speaking at the 2025 AIAA AVIATION Forum, Feith, a former senior investigator with the NTSB, urged the aviation industry to continue to value human intervention in flight operations at a time when adoption of automation is growing across general and commercial aviation systems.
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AIAA, CSF, SFA, and SGAC Collaborate to Expand ASCEND 2026 in Washington, D.C.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Integrated Event Scheduled for 19–21 May 2026
May 29, 2025 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Commercial Space Federation (CSF), the Space Force Association (SFA), and the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC)announced today they are joining forces on an integrated space event, ASCEND 2026, spanning the week of 19–21 May 2026 in Washington, D.C.
“The vision of ASCEND has always been as a platform for accelerating the use of space for exploration, R&D, national security, and commercial innovation,” said Clay Mowry, chief executive officer, AIAA. “We are thrilled to bring ASCEND to the nation’s capital with these new event partners. Our new collaboration isn’t just exciting, it’s transformative – creating enormous synergies for the space community for learning, technical exchange, and in-depth dialogue. This new ‘Space Week’ will showcase the full spectrum of space policy, commerce, security, and innovation to build our off-world future.”
Space Policy and Leadership – Commercial Space Federation (CSF)
CSF is joining ASCEND as the premier event partner to design and deliver programming during ASCEND 2026 on the most pressing commercial space issues facing the industry. This move will continue CSF’s leadership on space policy discussions that were historically held during its flagship Washington, D.C., event, the Commercial Space Policy Conference.
Dave Cavossa, president, CSF, added, “CSF is excited to join forces with AIAA and other partners to reimagine a modern space event that is aligned to the policy challenges of today and tomorrow for the commercial space ecosystem. We want those vital discussions to happen in Washington, D.C., bringing all the critical voices together in the town where so much of our global space policy is shaped.”
National Security Space – Space Force Association (SFA)
Through an enhanced focus on national security space, ASCEND 2026 will feature expanded content highlighting its criticality to this community. SFA will provide sessions and speakers in the expanded event, designed to enable U.S. Space Force Guardians to collaborate with the commercial and civil space communities to enhance strategic partnerships and counter growing threats. In addition, ASCEND 2026 will feature a classified event that will provide attendees with mission critical insights.
Next Generation of Aerospace Professionals – Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC)
As the largest network of university students and young professionals working in the global aerospace industry, SGAC will deliver its signature fast-paced, content-rich programming to ASCEND 2026. Modeled on the TEDx “lightning talk” format used at its previous SGx event, SGAC will create an environment where young professionals, industry experts, and government executives can network, share insights, and inspire each other.
Since 2020, ASCEND has promoted the collaborative, interdisciplinary, outcomes-driven community of professionals, students, and enthusiasts around the world who are accelerating humanity’s progress toward our off-world future. Lockheed Martin is the founding sponsor of ASCEND.
The ASCEND 2026 Call for Content will open in early July 2025, inviting the global space community to submit technical abstracts and propose collaborative session topics across a broad range of disciplines.
AIAA Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270
CSF Contact: Kenya McEachern, [email protected]
SFA Contact: Karen Lawrie, [email protected]
SGAC Contact: Tatiana Komorna, [email protected]
About AIAA
AIAA is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. Visit www.aiaa.org or follow us: X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
About Commercial Space Federation
CSF is the leading U.S.-based trade association representing the commercial space industry. Our members represent multiple sectors of the space economy including launch and reentry, remote sensing, spaceports, satellite-based internet, in-space research and manufacturing, commercial space stations, space situational awareness, and more. CSF and its members are focused on expanding America’s leadership in space by offering innovative – and often less expensive – solutions to U.S. government customers including NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and the intelligence community. CSF advocates for policies that will grow a sustainable space economy, the global value of which is already estimated at $570 billion and projected to grow to $1.8 trillion by 2035.
About Space Force Association
The Space Force Association (SFA) is the only independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as a professional military association whose sole focus is supporting the United States Space Force, United States Space Command, U.S. national spacepower at large, and our global partners and allies’ efforts in space exploration. Its core functions are to research, inform, and advocate to achieve superior spacepower by shaping a Space Force that provides credible deterrence in competition, dominant capability in combat, and professional services for all partners. In addition, the SFA has an essential function to provide support for the men and women of the U.S. Space Force.
About Space Generation Advisory Council
The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) in support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications is a global non-governmental, non-profit (US 501(c)3) organization and network that connects and represents university students and young space professionals aged 18–35 to the United Nations, space agencies, industry, and academia. With members in over 165 countries, SGAC fosters international collaboration, capacity-building, and innovation in the space sector. The organization hosts flagship events such as the annual Space Generation Congress (SGC), SGx, SGFF and regional Space Generation Workshops (SGWs), publishes policy recommendations, and provides scholarships to empower young professionals. SGAC is also dedicated to STEM outreach and advocacy, inspiring and enabling the next generation of space leaders.
U.S. Suspends Exports of Jet Engine and Semiconductor Technology to China
The New York Times reports, “The Trump administration has suspended some sales to China of critical U.S. technologies, including those related to jet engines, semiconductors and certain chemicals and machinery. The move is a response to China’s recent restrictions on exports of critical minerals to the United States, a decision by Beijing that has threatened to cripple U.S. company supply chains, according to two people familiar with the matter.”
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SpaceX Tests Raptor Engines That Will Power Next Starship Rocket
Ars Technica reports, “SpaceX fired six Raptor engines on the company’s next Starship rocket Monday, clearing a major hurdle on the path to launch later this month on a high-stakes test flight to get the private rocket program back on track. Starship ignited its Raptor engines Monday morning on a test stand near SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in South Texas.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
Soviet Venus Lander Kosmos 482 Crashes Into Sea After 53 Years in Orbit
SPACE reports, “A failed Soviet Venus lander’s long space odyssey has come to an end. The Kosmos 482 probe crashed to Earth today (May 10) after circling our planet for more than five decades. Reentry occurred at 2:24 a.m. ET (0624 GMT or 9:24 a.m. Moscow time) over the Indian Ocean west of Jakarta, Indonesia, according to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos. Kosmos 482 appears to have fallen harmlessly into the sea.”
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Sierra Space Marks Third Testing Milestone on Resilient GPS (R-GPS) Technology for USSF
Inside GNSS reports, “Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company and defense tech prime announced today another successful demonstration of the company’s Resilient GPS (R-GPS) technology for the U.S. Space Force (USSF). In this third milestone, Sierra Space demonstrated an early integration of the R-GPS satellite technology through FlatSat flight software and hardware subsystem testing, in addition to successful communication with ground software.”
Full Story (Inside GNSS)
Aerospace America: Advanced Air Mobility Founders Show Trust in their Technology
ORLANDO, Fla. – Aerospace America reports, “The ultimate vote of confidence in the design of an electrified aircraft could be when the founder climbs aboard the craft and goes airborne. The leaders of developers of two such aircraft gave personal testimonials here about doing just that.”
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GE Aerospace Expands Use of its AI-Powered Blade Inspection Technology
Aviation Week reports, “GE Aerospace is expanding the use of its artificial intelligence-enabled blade inspection tool to its two most advanced commercial engine platforms. GE, which first debuted the AI-enabled blade inspection tool (BIT) at MRO Americas last year, has been using the technology to improve speed, accuracy and consistency of GEnx engine inspections. The company is now releasing similar AI-enabled BITs for GE9X and CFM International Leap engine platforms.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)