Tag: U.S.

Rocket Lab Launches First US Mission

Reuters reports that Rocket Lab “launched its first mission from American soil on Tuesday, kicking off an expansion of the company’s launch business that adds to a surge in private rocket activity at U.S. space ports.” The Long Beach, California-based company’s workhorse “Electron rocket, an expendable launcher standing 40 feet (12 meters) tall, lifted off at 6 p.m. EST from its new launch pad at the NASA-operated Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.” The mission “marked Rocket Lab’s first outside its flagship launchsite on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand, where the company has carried out all 32 previous Electron missions since the rocket’s debut in 2017.”
Full Story (Reuters)

 

 Video

Rocket Lab Launches First Electron mission from Virginia, Tuesday, January 24, at 6 p.m. EST from Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.
(NASASpaceflight; YouTube)

Embraer Receives US, EU Certification for Phenom 300 Jet

Reuters reports that Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA said Thursday that its Phenom 300 jet has received type certification from U.S. and European regulators to operate as a medical aircraft with an intensive care unit. The supplemental type certifications came from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Embraer said in a statement. The company added that U.S.-based on-demand charter operator Grandview Aviation would operate the Phenom 300MED as its launch customer.
Full Story (Reuters)

US, Russia to Continue Ride-Sharing Agreement; Roscosmos Gains New CEO

The AP reported that NASA astronauts “will go back to riding Russian rockets under an agreement announced Friday, and Russian cosmonauts will catch lifts to the International Space Station with SpaceX beginning this fall.” The ISS will “always have at least one American and Russian on board to keep both sides of the orbiting outpost running smoothly, according to NASA and Russian officials.”
Full Story (Associated Press)

US, India to Collaborate on Autonomous Systems

Defense One reports, “The U.S. and India are launching a new alliance for autonomous systems, which builds on bipartisan groundwork laid by previous administrations and could be a stabilizing force for the democracies’ future tech exchanges. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb. 13 to discuss tariffs, technology, and energy and defense initiatives.”
Full Story (Defense One)

Israeli and U.S. Companies Collaborating on Military Hydrogen-Cell Drones

Defense One reports “As drones continue to reshape the nature of warfare, the limitations on range and power are becoming the difference between success and defeat on the battlefield. Now, an Israel-based drone company and U.S. manufacturing company Mach Industries are working together to co-produce hydrogen fuel cell powered drones, which offer big advantages in range but have previously faced challenges that have kept them from the battlefield.”
Full Story (Defense One)