Tag: Washington

Marilyn J. Smith Awarded 2026 AIAA-NAE Yvonne C. Brill Lectureship in Aerospace Engineering

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Rotorcraft – The New Frontier in Extraplanetary Exploration” set for 5 October

July 7, 2026, Reston, Va. — The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) are pleased to announce that Marilyn J. Smith, David S. Lewis Professor of Aerospace Engineering in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Director of the Georgia Tech Army/Navy/NASA Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Yvonne C. Brill Lectureship in Aerospace Engineering.

Picture RotorcraftSmith will present her lecture, “Rotorcraft – The New Frontier in Extraplanetary Exploration,” on Monday, 5 Oct., starting at 1 p.m. ET with the lecture, followed by a reception. This lecture will be held in conjunction with the NAE Annual Meeting at 500 Fifth St. NW, Washington, D.C. Registration for this lecture and reception are free and open to the public.

Rotorcraft are highly versatile flight vehicles for a variety of missions where the ability to hover, move omnidirectionally, and land on unprepared surfaces are a must. Innovators have postulated for several decades that rotorcraft are the optimal vehicles for cost-effective and optimal extraplanetary exploration. Rotorcraft can cover larger swaths of unexplored territory to explore various geographical features than ground vehicles, as well as identify atmospheric traits at different altitudes and locations. The Mars Ingenuity vehicle indisputably proved rotorcraft’s ability to go above and beyond in these science missions.

This lecture will explore both the advantages and limitations of rotorcraft for extraplanetary missions, including rotorcraft design for extreme environments, opportunities to leverage current autonomous uncrewed aerial systems development, and mitigation of unknown planetary characteristics that could negatively impact mission requirements. The lecture will also identify research areas where innovations can lower risk in these long-term missions.

Smith’s research encompasses computational unsteady aerodynamics and aeroelasticity for complex configurations, including rotorcraft. Smith is an AIAA Fellow, as well as Honorary Fellow of the Vertical Flight Society and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. She is a Vertical Flight Society Technical Director Emeritus, and member emeritus of the Board of Directors for the Vertical Flight Society and the Vertical Lift Consortium. In 2022, Smith presented the Vertical Flight Society Nikolsky Award Lecture honoring a lifetime achievement of research and development in Vertical Flight. She is also the recipient of the 2022 AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Award, and the 61st Royal Aeronautical Society Lanchester Memorial Lecture (2023).

AIAA, with the participation and support of the NAE, created the Yvonne C. Brill Lectureship in Aerospace Engineering to honor the memory of the late pioneering rocket scientist, AIAA Honorary Fellow, and NAE member Yvonne C. Brill. Brill was best known for developing a revolutionary propulsion system that remains the industry standard for geostationary satellite station-keeping. The lectureship emphasizes research or engineering issues for space travel and exploration, aerospace education of students and the public, and other aerospace issues such as ensuring a diverse and robust engineering community.

For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270

NAE Media Contact: Sabrina Steinberg, [email protected], 202.334.2622

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (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. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

About NAE
Founded in 1964, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is a private, independent, nonprofit institution that provides engineering leadership in service to the nation. The mission of the NAE is to advance the welfare and prosperity of the nation by providing independent advice on matters involving engineering and technology, and by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and public appreciation of engineering. Follow NAE on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

“Wow, That Space Thing Is Pretty Cool”: STEM Payoff on Display at ASCEND

FROM THE INSTITUTE
Ava Crowder, a high school junior in Virginia, has conducted research on a rust-eating bacteria to determine how it might perform in microgravity. Eva Astrada, another high school student from Texas, worked with a NASA astronaut on an experiment for the International Space Station. The pair attended ASCEND 2026 to share their experiences with the nonprofit Higher Orbits.

Isaacman Predicts Chinese Crewed Lunar Flyby by 2027

Space News reports, “The head of NASA says he expects China to perform a crewed flight around the moon in 2027, ratcheting up perceptions of a space race between China and the United States. In a May 19 keynote at the ASCEND conference here, Jared Isaacman warned a space industry audience that the next people to fly around the moon would be Chinese.”
Full Story (Space News)

NASA Administrator Calls on Space Industry to Move with Urgency

FROM THE INSTITUTE
Jared Isaacman took the stage at ASCEND 2026’s opening plenary with a singular message: NASA is a fundamentally different agency – one that will act with urgency to return to the moon, build a permanent base there, and realize the economic potential of operating on the lunar surface.

SGx Delivered Real-World Insights for Rising Space Professionals

FROM THE INSTITUTE
Co-located for the first time with ASCEND, SGAC’s annual SGx event brought together students and young professionals from around the world for engaging, collaborative content. Attendees delved into current industry trends and worked to hone skills that will support them for a lifetime.

AIAA, Amazon Leo, Eutelsat, Iridium, and SpaceX Release Reference Guide: “Satellite Orbital Safety Best Practices 3.0”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Authors will discuss on 19 May, ASCEND 2026, Washington, DC

May 18, 2026 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), along with Amazon Leo, Eutelsat, Iridium Communications, Inc., and SpaceX, today announced the release of the third edition of its best practices reference guide, “Satellite Orbital Safety Best Practices 3.0.”

The 3.0 version is updated since its original publication in 2022, providing additional lessons learned and adding clarity and rationale for the recommendations. Extending the work of others, including NASA, the 18th Space Control Squadron, Secure World Foundation, and the Space Safety Coalition, the 3.0 version provides a consolidated, high-level set of recommended best practices that span design, launch, orbital operations, and disposal.

Key Features of “Satellite Orbital Safety Best Practices 3.0”

  • Emphasizes the design phase for improved orbital safety
  • Stresses pre-launch coordination and collision avoidance analysis, especially near crewed vehicles, mitigating hazards during post-launch identification and cataloging of new orbital objects
  • Provides guidance on data sharing across design and operations emphasizing the critical importance of sharing and screening high quality ephemeris with covariance from deployment through disposal
  • Includes an Appendix with data exchange recommendations to mitigate conjunctions

AIAA is providing access to download the reference guide today, in advance of ASCEND 2026, to address the urgency of space traffic coordination. Industry professionals can talk directly with the authors of the document – low Earth orbit industry experts from major satellite constellation operators – to discuss its implementation during ASCEND 2026:

Panel Discussion: Orbital Safety Best Practices for Satellite Operators
ASCEND 2026, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC
Tuesday, 19 May, 3:30 p.m. ET

  • Sandra Magnus, Principal, AstroPlanetview, LLC (Moderator)
  • Josef Koller, Head of Space Safety and Sustainability, Amazon Leo
  • Dave Goldstein, Principal Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer, SpaceX
  • Pablo Minguijon Pallas, Head of Flight Dynamics and Mission Analysis, Eutelsat*
  • Ryan Shepperd, Space Situational Awareness Lead, Iridium

*Also part of the update effort, but unable to attend.

Registration for 2026 ASCEND is open. Journalists can request a Press Pass online.

Media contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (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. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter.