Today's Aerospace Pulse
Blue Origin’s New Glenn suffers catastrophic engine failure during static fire
A BE‑4 methane/LOX engine on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket failed four seconds after ignition, causing a catastrophic explosion that destroyed the first‑stage booster and damaged Launch Complex 36A. No personnel were injured. An FAA‑led investigation, supported by the U.S. Space Force, is under way.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Disciplined Growth Acquisition Corp raises $150M in IPO
Türkiye Expands Serial Production of Long-Range Missiles
Turkey's state‑owned defence firm ROKETSAN confirmed that serial production and deliveries of its domestically developed TAYFUN long‑range ballistic missile and SOM air‑launched cruise missile are proceeding as scheduled. The TAYFUN missile boasts hypersonic speed and resistance to GPS jamming, while the SOM offers a 250 km range and can be launched from both manned and unmanned aircraft. Both systems are intended to provide Turkey with independent, stand‑off strike capabilities in contested environments. No specific delivery volumes were disclosed, underscoring a focus on sustained capability rather than immediate quantity.
Airlines and Airports Gain Early Warning of Baggage Disruptions
SITA has introduced Bag Radar, a cloud‑based analytics platform that consolidates baggage data from BIMs, WorldTracer, BRS and DCS to deliver real‑time and predictive insights. By applying historical analysis and AI, the solution flags potential mishandling, missed connections and bottlenecks...
The State of Alternative Propulsion Aircraft? Part 9.
Part 9 of the series examines hydrogen‑fuel‑cell propulsion for aircraft, highlighting its ability to generate electricity without the weight penalties of batteries. The article contrasts this with hydrogen combustion in gas turbines, which retains the high power‑to‑mass ratio of conventional engines...
PDW Validates Extended Range & Autonomous Navigation in Texas Flight Trials
Performance Drone Works (PDW) completed a three‑day flight test at Texas’s 9 Mile Training Center, executing 114 sorties to prove the extended range and autonomous capabilities of its C100 and AM‑FPV platforms. The C100, equipped with a Range Extension Kit and...
Gotonomi SATCOM Integrated with Embention Autopilots for Enhanced BVLOS Connectivity
Gotonomi and Embention have combined Gotonomi SATCOM terminals with Embention’s Veronte autopilots to create a reliable BVLOS communication solution. The Velaris‑200 terminal acts as an IP gateway, routing data through Viasat’s L‑band satellite network to VeronteCloud. Telemetry is limited to...
Volz Servos Developed Custom Actuator Technology for Twister eVTOL
Volz Servos has engineered a custom version of its DA 15‑N actuator to power the wing‑flap ailerons on Quantum Systems’ Twister short‑range eVTOL. The servos incorporate the ARINC 825 CAN protocol, delivering aerospace‑grade timing, prioritisation and reliability for certification‑ready operation. Twister,...
U.S. Army Starts Pilot‑Optional UH‑60MX Black Hawk Tests, Marking a Leap Toward Autonomous Aviation
The U.S. Army has initiated flight tests of the UH‑60MX Black Hawk helicopter equipped with an optional‑pilot system, signaling a move toward autonomous aviation. The program follows a broader push for unmanned and semi‑autonomous platforms, as highlighted by recent conflicts...
Colombian President Questions Use of Second‑Hand Military Aircraft After Fatal Transport Crash
Colombian President Gustavo Petro publicly questioned the army’s reliance on second‑hand transport aircraft following a crash that killed dozens of soldiers. The incident has sparked a debate over procurement practices, maintenance standards, and regional defense‑aviation policies.
SES Partners with K2 Space to Launch Next‑gen ‘meoSphere’ MEO Broadband Constellation
SES announced a strategic partnership with K2 Space to develop the meoSphere medium‑Earth‑orbit broadband constellation. The rollout will begin with a Spring 2026 pathfinder on SpaceX’s Transporter‑16, scale to 28 satellites by 2029 and reach full operational capability in 2030, positioning...
U.S. Must Overhaul Air Defense for Pacific Threat
US needs a totally new air defense strategy. This also includes congressional advocacy, procurement, etc. Leadership has failed us here. Little movement for many years when it was clear the nature of the mission was morphing rapidly. Time for a...
All Back LEO Launch Extension, Except SpaceX
Amazon to FCC: Everyone Supports a Leo Satellite Launch Extension, Except SpaceX https://t.co/mzYuITGCAw #SpaceEconomy https://t.co/9rYGlrjkES
NASA Awards Intuitive Machines a $180.4 Million CLPS Contract
NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines a $180.4 million contract under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program for its fifth task order, dubbed IM‑5. The mission will deploy a larger Nova‑D lunar lander to the South‑Pole ridge Mons Malapert, delivering seven science...
European Space Power Backs Ignition Lunar Base Plan
One of the three major space powers in Europe signals its strong support for the Ignition plan to develop a sprawling lunar base over the next decade.
NASA Prepares Artemis II Lunar Flyby Launch Next Week
NASA Gears Up for Artemis II Launch Around the Moon a Week From Now https://t.co/EkQMgSOIZJ
Space Force Exercise Aims to Solidify Responsive Space Processes
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command completed its second Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) exercise, Victus Diem, using a tabletop and field‑training simulation rather than an actual launch. The drill demonstrated that payload processing, checkout, and encapsulation can be completed...
Two Siwei Gaojing Imaging Satellites Launch via CZ‑2D
LAUNCH at 2251 UTC Mar 25 of the Siwei Gaojing 2-05 and 2-06 commercial imaging satellites by CZ-2D from Taiyuan
Air Force Officials Say They’re Beating Cost Goal for CCA Drones
The Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program has surpassed former Secretary Frank Kendall’s target of delivering drone wingmen at roughly one‑third the cost of an F‑35, achieving unit costs at or below $34 million. Semi‑autonomous drones such as the YFQ‑44A...
NASA Unveils $20 B Moon Base Plan and Nuclear‑Powered Mars Mission
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a $20 billion, seven‑year program to build a permanent lunar base and a nuclear‑electric propulsion spacecraft to Mars by 2028. The shift cancels the Lunar Gateway station, repurposes its hardware, and accelerates commercial lander development, signaling...
How To Fly American Airlines’ Best Business (and First) Class Seats Within the U.S.
In April 2026 American Airlines will operate 1,327 domestic flights featuring lie‑flat seats across its internationally configured fleet, including the 102‑seat A321T, the new A321XLR, Boeing 777‑200, and Boeing 787‑8/‑9 aircraft. The A321T offers 30 Flagship First‑Class and 20 Flagship Business seats on four...
Official: UAS Marketplace Likely Not Army’s ‘Primary’ Option For Buying Launched Effects
The Army’s new UAS Marketplace, designed as an "Amazon‑like" portal for Group 1‑3 drones, will likely not serve as the primary acquisition channel for its launched‑effects programs. Capability executive Rodney Davis warned that launched effects demand massed capability and scale, which...
Army’s SkyFoundry Plan To Build Own Cheap Drones Has ‘Evolved,’ Official Notes Commercial Involvement
The Army’s SkyFoundry program, originally slated to internally produce 10,000 cheap drones per year, has pivoted to a fully commercial partnership model. Rich Martin, AMC’s supply‑chain director, emphasized that the service cannot scale drone manufacturing alone and will rely on...
European Airlines Expand Direct Flights To Asia And Africa As Travelers Avoid Middle East
European airlines are adding direct services to Asia and Africa as travelers steer clear of Middle East layovers amid ongoing conflict disruptions. Lufthansa Group announced four extra Munich‑Singapore flights, additional Frankfurt‑Cape Town and Frankfurt‑Riyadh legs, while Austrian scheduled ten Vienna‑Bangkok...
How Many McDonnell Douglas MD-11 Aircraft Are In Service?
The McDonnell Douglas MD‑11, a three‑engine widebody introduced in the early 1990s, saw only about 200 units produced before production ceased in 2001. While it struggled in passenger service, the type found a lasting niche as a cargo workhorse, with...
Rocket Lab Emerging as Potential Bus Provider for 2,800-Satellite Equatys Constellation
Rocket Lab is being positioned as the primary candidate to supply the satellite bus for Equatys, a joint venture between Viasat and Space42 targeting a 2,800‑satellite LEO constellation that delivers direct‑to‑device connectivity. The venture, backed by a $600 million investment from...
Flying Fox – Fox Lightening
Flying Fox Engineering is developing the Fox Lightning, a low‑cost, fixed‑wing UAV priced around $2,500 per unit. The drone offers a 25‑mile range and a 5.5‑lb payload, targeting rapid, large‑scale deployment in electronic‑warfare and GPS‑denied environments. The company has entered...
PDW Raises Over $110M to Expand Military Drone Production
Performance Drone Works (PDW) announced a Series B round that raised over $110 million, led by Ondas and joined by strategic investors such as Hood River, Cedar Pine, Hanwha’s venture fund and Booz Allen Hamilton. The capital will fund a hiring...
Exclusive: Lockheed Martin's Martell Says Warfare Requires Human-Machine Teamwork
Lockheed Martin CTO Craig Martell told Axios that future warfare will rely on human‑machine teaming, not fully autonomous cognition. He emphasized that operators must train alongside AI systems to understand their limits and assume responsibility for any errors. Martell cited...
Ariana 737-400 Skids Off Kabul Runway, Injuries Reported
An Ariana Afghan Boeing 737-400 veered off the runway on landing in Kabul today. Passengers slid down emergency chutes, some injuries, and the aircraft took some damage.
Kinova Joins Mission Control-Led Consortium for Canadian Lunar Utility Vehicle Bid
Canada’s Mission Control consortium has selected Quebec‑based robotics firm Kinova to build the robotic manipulator for the nation’s first Lunar Utility Vehicle (LUV). The LUV is a 1,000‑kg heavy‑duty rover designed for a minimum ten‑year lifespan, supporting NASA’s Artemis program...
Textron Aviation To Showcase Full Range Of Aircraft At Sun ’N Fun
Textron Aviation will present its full Cessna, Beechcraft, and newly acquired Pipistrel lineups together for the first time at Sun ’n Fun 2026 in Lakeland, Florida. The static exhibit will span piston trainers, turboprop workhorses and light‑sport aircraft, highlighting the...
Wtih SpaceX's 10,000th Satellite, We Have Great Remote Internet -- and Inescapable Light Pollution
SpaceX marked a milestone this week by lofting its 10,000th Starlink satellite into low‑Earth orbit, extending the company’s broadband constellation. The added capacity is already delivering reliable high‑speed internet to remote outposts, such as a Norwegian polar expedition across Ellesmere...
Advent's Malani Sees Gaps in Defense Tech Superiority
Advent Capital has poured roughly $15 billion into mature defense firms since 2020 and is preparing to commit an additional $1 billion to nurture early‑stage innovators. Malani highlighted investments in missile‑defense, AI‑enhanced submarine hunting, space‑based intelligence and V‑laser weapons, blending large‑cap take‑privates...
Airlines Cutting In‑Flight Service Over Minor Turbulence
Prior to Covid I could probably count on one hand how many times I had a flight discontinue all in flight service for “potential rough air”, now it happens on probably a third of my flights. Maybe more. Happens all...
RT Misstates F‑18 Loss; only F‑35 Was Hit
RT drops IRGC claim: US F-18 'hit by air defenses over Iran' . In Reality the documented case is the March 19 F-35 that got tagged, pilot wounded by shrapnel, emergency landing confirmed by CENTCOM. No independent verification on a...
Terran Orbital Introduces New Star Tracker Product Line at SATSHOW 2026
Terran Orbital, a Lockheed Martin company, unveiled a new star tracker product line—M10, H6, and F4—at SATSHOW 2026. The three models are engineered to balance cost, mass, and performance while leveraging the firm’s extensive flight heritage. Each unit features robust...
UAV Countermeasures Known; Implementation Remains the Challenge
Lots of discussion of countering UAVs at the moment. @Justin_Br0nk and I published this in 2024: https://t.co/dsSGyI9mfx Lots of others with similar conclusions. The answers have been known for some time - the problem is implementation. @RUSI_org @roberttollast
Isaraerospace Launch Aborts Seconds After Liftoff; Cause Unknown
.@isaraerospace launch aborts at second of scheduled liftoff, cause unclear. countdown had been delayed by a boat in launch area earlier. https://t.co/TXLNBwmRVz
Inside the Data Fusion and Integration Challenges to Building the Golden Dome
The Golden Dome missile‑defense concept faces a formidable data‑fusion hurdle, requiring real‑time 3‑D tracking of ballistic and hypersonic launches from a patchwork of space‑ and ground‑based sensors. Industry leaders at a SATShow Week panel emphasized that the obstacle is less...
LaGuardia Plane
LaGuardia Plane Crash Into Fire Truck + Rob Mark on Losing a Pil… https://t.co/BB8lwrUy17 https://t.co/fevl12WkF4
New Debris Object Misplaced in Expected Launch Catalog Range
There's a new object cataloged as 68376 and tagged as a debris object from the 2026-009 ALSAT-3A launch; it's in the catalog number range I was expecting for the 2026-061 Rassvet launch, but no TLEs for that launch yet.
Webb & Hubble Capture New Views of Saturn
NASA, ESA, and CSA combined the James Webb Space Telescope’s infrared power with Hubble’s visible‑light imaging to deliver the most detailed, layered view of Saturn to date. The paired observations captured a long‑lived jet stream, remnants of the 2011‑12 Great...
Space Force Releases StriX-6 Orbital Data and Stage Details
Space Force orbital data now out for StriX-6, launched on Mar 20, showing it in a 557 x 580 km x 50.3 deg orbit with Electron stages in 173 x 491 km and 340 x 558 km.
KBR Loses $1.8 Billion NASA Contract Challenge to Ascend JV
KBR’s protest of NASA’s $1.8 billion COSMOS contract was rejected by the Government Accountability Office, leaving the award to the Ascend joint venture of Amentum and Aerodyne. The five‑year contract, with two optional extensions, supports command‑and‑control systems for Orion, the Space...
34th ‘Rude Rams’ Named Top 2025 Air Force Fighter Squadron
The U.S. Air Force’s 34th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the “Rude Rams,” was awarded the 2025 Raytheon Award as the top fighter squadron in the service. Based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, the unit spent 11 of the past 12...
Air France Boosts Connectivity to French Overseas Territories with Paris CDG Consolidation
Air France will consolidate flights serving Réunion, Guadeloupe and Martinique at Paris Charles de Gaulle starting March 29, 2026. The restructuring removes the need for passengers to change airports, shortening overall journey times. By routing all connections through CDG, the...
B‑2’s Organic, Curvy Leading Edge Defies Straight Lines
This spooky image of the B-2 is another great study of the aircraft's very organic-like leading edge shape. Nothing straight. https://t.co/vcqFIHYorX
Why Did Antonov Construct The An-225 With 6 Engines?
The Antonov An‑225 required six Progress D‑18T turbofans because each produced only about 51,300 lbf, and the aircraft needed roughly 309,000 lbf to lift its 1.4 million‑lb maximum take‑off weight and a 550,000‑lb payload for the Buran space‑shuttle. Soviet engine technology in the 1980s...
NASA Admits Limited Future for Humans in LEO
Pour one out for NASA's Joel Montalbano. Months ago he is confirmed to appear before the US House to speak about the future of humans in low-Earth orbit. On the day before his appearance NASA basically says there isn't much...
NASA Unveils Vision; NOAA Seeks Input on Mission Authorization
As NASA was laying out its new exploration vision yesterday, NOAA's Office of Space Commerce was releasing an update of its Mission Authorization proposal, seeking stakeholder input. https://t.co/zdjJBR62HO https://t.co/7Ly27Fdunk
10 Boeing Jets With The Longest Range Flying Today
Boeing’s active fleet now includes ten models capable of flying over 8,500 nautical miles, with the 777‑200LR leading at 8,555 nm. The list spans from the narrow‑body 737‑900ER to the ultra‑long‑haul 777‑200LR, showing how composites and efficient engines have stretched range...