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
Airbus Delivers Only 35 Aircraft in February
Airbus delivered just 35 aircraft in February, a sharp drop from its annual target of 870 deliveries. The A320neo family made up 25 of those planes, while A220‑300 deliveries rose to eight and the A350 program added two jets, leaving the A350 tally at three YTD. Year‑to‑date deliveries total 54, and the firm recorded 28 gross orders in February, bringing net orders to 77 for the year. Ongoing panel rework and a dispute with Pratt & Whitney over engine supply threaten the ramp‑up schedule.
Drone Dominance Program Selects 11 Finalists For Potential Orders After First Gauntlet
The Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program announced the 11 companies selected for prototype orders in the first phase, known as Gauntlet I, of a two‑year effort to field hundreds of thousands of low‑cost one‑way attack drones. The finalists—ranked from Skycutter to...
American Airlines Just Cut This Major Long-Haul Route
American Airlines has permanently removed its seasonal Miami‑Paris route, ending a winter‑only service that carried just over 53,000 round‑trip passengers in the last year. The cancellation reduces American’s Miami‑Europe weekly departures from 31 to 24, a 23% cut and the...
How Much Does A Boeing 777X Cost?
The Boeing 777X, slated for its first delivery in 2027, carries a historic list price of roughly $442 million, though airlines negotiate substantially lower figures. Program delays have already cost Boeing about $15 billion, pushing the timeline and adding financial pressure. Major carriers...
Michigan Capitol Deploys Drone Traffic Platform to Monitor Skies
Michigan’s State Capitol has fully deployed Airspace Link’s AirHub Portal, a drone operations management system that provides real‑time monitoring of both unmanned and manned aircraft over the Capitol complex. The platform aggregates data from Remote ID, ADS‑B, radar, RF detectors...
Pioneering Global Connectivity Through Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks
Airbus is building an integrated connectivity platform that merges terrestrial mobile infrastructure with low‑Earth‑orbit satellite constellations to deliver uninterrupted, gate‑to‑gate broadband for aircraft. The initiative includes a successful 5G non‑terrestrial network trial with Eutelsat’s OneWeb and the launch of the...
Airbus Scales up ‘Make in India’ with New 5,000-Seater Technology Centre in Bengaluru
Airbus inaugurated an 880,000‑sq‑ft technology centre in Bengaluru, expanding its ‘Make in India’ footprint. The campus, designed for up to 5,000 staff, consolidates engineering, digital, customer services and procurement functions under one roof. Indian engineers will now support the full...
Finnair Cargo Strengthens Digital Transformation with Accelya Platform
Finnair Cargo has renewed its partnership with Accelya, keeping the Accelya Cargo platform as the backbone of its commercial, operational, ground‑handling and revenue‑accounting functions. The platform automates rating, warehouse operations, billing and settlement, delivering end‑to‑end accuracy across Finnair’s cargo network....
China's 1st Moon Astronauts Could Land in Rimae Bode, a 'Geological Museum' On the Lunar Near Side
China is targeting a crewed lunar landing before the decade ends, and a new Nature Astronomy study highlights the Rimae Bode region on the near‑side as a prime candidate. The volcanic‑rich area meets engineering constraints—flat terrain, low latitude, and reliable communications—while...
Flammability Testing Configuration and Approach of Barrier MaterialAssemblies Designed for Space Flight Applications
NASA’s Engineering and Safety Center teamed with Johnson Space Center, White Sands Test Facility, and Marshall Space Flight Center to create a dedicated flammability test for barrier material assemblies. The test evaluates how effectively these barriers can isolate a cabin...
North Korea Is Getting Serious About Space Weapons
North Korea’s latest five‑year defense plan formally prioritizes “special assets for attacking enemy satellites,” marking its first official commitment to counter‑space weapons. Analysts see this as a potential move toward kinetic or nuclear anti‑satellite (ASAT) systems that could threaten the...
Bridges Air Cargo Takes Off with Embraer E-Freighter
Bridges Air Cargo became the launch customer for Embraer’s newly converted E‑Freighter, completing its first commercial flight from Cologne to Larnaca on March 9. The jet, a modified Embraer 190, is slated to serve Bridges Worldwide’s express‑shipping network across Europe, the Middle...
AIAA Announces 2026 Priority Issues to Advance U.S. Aerospace Leadership
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) unveiled its 2026 Priority Issues, a roadmap spanning aviation, national security, research and development, and space. The agenda stresses modernizing air traffic control via NextGen, advancing autonomous flight, bolstering the defense industrial...
Skylo's Trajectory Toward the 'Standardized Sky' Looks to Include Multiple Orbits
Skylo is pursuing a partner‑centric satellite messaging model, leasing capacity from Viasat and EchoStar rather than building its own constellation. At Mobile World Congress the CEO highlighted a network that now spans 36 countries, supports over 20 carrier interfaces and...
NASA Astronauts to Answer Questions From Students in New York
NASA will host a live Earth‑to‑space Q&A with astronauts Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams aboard the International Space Station. The session, scheduled for 12:05 p.m. EDT on March 11, will be streamed on the Learn With NASA YouTube channel and organized by the...
Only 69% Full: British Airways' 10 Emptiest US Routes Revealed
British Airways remains the largest European carrier to the United States, moving 7.6 million passengers between December 2024 and November 2025. Its overall US load factor of 83 % placed it 13th among European airlines, trailing carriers such as TAP and Air France. The...
American Airlines Expands Presence at Edinburgh Airport
American Airlines has launched a summer service from Edinburgh to New York JFK, expanding its transatlantic footprint in Scotland. The new route joins the Philadelphia‑Edinburgh flight that resumed last year, giving the airport two direct US connections. The airline will operate...
SkyDrive Reaches eVTOL Certification Plan With Japanese Regulator
SkyDrive announced an agreement with Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau on a General Certification Plan for its SD‑05 eVTOL, defining the compliance pathway for type certification. The plan complements existing structural, motor and noise certification submissions currently under review. Earlier this...
Sales Training Program Launched for Business Aviation Professionals
AvSales Talent and Texarkana College have launched the first credentialed training program for business aviation sales professionals, a six‑week Aviation Professional Sales Certificate beginning March 23. The curriculum covers high‑net‑worth client psychology, consultative sales methods, deal structuring and aviation fundamentals, delivered...
Terraforming Mars Isn't a Climate Problem—It's an Industrial Nightmare
A new pre‑print by NASA JPL’s Slava Turyshev outlines five terraforming milestones for Mars and quantifies the massive resources required at each stage. To raise surface pressure to just 1 mbar would need roughly the mass of Mars’s moon Deimos, while...
PBS Aerospace Secured a Multi-Year Subcontract with Zone 5 Technologies to Expand US Turbojet Engine Production
PBS Aerospace, the U.S. arm of Czech PBS Group, landed a multi‑year subcontract with California‑based Zone 5 Technologies valued at several tens of millions of dollars. The agreement tasks the Roswell, Georgia plant—recently expanded with a $20 million investment—to produce the...
Israeli Firm Confirms U.S. Order for Silent Drones
Israeli drone maker Aero‑Sentinel announced a new order from a returning U.S. customer for its low‑acoustic Aerosol G2 UAV. The system, praised for a 14.9‑decibel signature at one kilometre, will support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and rapid‑deployment missions. Aero‑Sentinel highlighted...
Shahed-136 Drones Evolve Into More Lethal, Adaptive Weapons
By the way, speaking of Shahed-136s. Back in 2022-2023, when Iran first supplied them to Russia and they were first used on a large scale against Ukraine, they were fairly simple loitering munitions -- a slow, buzzing two-stroke engine whining high...
NASA Schedules Post‑Review Press Conference Amid Artemis II Delays
NASA will hold a news conference on Thursday, March 12, at 3:00 pm ET "after the conclusion of an Artemis II Flight Readiness Review." Watch on YouTube. Isaacman, Glaze, Honeycutt, Quinn, Knight. https://t.co/J4EfWNTiX9 Artemis II is still in the VAB. No date...
Avio Lands $65 Million Deal Days After Shareholders Approve New Bylaws
Avio announced a $65 million contract with Defense Systems and Solutions to develop, qualify and initially produce a solid‑rocket motor for air‑defence applications. The three‑year deal leverages Avio’s Italian plant while planning full‑scale production at its new Hurt, Virginia facility from...
Tomahawk Block IV Capable of Vertical Dive
I don't know who needs to hear this, but Tomahawk Block IV can dive vertically. https://t.co/rcP0BgLqGH
TLAMs Require Land Launch; Cannot Fly Directly over Water
Nope, TLAMs use terrain contour matching which means it CAN'T come directly from over the water.
Latvia Welcomes Back a Legendary Flying Partner as SAS Returns to Riga with a New Copenhagen Route to Restore the...
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has resumed operations in Riga, launching a new daily route to Copenhagen. The service marks the airline’s return after a multi‑year hiatus, restoring a key north‑south corridor for the Baltic region. By linking Latvia’s capital with a...
Global Unity Launches Breakthrough Tech and Sovereign Astronauts
International collaboration. Breakthrough technology. Sovereign astronauts. The very best of humanity is projected into space. 🤝 https://t.co/UEj6BuZYak
Starbase Evolves Into World's Leading Rocket Factory
The growth of Starbase over the last decade, from nothing to arguably the world's premiere rocket factory, is remarkable. This image of V3 rolling out is gorgeous. https://t.co/vVNpNoROaJ
Israeli Firm Signs Deal to Test Black Eagle 50E Drone in U.S.
Israeli UAV maker Steadicopter has signed a services agreement with U.S.-based flyAlchemy to conduct flight demonstrations and operational evaluations of its Black Eagle 50E rotary drone on American soil. The partnership will focus on payload integration, regulatory alignment, and mission‑development activities...
B‑52s Deploy to UK Base Amid Ongoing Iran Air Campaign
B-52s Arrive At U.K. Base As Air Campaign Over Iran Grinds On Three of the strategic bombers join a growing cadre of U.S. Air Force long-range strike assets deployed at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom. Back at it live updating: https://t.co/p2AoYPCPkv
North Korea Joins Space Weapons Race Amid Global Distraction
My latest in @ForeignPolicy: with a war in the Middle East, the world appears to have missed that North Korea is now officially getting into the space weapons game (with strong incentives to put nukes in space). My analysis: https://t.co/z11CO5oeyP
Limited Freighter Lift Shapes Morocco-West Africa Cargo Strategy
The Morocco‑West Africa air cargo corridor relies heavily on passenger belly space, with dedicated freighter lift remaining inconsistent and often shrinking. Royal Air Maroc’s new Casablanca‑Dakar freighter marks a strategic move, yet overall capacity stays fragmented, especially on secondary routes...
Booster 19 Conducts Tests to Activate Pad 2
Here's the official word: Booster 19 will perform a series of tests to activate Pad 2. ❤️🚀 https://t.co/XaOvA5XgFg
US Deploys Ukrainian Drone Interceptors to Middle East
The US Army is rushing Ukrainian cheap drone interceptors to the Middle East, which is a hugely welcome development. These are cost-effective, battlefield-tested solutions for defeating Shaheds & should proliferate quickly. https://t.co/bfY0oYf45R
Indonesia Becomes 2nd Export Customer Of BrahMos Missile
Indonesia has signed a $350‑450 million agreement with India for BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, covering both shore‑based and ship‑launched variants. The deal makes Jakarta the second Southeast Asian nation, after the Philippines, to procure the system. BrahMos gained global credibility after...
Avalanche Technology To Be Deployed in Next-Gen Unmanned Rovers and Deep Space Exploration Platforms
Avalanche Technology announced its Space Grade MRAM will be integrated into Aitech’s unmanned rovers and deep‑space exploration platforms. The memory delivers radiation immunity, permanent data retention, unlimited writes and nanosecond write latency, satisfying all five Space Grade criteria. By removing bulky redundant...
Indian Air Force’s Medium Transport Aircraft Program Takes Flight
The Defence Procurement Board cleared a ₹1 Lakh Crore (≈$11 billion) programme to acquire 60 medium‑transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force, replacing aging Antonov An‑32s. Under a “Buy and Make” model, 12 aircraft will be bought fly‑away while 48 will be assembled...
Turkey Sends Six F-16 Fighters to Northern Cyprus Amid Iran Missile Threats
Turkey deployed six F‑16C fighter jets to Ercan International Airport in Northern Cyprus, expanding a phased security buildup after recent regional threats. The aircraft are equipped for combat air patrol and air‑defense missions over the Eastern Mediterranean. The move follows...
China Signals Push for Military Aircraft Exports
China’s state media reports that the Aviation Industry Corporation of China will broaden military aircraft exports after the J‑10CE fighter recorded its first overseas combat success in 2025. The strategy calls for moving beyond selling single aircraft to offering complete...
MH370 Search Resumes, Still No Wreckage Found
The disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 (MH370) remains one of aviation's greatest mysteries. While the search for wreckage was recently resumed, unfortunately it hasn't proven successful. https://t.co/IUstPXsBRz
Astrobotic Wins Lunar Wheel Contract For Italian Habitat
Astrobotic has won a contract from Thales Alenia Space to build the wheel assemblies for the Italian Space Agency’s Multi‑Purpose Habitation, a driveable lunar habitat designed for a ten‑year mission. The undisclosed‑value deal pairs Astrobotic’s lunar‑mobility expertise with Thales Alenia’s...
Open Cosmos Announces ConnectedCosmos
Open Cosmos unveiled ConnectedCosmos, a sovereign low‑Earth‑orbit (LEO) constellation delivering secure broadband and direct‑to‑device IoT connectivity for enterprises and governments. The network integrates real‑time Earth observation data from the Open Constellation, creating an “active” resiliency service that enables rapid threat...
How Nasa Contractors Are Pressing on to Bring Humans to the Moon with Artemis
NASA has shifted its Artemis lunar landing schedule, pushing the first crewed landing to Artemis IV in 2028. The delay follows cost overruns and technical setbacks, prompting a restructuring of the program’s strategy. Private contractors like Lunar Outpost see new opportunities,...
Up To 17-Hour Nonstop Flights: Qatar Airways' 10 New Ultra-Long Routes In 2026
Qatar Airways is launching ten ultra‑long nonstop routes in 2026, many exceeding 15 hours, reinforcing its position as a leading long‑haul carrier. The Doha‑Auckland service will operate with a retrofitted 777‑200LR in a 272‑seat configuration, while the Doha‑Dallas/Fort Worth link uses...
Reforging Vulcan
On February 12, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur lifted off on the USSF‑87 mission but displayed a significant performance anomaly in one of its four solid rocket boosters. The anomaly, similar to the nozzle‑loss issue on the October 2024 Cert‑2 flight, prompted...
RAeS Hosts One-Day Event for Hawker Hunter 75th Anniversary
Heads up! Celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the Hawker Hunter this July with a special one day RAeS conference at @RAF_Cosford #avgeek https://t.co/hHJSpa5u8n https://t.co/PCM4pLXYOI
Big Wing Bird: NASA's WB-57 Gets Grounded
On January 27, 2026 NASA’s WB‑57F aircraft N927NA performed a gear‑up landing at Ellington Field, sustaining extensive damage that has left the high‑altitude research plane grounded. The WB‑57F fleet, originally derived from Cold‑War reconnaissance platforms, provides NASA with unique capabilities...
Review: Why Space?
Rick Tumlinson’s new book *Why Space?* argues that humanity’s purpose is tied to expanding life beyond Earth, leveraging the rapid growth of commercial space. He frames this mission through three "Principles of Purpose": protecting life, evolving humanity, and exploring the...