Know What's Happening in Aerospace
Know What's Happening in Aerospace
Artemis II crew prepares for historic lunar flyby
NASA’s four‑person Artemis II crew has passed the mission’s halfway point and is set for a five‑hour lunar flyby on April 6, skimming 4,000‑6,500 miles above the Moon’s far side to capture high‑resolution images of the Orientale basin and test Orion’s life‑support and navigation systems. The Space Launch System placed Orion into Earth orbit with 99.92% trajectory accuracy, and the crew will target a splashdown around April 10‑11.
Also developing:
AI‑driven routing is turning satellite constellations into real‑time, autonomous utilities that allocate bandwidth, imagery and sensing data in milliseconds. While this autonomy makes megaconstellations economically viable, it also embeds opaque decision‑making into models that can prioritize one user over another during crises. The firms that own these "golden domes" operate on venture‑backed balance sheets, making them vulnerable to geopolitical shocks, regulatory pressure and sudden capacity constraints. Investors and boards are only now recognizing that political risk is a core material factor.
Space-focused exchange‑traded funds are gaining momentum as rumors swirl around a potential SpaceX initial public offering that could price the company at roughly $1.75 trillion. The Procure Space ETF, billed as the first pure‑play space fund, has delivered a 100.7% gain...
Israel’s air force announced it destroyed the Iranian government‑owned Airbus A340‑300, the aircraft used by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for diplomatic and procurement flights. The strike comes amid intensified US‑Israel operations against Iran following the February 28 killing of Iran’s leader. The...
EUROCAE has opened an open‑consultation on draft guidance ED‑342, which proposes using advanced simulation for handling‑qualities certification of vertical take‑off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The WG‑112 working group approved the draft after peer review on 13 March, and the document outlines...
KNDS and EOS Defence Systems have signed a teaming agreement to develop and market remote‑controlled weapon stations integrating KNDS’s medium‑calibre guns with EOS’s counter‑UAS platforms. The partnership will focus on land and naval applications, featuring the ITAR‑free 30×113 multi‑purpose gun...
Air China Cargo has upgraded its Chengdu‑Glasgow Prestwick service to a daily schedule, up from four flights per week, responding to surging e‑commerce demand. The route carries Chinese consumer goods into Scotland while exporting premium Scottish products such as salmon,...
On March 12, the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) signed a purchase agreement with Textron for seven Bell 407GX helicopters. The aircraft will support utility operations tied to South Africa’s national electricity transmission network. The announcement coincided with other Textron sales,...
Lockheed Martin received a $111.5 million fixed‑price contract from the Naval Air Systems Command to supply the F‑35 Drag Chute System for Lot 18‑19 aircraft deliveries supporting non‑U.S. Department of War participants and foreign military sales. The order reinforces the company’s role...
Boeing was awarded a $2.34 billion option‑exercise modification to its Air Force E‑7A Rapid Prototype Airborne Mission Segment contract. The work will be performed at facilities in Washington, Oklahoma City, Huntsville and Heath, with completion targeted for the third quarter of...
On March 16, 2026 SSC Space signed a SEK 209 million agreement with Sweden’s Defense Materiel Administration to build a military satellite launch capability at Esrange. The contract includes infrastructure, tracking, security and a launch control centre, targeting operational status by 2028....
University of Illinois researchers using the Plasmatron X hypersonic wind tunnel discovered that nitrogen‑rich atmospheres cause unsteady, violent spallation of the Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) heat shield, unlike the steady particle ejection seen in oxygen‑containing air. High‑speed imaging showed intermittent...
Former B-58 Hustler navigator Richard “Butch” Sheffield recounts his service during the early 1960s, highlighting a record‑breaking mission in which his crew performed the most bomb runs in a single flight by refueling from multiple KC‑135 tankers and extending flight...
Mott MacDonald has reinforced its aviation, maritime and offshore practice by appointing Jason Buckland as aviation director and Kim Yates as sustainable aviation and green ports market lead. Buckland brings senior roles at British Airways, Etihad, GE and Arcadis, and will steer the...
Dubai under serious stress. Airport Dubai atau DXB tutup akibat serangan drone berdekatan. Implications? •Home of Emirates, the world’s most profitable airline, pretax profit USD6.2b (31 Mar 25). •Dubai Airport is the 2nd busiest in the world. •The aviation sector amat penting,...
Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron has introduced ANAFI Parrot quadcopter drones for maritime surveillance, supporting patrols and high‑profile ship visits. A streamlined approval process now reduces drone clearance from weeks to days, enabling launches from HMS Cutlass and HMS Dagger. The...
Emirates responded to a drone strike at Dubai International Airport by rerouting flights to nearby hubs, temporarily suspending operations at the main terminal. The incident forced a shutdown for safety inspections, prompting the carrier to shift services to Abu Dhabi...
Babcock has introduced a ten‑point SME Engagement Charter to make defence procurement more accessible for small and medium‑sized enterprises. The initiative tackles common barriers such as unclear contact points, complex contracts, and limited testing facilities by proposing a digital portal,...
Kenya Airways has added a Boeing 747‑400 freighter through a capacity agreement with Terra Avia, raising its cargo lift from roughly 70 tonnes to about 180 tonnes. The airline plans to push capacity beyond 250 tonnes as part of a broader push to position...
Bloomberg: Air China will resume direct flights between Beijing and Pyongyang on March 30, according to booking information on travel platform Ctrip. Only business-class was available for the March 30 Pyongyang-Beijing flight, for $990. https://t.co/C3Gy22RFny
LAUNCH at 0412 UTC Mar 16 of a Kuaizhou-11 from Jiuquan, putting eight commercial sats in orbit: Juntian-1-04A, Dongpo-11, Dongpo-12, Dongpo-16, Weitong-1-01, Xiguang-1-06, Yuxing-3-05, and Yuxing-3-06.
Air Lease Corporation will be acquired for $7.4 billion by a consortium including Sumitomo, SMBC Aviation Capital, Apollo and Brookfield, and will be rebranded as Sumisho Air Lease Corp (SALC) in early 2026. Class A shareholders receive $65 cash per share. SMBC...
Honeywell Aerospace introduced the HGuide i700, a commercially available inertial measurement unit that delivers near‑navigation‑grade performance without requiring a license. The IMU leverages the proven HG3900 sensor suite in a compact, low‑power package designed for GNSS‑denied operations across air, land...
China launched two missions today from separate interior spaceports. A Long March 6A lifted a military remote‑sensing satellite from Taiyuan, while a Kuaizhou‑11 placed eight satellites into orbit from Jiuquan. State media gave no details on the payloads or where the...
Vietnam braces for flight cuts from April after China, Thailand ban jet fuel exports https://t.co/acAdeGg5Sf
An Emirates flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai turned back after Dubai International Airport was shut following a security incident. The aircraft, carrying 353 passengers and 19 crew, departed at 4:40 am and returned to its origin at 8:40 am. A second Emirates...
Which would likely mean a 500 Boeing airplane deal with China would be pushed, too.
Air India and its low‑cost arm Air India Express will operate a combined 48 scheduled and non‑scheduled flights to the Middle East on Monday. The carriers will run ten flights to Jeddah, including return services from Delhi and Mumbai and...
The global liquid‑propulsion engine market was worth about $7 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $11‑12 billion by 2030, driven by an 8‑10% CAGR. Methane‑fueled engines have overtaken RP‑1 as the commercial standard, with SpaceX’s Raptor becoming the highest‑volume high‑thrust...
As of March 2026 the operational orbital launch market is defined by rockets that have proven repeatable service, not merely design concepts. The United States leads commercial reuse with Falcon 9 and maintains a strong national‑security lineup including Vulcan and Falcon Heavy, while...
Aviation innovation in Europe has stalled, with emissions from flying more than doubling since 1990 and the flagship Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo still based on 1960s‑80s designs. The EU’s Clean Sky and Clean Aviation programmes have poured billions into research, yet...
The latest content roundup highlights several key developments across travel and hospitality. Avios Shop doubled its redemption limit to 50%, offering greater flexibility for frequent flyers. A boutique hotel review of The Hoxton Shoreditch underscores the growing demand for experiential...
![The Downlink [Mar 15, 25] Space Power: Space Force West Scholars Axed. What’s The Future for Senior Professional Military Education?](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/a480f390449c6bb68974e5cbc66142e1.webp)
The U.S. Space Force has terminated its West Scholars program at Johns Hopkins SAIS, a three‑year initiative designed to provide senior officers with space‑focused graduate education. The cancellation is part of a broader cut that eliminates similar graduate‑level opportunities at...
I sort of just figured all Americans would be proud of building the absolute best when it comes to aircraft. (this is from a post I did about the new B-21 stealth bomber and Plant 42 where it's being made) I think...
From 2007 to 2026 the Pakistan Air Force assembled a uniquely diversified unmanned‑aircraft fleet, pulling platforms from Europe, China and Turkey. The acquisitions were opportunistic rather than centrally planned, with Chinese OEMs opening the armed‑drone market after European restrictions and...
Ten leading U.S. airline and aviation executives sent an open letter to Congress urging an immediate end to the federal government shutdown. The letter highlights how the shutdown has crippled airport operations, causing long security lines, flight delays, and cancellations...
"We were doing just fine without immigrants" is a commonly repeated trope. Just to to take the examples listed and the immigrants who made essential contributions... Landing on the moon: Wernher von Braun (Germany) → Chief architect of the Saturn V rocket, the...
Panasonic Avionics reports rapid growth of its Astrova OLED inflight entertainment (IFE) platform as airlines adopt low‑latency LEO satellite connectivity, notably United Airlines’ Starlink rollout. United’s Starlink‑enabled seatbacks now let passengers stream personal services such as Spotify directly on the...
Emirates will cease its daily Airbus A380 flights between Dubai and Copenhagen on May 31, 2026, ending a brief one‑year service. Starting June 1, the carrier will operate two smaller wide‑bodies—a 298‑seat A350‑900 and a 421‑seat Boeing 777‑300ER—providing a combined...
Six U.S. Air Force airmen died this week when a KC-135 Stratotanker collided mid‑air over Iraq during an aerial refueling mission. The crew—two captains, a major, and two technical sergeants—were responsible for extending the range of combat aircraft, a role...
Lufthansa will launch its newly retrofitted Airbus A380 cabins on four long‑haul routes from Munich—Boston, Los Angeles, Washington Dulles and Delhi—in April 2026. The upgrade replaces the old 2‑2‑2 business‑class layout with Thompson Aero Vantage XL seats in a 1‑2‑1 configuration, reducing business seats from 78...
The U.S.-Iran conflict has turned the Strait of Hormuz into a live testing ground for commercial geospatial intelligence. The chokepoint, handling about 20% of global oil shipments, saw commercial traffic halted after strikes, creating urgent demand for real‑time maritime visibility....
As many of you know, I’m thinking more about the Space-Tech intersection with national defense and physical AI era we are about to be entering in. SpaceX’s IPO is symbolic. The race of rocket launches is about to accelerate wildly in...
Starlink is a good example of this, everyone now seems to forget that the first 100K+ terminals cost ~$2500 each to make...
Aegean Airlines announced it will scrap its order for two Airbus A321XLR aircraft after encountering seat‑certification problems that would delay delivery past the summer peak. The carrier will instead focus on the four A321LRs it originally ordered, scheduled for delivery...
Starlink stats pages updated at https://t.co/m5QkzkhI2u By popular demand I have now excluded the dummy Starlink simulators from the grand totals.
While the United States may have reallocated some interceptors from South Korea to the Middle East, as of March 12 there remain at least four launchers and the AN/TPY-2 radar on site. Lovely image from @planet. https://t.co/PJgsi28VXe
Air India obtained emergency relaxations from India’s DGCA to extend pilot flight‑time and duty‑period limits after West Asia airspace closures forced longer routes via Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The temporary rules, effective until April 30 2026, raise the maximum flight time...
LAUNCH at 1322 UTC Mar 15 of a Chang Zheng 6A from Taiyuan with the second Yaogan-50 satellite. The first Yaogan-50 is in a 950 km retrograde (142 deg inclination) orbit.
American Airlines Offered $4,000 To Give Up A Seat To Aspen — The Flight Diverted Anyway - View from the Wing https://t.co/brOlQ1bdWb
Greek Star Alliance airline Aegean was supposed to take delivery of two Airbus A321XLRs initially intended for JetBlue, but that's no longer happening. Here are the details of this strange development. https://t.co/5iPVlFCR8X
