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:
NASA announced that repairs to the helium flow interruption in the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage are now mostly complete, allowing the Space Launch System and Orion stack to roll back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The rocket is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39B on March 19, positioning Artemis II for a targeted April 1, 2026 liftoff. Dr. Ken Kremer discussed these updates in a live interview with WESH 2 NBC Orlando on March 12, emphasizing the mission’s four‑astronaut lunar flyby objective.
The U.S. Central Command confirmed that a KC‑135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq during Operation Epic Fury, stating the loss was not caused by hostile fire. A second KC‑135 landed safely, and rescue teams are searching for survivors....
The Cygnus NG-23 cargo ship was released into orbit by Canadarm-2 at 1106 UTC Mar 12; it has been at ISS since Dec 1. [I don't have the unberthing time, anyone have it?]
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to announce Tokyo’s participation in the United States’ “Golden Dome” missile‑defence program during her March 19 meeting with President Donald Trump. The Golden Dome initiative envisions a layered shield of space‑based interceptors and sensors...
SpaceX postponed the Starlink 6-61 launch from Friday to Saturday, targeting an 8:30 a.m. EDT liftoff from Cape Canaveral. The mission will carry 29 new Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 booster B1095, which is on its sixth flight. A 75% chance of...
NASA’s Mission Analysis and Design for Cislunar and Planetary (MADCAP) team has been quietly tracking every spacecraft in lunar orbit for the past 15 years. In March 2025 the privately‑run Blue Ghost lander narrowly avoided a collision with another orbiter,...
Private jet operator MJets is leveraging rising Southeast Asian demand by expanding its service portfolio and geographic footprint. The company has become Thailand’s exclusive Gulfstream dealer, added a minority stake in Singapore’s WingsOverAsia, and launched FBO operations in New Delhi...
Qantas is reshaping its international network as US outbound demand softens, reallocating an Airbus A380 from US routes to the high‑yield Singapore corridor and launching a seasonal Las Vegas service. The airline also announced an accelerated fleet renewal, targeting roughly 50...
Artificial intelligence has vaulted from experimental projects to a boardroom priority across airlines, prompting sizable investments in data science, automation and machine learning. Yet many initiatives stall within complex technology programs that fail to deliver clear commercial outcomes. The industry...
NASA’s SPARCS cubesat, roughly the size of a cereal box, has achieved first light by capturing both near‑ and far‑ultraviolet false‑color images of a nearby star. The mission is designed to monitor flare and sunspot activity on low‑mass stars that...
Vueling, a leading IAG‑owned carrier, has appointed gategroup as its new Retail‑on‑Board and catering partner across its European network. The agreement introduces gategroup’s 360° digital retail ecosystem, delivering real‑time analytics, data‑driven touchpoints and streamlined onboard operations. In parallel, gategroup will...
A U.S. Air Force KC‑135 Stratotanker crashed in Iraq during Operation Epic Fury, the campaign against Iran. CENTCOM said the incident occurred in friendly airspace and was not caused by hostile or friendly fire. Casualties remain unclear and rescue efforts...
A U.S. Air Force KC-135 tanker crashed in western Iraq, killing all six crew members. The incident occurred during Operation Epic Fury and involved two aircraft, with the second landing safely. CENTCOM said the loss was not caused by hostile...
Rick Freeman, Amazon's vice president for Leo Government, left the company in late February, prompting a quiet reorganization of the satellite business’s marketing teams. Amazon Leo, formerly Project Kuiper, is building a 3,000‑satellite low‑Earth‑orbit network and currently has about 200...
In May 2024 a massive solar superstorm struck both Earth and Mars, producing spectacular aurorae and intense radiation. ESA’s Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter used a rare radio‑occultation technique to record the storm’s impact on Mars, finding electron densities...
The post decries recent US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran, noting that British bases in England and the Indian Ocean have been granted to the United States for "defensive" operations. It highlights the ease of the attacks, likening them to...
In this inaugural episode of SSPI’s "Connectivity to Intelligence" series, host Tamara Bond‑Williams talks with Benny Rettnamone, founder and CEO of QVIA, about the challenges of handling massive data streams at the edge—on aircraft, ships, and offshore rigs—where connectivity is...
NASA announced a target launch date of April 1 for Artemis II, the first crewed mission beyond low‑Earth orbit since 1972. The crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen—will fly a 10‑day lunar flyby. After a series...
A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq while supporting Operation Epic Fury, the campaign targeting Iran. The incident involved two KC-135s; one went down and the other landed safely despite visible tail damage. CENTCOM said the crash...
The March 2026 New Space Economy piece separates the hype of daily orbital launches from the emerging reality of responsive space. While on‑demand launch remains a niche tool, true responsiveness is being built through standby assets, modular spacecraft, and flexible licensing,...
The National Reconnaissance Office declassified the JUMPSEAT satellite program, a covert U.S. space‑based intelligence system that operated from 1971 to 2006. Using highly elliptical Molniya orbits, the satellites intercepted signals, emissions, and imagery to monitor Soviet weapon development throughout the...
U.S. Air Force leaders warned that a prospective stealthy strategic airlifter to replace the aging C‑5M and C‑17 faces significant design and production hurdles. Gen. Randall Reed told the Senate Armed Services Committee that while strategic airlift remains a top...
NASA announced that the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket has passed its final flight‑readiness review and is slated for a launch as early as April 1, following repairs that sealed hydrogen leaks and corrected a helium‑flow fault. The 322‑foot vehicle will...
The article argues that U.S. space dominance hinges on eliminating strategic ambiguity through persistent, high‑fidelity Space Domain Awareness (SDA). It highlights Russian LUCH satellites shadowing commercial GEO assets and the Intelsat 33E debris incident as concrete examples of gray‑zone threats that...
NASA’s crewed Artemis II mission is slated for a series of launch windows in early April, with the first attempt targeted for 1 April 2024 at 6:24 pm EDT and a backup on 2 April. All launch teams have signaled a GO, but officials highlighted a...
Boeing recorded 16 first flights of the 737 MAX through March 11, showing the assembly line is still operating at a normal rate. However, only three MAX aircraft were delivered in March, leaving thirteen completed jets in inventory awaiting a wiring repair....
On March 9, 2026 the U.S. DOT and FAA unveiled the Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), selecting eight multi‑state projects to begin real‑world operations by summer 2026. The program gives manufacturers a structured pathway to fly in national...
NASA's SPARCS CubeSat has returned its first ultraviolet images, proving the spacecraft’s camera and detectors work in orbit. The one‑year mission will continuously monitor far‑UV and near‑UV emissions from about 20 low‑mass stars, whose frequent flares influence the habitability of...
The United Kingdom has announced a definitive delivery schedule for its New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme, with the first Leonardo AW149 expected in summer 2030 and the final unit arriving by autumn 2033. The £1 bn contract awards Leonardo UK 23...
Dealing With Information Overload as a Pilot - Captains Speaking Ep. 27 #aviation #airplane #pilot #pilotsofinstagram #mentourpilot
LAUNCH at 2233 UTC Mar 12 of a CZ-2D from Xichang with the 试验三十号卫星03、04星 (Shiyan 30-03 and 30-04) satellites
Leonardo announced a bullish industrial plan targeting €32 billion in annual orders by 2030, up from €23.8 billion last year. The firm projects revenue to climb 50% to €30 billion, driven by a new air‑defence system, the Michelangelo Dome, and an expanded focus...
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Chris Williams will do a spacewalk (#94) on March 18. Spacewalk 95 will be soon after, crew TBA. NASA bfg on March 16, 2:00 pm ET These are the EVAs Crew-11 intended to do before...
KC-135 Tanker Crashes In Iraq During Operation Epic Fury Sortie U.S. Central Command says two aircraft were involved in the incident and that a search and rescue effort is currently underway. https://t.co/kNmwYcORgp
Swiss firm Roze Mobility has introduced the SH-917, an autonomous unmanned helicopter designed for both civilian and military missions. The platform delivers up to eight hours of endurance and can lift 250 kg, thanks to a carbon‑fiber airframe and a turbocharged...
LAUNCH at 1948 UTC of a Chang Zheng 8A from Hainan Commercial Spaceport of nine Xingwang Digui (SatNet LEO) Group 20 satellites, the first Chinese orbital launch in a month after an unusual stand-down
Must read thread. Is CDS being stitched up? (Lose this CDS over a current conflict & what happens to preparing/procurement for a more serious punch-up a few years down the line if equipment/readiness has got worse?)
Avianca Cargo launched a weekly Airbus A330F freighter between Bogotá and Caracas on March 7, providing up to 60 tonnes of maindeck capacity. The service adds 7 tonnes of belly cargo on passenger flights, creating a combined 67‑tonne weekly offering. The airline also...
We break on DOD DOT&E report: The Pentagon testing office said it won’t get enough data to evaluate the combat effectiveness of the US’s first hypersonic missile until early next year https://t.co/GKrTRVb6BX
Pilot “we have a smooth flight ahead today for you” Actual reports from pilots across US today: https://t.co/JSJaee4rf7
Fairmat announced a contract with Airbus to recycle carbon‑composite panels from the A350, using its patented Infinity cold‑plasma technology that preserves mechanical performance. The process produces virgin‑quality fibers while dramatically lowering carbon emissions compared with new material production. At JEC...
Important new piece of infrastructure for Voyager in response to increasing demand for our technology. Also great to be alongside great partners like @anduriltech and @The_TrueAnomaly $VOYG
“we like the Lynk architecture. It’s a unique design which puts certain functions up in the satellite, certain functions on the ground and this will deliver an overall lower-cost business case,” via @malleven33 https://t.co/QPfqnMP3XF
Leonardo announced that its Michelangelo air‑defence dome will undergo its first operational test in Ukraine by the end of 2026, followed by NATO‑wide trials in 2027 and full EU integration by 2030. The system, built around the MC5 plug‑in module,...
Space-launch, defense propulsion manufacturer @Avio_Group reports record rev, profit, EBITDA for 2025 w/ Vega-C & Ariane 6 rocket successes . Launcher profit to fund buildup of US defense business. @esa @ASI_spazio @ArianeGroup @Arianesace.https://t.co/pdVgkR5CeO https://t.co/xHn1y6vHnp
SACs finest hour - Cuban Missile Crisis - 60(!) B-52s circling off the coast/borders of Soviet Union, notes Robert Hopkins. #avgeek https://t.co/AqRTUfjI3n
UAV Navigation‑Grupo Oesía is joining the EU‑funded TICHE project to enable safe cross‑domain operation of UAV and UGV swarms for hidden‑threat detection. The consortium will integrate advanced sensors, AI‑driven data fusion and the company’s guidance, navigation and control (GNC) expertise...
"These are Ukraine’s $1,000 interceptor drones the Pentagon [and now many countries] wants to buy." https://t.co/UK44ifiKp8 Through surviving daily Russian attacks / war crimes from missiles and drones with whatever means they could acquire comes an innovation that will save many...
The Firefly Alpha launch appears to have been fully successful. The LM-400 test satellite is being tracked in a 401 x 405 km x 123.0 deg orbit, and the Alpha second stage made a perigee lowering burn at about...
UAVOS announced the production of a new batch of high‑performance composite rotor blades for its unmanned helicopters, cured in the company’s proprietary OVEN‑500‑2000 composite curing oven. The blades, featuring a NACA 23012 airfoil and optional stainless‑steel leading‑edge insert, are rated for...
