Know What's Happening in Aerospace
Know What's Happening in Aerospace
NASA faces steep FY2027 budget cuts, overall funding slashed to $11B
The White House’s FY2027 budget request proposes a 23% reduction to NASA’s total budget, bringing it down to roughly $11 billion. The Science Mission Directorate would see a 47% cut, dropping from $7.25 billion to about $3.9 billion.
SpaceX successfully lofted 25 additional Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking another milestone for its broadband constellation. The Falcon 9’s first stage completed its 20th flight and returned to a drone ship in the Pacific. With 26 launches so far in 2026, SpaceX’s cadence outpaces the combined total of all other launch providers. Concurrently, Firefly and Japan’s Space One have launches scheduled, underscoring a busy week for the commercial space sector.
NASA’s Curiosity rover’s ChemCam system autonomously flagged a patch of tiny, evenly spaced parallel lines on a Martian boxwork outcrop. The pattern, described as “unnatural,” prompted the rover to target the feature for high‑resolution imaging and laser spectroscopy. Researchers are...
The European Space Agency has signed a data‑procurement contract with Munich‑based Vyoma to receive space‑based observations of small, fast‑moving debris. Vyoma’s Flamingo‑1 satellite, orbiting at 510 km, will deliver bulk traffic data that ESA will use to validate and enhance its...
On March 1 1966 the Soviet probe Venera 3 slammed into Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to reach another planet’s surface. The mission followed a series of earlier Venera attempts, many of which failed to leave Earth orbit or transmit data. Weighing roughly...
The U.S. Air Force has issued a Request for Information to identify contractors capable of sustaining the life‑support systems of its U‑2 high‑altitude reconnaissance aircraft. The RFI, released on February 26, 2026, targets depot‑level repair, engineering, and rapid spare‑parts support for pilot...
Thai Airways reported a record FY2025 net profit of 30.9 billion baht, reversing a 26.9 billion‑baht loss from the prior year. Revenue rose 1.3% to 190 billion baht, edging past pre‑pandemic levels. The carrier plans to expand its fleet to about 100 aircraft...
The U.S. Air Force awarded KIHOMAC Inc. a $32.4 million, five‑year indefinite‑delivery/indefinite‑quantity contract to provide contractor logistics support for the AN/FPS‑117 long‑range radar under the Atmospheric Early Warning System program. The agreement, issued by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center,...
Russia has proposed a parallel upgrade package for the Indian Su‑30MKI fleet that lies outside the domestic Super Sukhoi programme. The offer includes installing the Russian AL‑41F1S engine, a new radar and other subsystems, while retaining integration with Indian weapons...
Scientists using Chang’e-6 far-side samples have shown that lunar impact fluxes are statistically identical on the near and far hemispheres, validating a global cratering chronology. Radiometric ages of 2.8 Ga basalt and 4.247 Ga norite, combined with local crater densities, fit within...
The United Arab Emirates announced a three‑year extension of its Hope Mars probe, keeping the mission active until 2028. The orbiter has already transmitted ten terabits of atmospheric data, far surpassing its original one‑terabit target, and has also studied Deimos...
Skyrora, a Glasgow‑based small‑satellite launch provider, announced a preliminary interest in acquiring select Orbex assets, including the Sutherland Spaceport, for up to £10 million. Orbex, the Inverness‑based micro‑launcher developer, entered administration after unsuccessful fundraising and merger attempts. The potential deal could...
Rebecca Evernden has been appointed Director of the newly restructured UK Space Agency, which will merge into the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in April. A decade‑long space policy specialist, she previously led legislation for vertical launches, helped...
American Airlines flight AA-120 from Philadelphia to Doha was forced to turn back after seven hours when Gulf airspace closed amid the Israel‑Iran escalation. The Boeing 787‑9 spent a total of 16 hours in the air, becoming one of the...
Batik Air Malaysia has cancelled today’s flight to Dubai from KL due to the closure of airspace in the Middle East. The airline said in a statement that it continues to monitor the situation in the region. Passengers travelling on...
Loganair has released its 2026/27 winter schedule, offering fares as low as £54 one‑way and selling seats through March 2027. The carrier highlights early‑bird discounts, a 21 kg standard baggage allowance, and its tenth base in Southampton, which adds routes to...
Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula criticized Washington for postponing the transfer of advanced fighter aircraft to Ukraine, saying Russian rhetoric deterred both Biden and Trump administrations. He argued that early delivery of platforms such as F‑35s, F‑22s...
The RF‑4C tactical reconnaissance aircraft entered service in 1964, with 499 units built for the USAF. During the 1965 deployment to Vietnam, crew chief SSgt Edgar M. Mays faced a fuel‑system failure that would have grounded the aircraft for weeks....
NASA successfully completed the first flight of its 40‑inch Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) wing model mounted on an F‑15B research jet at Armstrong Flight Research Center. The 75‑minute sortie demonstrated safe maneuverability with the wing attached and captured...
Chinese commercial launch provider CAS Space is set to fly its reusable Kinetica‑2 rocket in late March from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, carrying a prototype of the Qingzhou‑1 cargo spacecraft. The 53‑metre, three‑stage vehicle uses three YF‑102 kerosene‑LOX engines per...
The Airbus A350‑1000 measures 242 ft 1 in, about 18 ft longer than Boeing’s 787‑10, which is 224 ft 0 in. It also offers a 9,000 nm range versus the 787‑10’s 6,330 nm, targeting high‑capacity long‑haul routes. Airbus has secured 367 firm orders for the A350‑1000, just ten more...
Qatar Airways said its flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of the Qatari airspace. The airline added that it will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of the country’s airspace.
Would probably add AI to the list of new weapon systems - particularly for coordinating/planning highly complex multi-domain ops, VUL windows, EW, tanker tracks, cyber, space ISR etc to achieve synchronised ToT & then rapidly generating a new frag order....
Avelo Airlines announced it will keep its flight schedule active through mid‑November 2026, allowing bookings to more than 30 popular U.S. and Caribbean destinations. One‑way fares start at $42 and children 14 and under travel free with an adult. The carrier...
Julio M. Ottino argues that true innovation emerges when art and science intersect, citing origami‑inspired NASA hardware as a modern example. He frames creativity as "cloud" thinking and execution as "clock" thinking, urging leaders to bridge these modes. Ottino offers...
Elon Musk unveiled a lunar base concept that doubles as a massive satellite factory, powered by solar energy and using an electromagnetic catapult to launch payloads. The plan targets 1,000 terawatts of computing power in space, leveraging the Moon’s low...
In 2026 the United Kingdom and Italy are the only NATO members operating both the Lockheed Martin F‑35 Lightning II and the Eurofighter Typhoon side by side. The F‑35 provides stealth, sensor fusion and networked warfare for contested environments, while the Typhoon...
SpaceX will lift off a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 2:10 a.m. PST on March 1, 2026, delivering 25 Starlink V2 Mini satellites for its global broadband network. The mission, designated Starlink 17‑23, uses booster B1082, which is on its 20th flight after...
The Gnome Omega, an 8‑liter seven‑cylinder rotary engine introduced in 1908, powered many World War I aircraft. Unlike later Wankel rotaries, the Gnome spun its cylinders and crankcase around a fixed crankshaft, delivering about 50 hp at 1,200 rpm. Its simple two‑state ignition,...
Third try for Kairos tonight. Let's see if it goes any better than the last two times...
Bogotá’s El Dorado airport handled a record 45.8 million passengers in 2025, prompting Colombia’s Aerocivil to propose a slot‑reallocation plan aimed at reducing Avianca’s dominance and opening capacity to new entrants. The draft reform, framed as a democratization of a public...
All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) dominate Japan‑US transpacific traffic, but their route structures differ. In March 2026 ANA scheduled 465 one‑way flights from Tokyo, offering about 118,000 seats, while JAL operated 545 flights from four Japanese airports...
Citi Research has identified L3Harris Technologies, Iridium Communications, and Lockheed Martin as the top satellite stocks poised to benefit from a proposed U.S. defense budget increase to $1.5 trillion for FY2027, emphasizing the Pentagon’s “Golden Dome” space‑based defense architecture. L3Harris recently...
Germany announced a €35 billion investment through 2030 to build sovereign military space capabilities, marking a shift from purely defensive postures toward contested orbital operations. The plan includes the SATCOM Stage 4 architecture, a proliferated low‑Earth‑orbit constellation of more than 100 satellites...
Drone hit at Dubai Airport... The destruction and pure chaos everywhere... Dubai airport shutdown, thousands stranded, flights diverted all over. This ain't fixing in a few days...this recovery is gonna drag on for a long time. Brutal
Following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, airspace across the Middle East was shut down, prompting widespread commercial flight cancellations. Major hubs—including Dubai International, Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International, and Doha’s Hamad International—suspended operations until further notice. Gulf carriers and global...
Starcloud and SpaceX have each submitted FCC applications to launch orbital data centers, outlining satellite constellations, orbital parameters, communication architectures, and disposal strategies. The filings reveal Starcloud’s plan for a 120‑satellite low‑Earth‑orbit (LEO) network and SpaceX’s proposal for a 300‑satellite...
B-2s will likely show up tonight, making direct attacks on key targets in a way no other platform can. Yes this could include MOPs, but also lots of JDAMs against less fortified targets. They can achieve massive effects in a...
U.S. Military Has Used Long-Range Kamikaze Drones In Combat For The First Time America's clone of Iran's Shahed-136 had been used against Iran in an ironic vignette of modern drone warfare. https://t.co/TUY72CkNm5
NASA’s Cargo Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific on Feb. 26, 2026 after a six‑month stint on the International Space Station. During its stay the vehicle fired its thrusters six times, raising the station’s orbit and proving a commercial...
Black Tomahawk Cruise Missile Seen For The First Time In Strikes On Iran We may have gotten our first look at the Maritime Strike Tomahawk, and the missile appears to share the same coating as another Navy anti-ship weapon. https://t.co/4emKSQqRkJ
Return to sender style. Iran provided Russia w/ thousands of these types of drones to attack mainly Ukrainian civilian sites in the last 4 years (Russia now produces them and continues attacking civilian sites). Irony, U.S. sends the type back...
U.S. Central Command confirmed that the LUCAS one‑way attack drone was employed for the first time in combat during Saturday’s airstrikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury. The low‑cost autonomous kamikaze, reverse‑engineered from the Iranian Shahed‑136, struck IRGC command and...
CENTCOM confirms use of LUCAS drone in Iran attack. You can learn about these weapons in a story from back in December by me and @FranticGoat
UK airlines have halted flights to key Middle‑East hubs—including Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi—following the United States’ launch of air strikes against Iran. Iran responded with missile attacks on eight Gulf states, heightening regional tension. The suspension affects roughly 18,000...
Rocket Lab completed its seventh HASTE suborbital mission, repurposing the first stage of an Electron rocket to launch an Australian Hypersonix test vehicle from Wallops Island. The flight marks the company’s second Department of Defense hypersonic test in three months...
NASA is racing to finish repairs on the Space Launch System’s upper stage within roughly three weeks to meet the Artemis 2 early‑April launch window. The work follows a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building after a helium‑flow interruption in the...
Seems like we had this debate before re Starlink and Ukraine...so how does it play into the DoW's ~$1B per year contract with Starlink? https://t.co/vRYy6SwnTe
SES announced a strategic partnership with K2 Space to launch three demo MEO‑Sphere satellites, beginning with a Spring 2026 flight on SpaceX Transporter 16. The Mega‑class buses cost about $15 million each and can be built in three months, promising faster, cheaper...
Astronics Corp reported record Q4 2025 aerospace sales, with revenue rising 15.1% to $240.1 million and the aerospace segment up 16.5% to $219.6 million. The company projects 2026 revenue of $950‑$990 million, roughly a 13% increase over 2025, and expects double‑digit growth. Strong...
SpaceX on 21 February 2026 set a new reuse milestone as a Falcon 9 first‑stage booster completed its 33rd successful flight, surpassing its own previous record. The dual launch from California and Florida deployed 53 new Starlink satellites, expanding the broadband constellation. Reusing...
