Know What's Happening in Aerospace
Know What's Happening in Aerospace
China tests 7.5‑tonne hydrogen‑turboprop cargo plane
China’s Aero Engine Corporation flew a 7.5‑tonne unmanned cargo aircraft powered by a 1‑megawatt hydrogen turboprop for 16 minutes, covering 36 km at 220 km/h and 300 m altitude. The test demonstrates the engine’s reliability and the country’s claim of a fully domestic hydrogen‑engine supply chain.
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke disclosed that he suffered a medical event aboard the International Space Station on Jan. 7, prompting an early return for Crew‑11. He praised his crewmates and NASA flight surgeons for stabilizing his condition and arranging a coordinated splashdown on Jan. 15 via SpaceX. The four astronauts concluded a five‑and‑a‑half‑month mission and are now undergoing post‑flight reconditioning at Johnson Space Center. Fincke did not reveal the nature of his ailment, but confirmed he is recovering well.
The satellite ground segment is transitioning from rigid, hardware‑centric "stovepipe" architectures to software‑defined radio (SDR) platforms. By virtualizing modem functions on general‑purpose compute, operators shift spending from capital‑intensive hardware to cloud‑style operational expenditure, gaining near‑instant reconfiguration for beam‑hopping and frequency...
NASA rolled back the 322‑foot Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for Artemis II from Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad to the Vehicle Assembly Building to address a malfunctioning helium pressurization system. The rollback follows a month‑long delay caused by hydrogen fuel...
Archer Aviation has filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas accusing Vertical Aerospace of infringing multiple patents tied to Archer’s Midnight eVTOL design. The complaint alleges that Vertical’s new Valo aircraft copies patented V‑tail, fuselage, wing, and flight‑control...
Air France KLM Martinair Cargo is adding a dedicated freighter service between Amsterdam Schiphol and Incheon, launching on 30 March with three weekly Boeing 747‑400 flights. The route integrates into the carrier’s Schiphol‑Hong Kong rotation, raising the frequency to six flights per week. The...
Researchers at Nanchang Hangkong University have created a dual‑phase silicon carbide ceramic reinforced with multilayer boron nitride nanosheets, delivering a 94.5% increase in flexural strength to 477 MPa and a 50% boost in fracture toughness. The composite, called DS@4MBNS, also achieves...
Researchers at York University introduced the Mars Microbial Survival (MMS) model to estimate how long Earth‑origin microbes could persist on Mars after spacecraft arrival. The model, applied to 14 historic landing sites, predicts that external surfaces are sterilized within roughly...
Airbus Defence and Space and Greenerwave have signed two additional contracts worth several million euros, expanding the partnership first announced at the June 2025 Paris Air Show. The deals integrate Greenerwave’s flat‑panel, multi‑orbit, low‑power antennas into Airbus’s end‑to‑end satellite communications...
AI‑ready Aitech SP1 single‑board computer now incorporates Teledyne e2v’s QLS1046 space‑qualified SoC. The chip features four 64‑bit Arm Cortex‑A72 cores, DDR4 memory with error correction, and radiation tolerance up to 100 krad, enabling reliable operation in LEO, GEO, lunar and deep‑space...
NASA’s BioNutrients-3 experiment aboard the International Space Station uses engineered probiotic cultures to ferment nutrient‑dense foods on demand, addressing the shelf‑life limits of essential vitamins for long‑duration missions. Astronaut Kimiya Yui demonstrated production bags containing yogurt cultures, and the samples...
Siemens and CAPHENIA announced a partnership to accelerate commercial Sustainable Aviation Fuel production by integrating Siemens’ digitalisation and automation tools with CAPHENIA’s plasma Boudouard reactor technology. The reactor splits bio‑methane into synthesis gas at 1,500 °C with over 86 % efficiency, enabling...
AIRMO and EnduroSat announced a partnership to launch a dedicated methane‑monitoring satellite in early 2027, aiming to fill a critical data gap for oil, gas, mining and agricultural emissions. The mission will use EnduroSat’s FRAME‑15 modular bus and a dual‑sensing...
Orbex released previously unseen photographs of its Prime microlauncher being assembled, showcasing the vehicle’s carbon‑fiber and aluminum composite structures. Prime is marketed as an environmentally sustainable launch system that is roughly 30% lighter than comparable small‑sat rockets. The company announced...
Seekr announced the launch of SeekrGeo, an AI‑driven geospatial reasoning engine that fuses hyperspectral, SAR and optical satellite data. The platform is powered by a Remote Sensing Foundation Model and Vision‑Language Models, enabling autonomous chemical, moisture and mineral detection. A...
EgyptAir announced two new nonstop routes from Cairo to Chicago O'Hare and Los Angeles, expanding its U.S. network to five destinations and a sixth in Canada with Toronto. The carrier will deploy brand‑new Airbus A350‑900 aircraft on the Chicago and...
The Climate Impulse team successfully completed a full‑scale main‑wing spar test, proving the hydrogen‑powered aircraft’s composite structure can endure worst‑case flight loads and clearing the path for final wing production. In parallel, the VIBRIO consortium demonstrated that a vibration‑enhanced double‑belt press...
Joby Aviation announced that riders can book its all‑electric eVTOL air taxis directly through the Uber app under the “Uber Air powered by Joby” brand. The service will appear as an option when a trip qualifies, linking Uber Black pickup...
![Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [Feb 25, 2026] Mesh Feigenbaum on Global Industrial Capacity](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/1cb37981ae9f3cdac29002d825392184.webp)
Mesh Feigenbaum, a leading forging‑press expert, released an updated benchmark revealing that global capacity for massive aerospace and defense forging presses is shrinking as aging equipment retires faster than replacements arrive. The study warns that unplanned press failures can stall...
U.S. Northern, Space and Strategic Commands are deepening coordination with Golden Dome program manager Gen. Michael Guetlein to accelerate the missile‑defense system’s fielding. Senior leaders, including Gen. Stephen Whiting and Gen. Gregory Guillot, have placed liaison officers in the Pentagon...
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman released a detailed investigation on Feb. 19, 2026 that classified the 2024 Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT) as a Type A mishap. The report cites critical software flaws at Boeing and procedural lapses at NASA that...
The Middle East UAV market still has about $17 billion in pending contracts, according to Shephard Defence Insight. Saudi Arabia leads the pipeline, eyeing MQ‑9B and Gambit systems, while other regional programs remain unawarded. Recent trade shows in Dubai, Abu Dhabi...
A new study of carbon‑based molecules in the Martian sedimentary rock Cumberland, analyzed by NASA’s Curiosity rover, reveals long‑chain alkanes such as decane, undecane and dodencane. The researchers argue that the high concentrations of these complex organics cannot be fully...
The American Astronomical Society’s presidents rebut a recent call to move astronomy entirely off Earth, arguing that ground‑based observatories remain indispensable. They note that space telescopes, while transformative, are expensive, mission‑specific and unserviceable after launch. In contrast, terrestrial facilities can...
Aviointeriors has partnered with Salient Motion to equip its Allegra and Allegra HD business‑class seats with a new Seat Actuation Control System. The modular, software‑defined solution reached qualification‑ready status in under a year, leveraging Salient Motion’s rapid certification process. The...
Precision Aircraft Solutions, an Erickson Group subsidiary, has acquired the remaining minority stake in 321 Precision Conversions from ATSG’s Cargo Aircraft Management, becoming the sole owner of the Airbus A321 freighter conversion business. The deal consolidates Erickson’s control over the...
Charter Space has launched the Charter Interplanetary Risk Corporation (CIRC), a nationally licensed brokerage dedicated to providing insurance for space missions and related commercial risks. Building on its mission‑management software and data‑driven risk analytics, CIRC will place policies ranging from...
SpaceX announced it aims for peak download speeds of 150 Mbps per user on its next‑generation Starlink Direct‑to‑Cell service. The current satellite‑to‑phone offering, delivered with T‑Mobile under the T‑Satellite brand, tops out at roughly 4 Mbps and is limited to texting and...
SYOS Aerospace announced that frontline feedback is accelerating upgrades to its uncrewed maritime, ground and aerial platforms, enabling rapid development cycles. The firm has produced over 140 uncrewed surface vessels in the past year and is expanding production for NATO...
SkyWest Airlines has filed a federal lawsuit against two former pilots, accusing them of hacking the airline’s internal SWOL directory to steal personal data of roughly 5,000 coworkers. The complaint alleges the pilots used web‑developer tools to bypass role‑based protections,...
Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas will restart direct Madrid‑Caracas flights on March 3, 2026, initially twice weekly, expanding to three flights in April and four by July. A weekly Tenerife‑Caracas service will begin on April 1, 2026. The routes were suspended...
The United States dispatched a dozen F‑22 Raptor jets from the United Kingdom to Israel and has moved more than 150 aircraft to bases across Europe and the Middle East following the collapse of the second round of nuclear talks...
Flyadeal will launch year‑round nonstop flights from its Madinah base to Jazan, Qassim and Arar on March 1, 2026, raising the number of direct destinations from the city to ten. The routes will be operated with Airbus A319s, offering two daily...
Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) and Frankfurt Airport (FRA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a more integrated cargo corridor between South India and Europe. The agreement outlines joint trade‑lane analytics, a digital corridor, pharma integrity standards and...
Cathay Pacific just dropped their third and last 80th anniversary livery on Boeing 777-300ER B-KQU at Xiamen Taikoo today... “New Hong Kong Spirit” with extra sticker-art vibes. They covered big parts with white sheets so fans couldn’t snap it immediately.
DIRECTV Latin America and SKY Brasil to provide Amazon Leo-powered satellite broadband service to potentially 15 million businesses throughout Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay: https://t.co/85zF3oHt56
Ukraine has begun the international regulatory process for its own low‑Earth‑orbit communications network, UASAT‑NANO, filing with the ITU in December 2025. The first satellite is scheduled for an October 2026 launch on a SpaceX vehicle, with full deployment starting in...
Artemis II is officially on the move, heading back to the VAB to address a helium issue on the upper stage. The journey will take about 12 hours. Hoping they can get the fix done in time for the April...
F-16s Arrive To Protect Diego Garcia, F-22s Forward Deploy To Israel As tensions between Iran and the United States threaten to erupt into war, much may depend on the result of the next round of nuclear talks in Geneva. Latest: https://t.co/CIQAJK8qQX
Melbourne Airport announced a A$4.5 billion expansion of its international terminal, adding five new gates, extra aircraft stands and enlarged check‑in, baggage‑claim and retail areas. The programme will roll out in stages, tied to new pick‑up and drop‑off zones at the...
Some partnerships are so synergistic that they simply make perfect sense from the outset. Such is the case with Swedish firm Flightradar24, which has expanded its flight tracking capabilities with the addition of Aireon’s space-based ADS-B data. https://t.co/GDPgnxjSJ1 #AvGeek
Mark diaries for the RAeS Future Air and Space Defence Summit - 20-21 May, RAeS HQ, London #avgeek #GCAP #FCAS #Tempest https://t.co/o1hRSTY3OR https://t.co/tkbs3FWhwm
Satellite operators are increasingly unable to reach each other to avoid collisions, prompting the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs to intervene in two recent incidents involving U.S., Chinese, Malaysian, and North Korean assets. The lack of reliable contact...
SLS/Orion began its rollback to the VAB at 9:28 am ET. Could take up to 12 hours. The rollback is so they can fix a helium flow problem on the upper stage. https://t.co/pfdRZQOj9g NASA is providing a livestream on its YouTube channel....
. @boostmobile has begun to test sales of @Starlink in ~120 stores. The pilot ties into EchoStar's pending sale of spectrum to SpaceX and builds on Starlink's growing retail strategy. h/t @wave7jeff - @Light_Reading https://t.co/Uc3v44JgC9
Shannon Airport has been added to Ireland’s Regional Airports Programme 2026‑2030, expanding the scheme to cover airports handling up to three million passengers annually. The programme, backed by the Sectoral Investment Plan for Transport, earmarks roughly €45 million in capital spending...
Great to have @ProfBrianCox @ChiefofAirStaff & @JonEggingTrust at RAeS HQ earlier this week for an evening focused on youth and aerospace #avgeek https://t.co/4JgtkiXkUv https://t.co/J7UZ3NsPP6
Europe’s Investment Bank is providing €25 million (≈$30 million) to Luxembourg‑based OQ Technology to expand its direct‑to‑device satellite constellation. The debt will fund the launch of more than 20 small satellites, including OQ’s first C‑band satellite aimed at smartphone connectivity slated for...
Philippine Airlines has filed a request with the U.S. Department of Transportation to launch nonstop service between Manila and Chicago, a roughly 8,132‑mile ultra‑long‑haul route slated for the summer 2026 IATA traffic season. The airline plans to deploy its newly...
Lufthansa has rolled out IATA’s Turbulence Aware platform across parts of its fleet, including Swiss International Air Lines and Edelweiss Air, to provide pilots with near‑real‑time turbulence alerts. The system gathers anonymised sensor data from participating aircraft and displays colour‑coded...
.@KratosDefense: Our space/satellite division is booming; 'virtually everything we bid on we win.' Late-arriving software-defined satellites are catchinp up w/ our #OpenSpace software-defined ground platform. @NATO @SES @AirbusSpace. https://t.co/BoWNnZdEOZ https://t.co/jxaKAluvmv
