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.
China’s reusable Shenlong space plane lifted off from Jiuquan on Feb 6, 2026, marking its fourth orbital mission. The vehicle’s prior flights ranged from a two‑day test to multi‑year stays, each releasing one or more satellites. Unlike the U.S. X‑37B, Shenlong has demonstrated rendezvous and proximity operations, suggesting a focus on satellite capture, inspection, or servicing. Analysts view the program as a step toward mastering on‑orbit manipulation, a capability with both commercial and security implications.
Enjoyed my panel today during the opening session at #RTIME2026 here in Orlando. My message: Elon Musk doesn't care about your economics. And in 5 years time, your biggest issue will be what to do about Starlink's monopoly in residential...
KC-130J’s Hellfire Missile-Firing Harvest Hawk Kits Retired By Marines Developed to turn USMC C-130s into close air support platforms during the Global War on Terror, Harvest Hawk's relevance has waned. https://t.co/FWdjbg1wcs
Lunar dust remains a critical obstacle for sustained human activity on the Moon, prompting research into flexible electrodynamic dust shields (EDS). Georgia Tech researchers demonstrated two curved‑surface EDS designs—copper‑polyimide and chemically modified reduced graphene oxide (CMrGO)—that can repel dust under...
NASA’s Curiosity rover has spent six months examining Martian boxwork formations—low ridges resembling spiderwebs—on Mount Sharp. High‑resolution Mastcam images reveal ridges 1‑2 meters tall with sand‑filled hollows, confirming that ancient groundwater flowed later than previously believed. Drill samples from ridge tops,...
The James Webb Space Telescope has produced the first infrared image of a star before it exploded as a supernova, identifying the progenitor in galaxy NGC 1637. By aligning archival Hubble data with Webb’s MIRI and NIRCam observations from 2024, astronomers...
The Space Development Agency awarded AST SpaceMobile a $30 million firm‑fixed‑price contract to demonstrate its BlueBird satellite constellation can deliver resilient, low‑latency broadband directly to military radios. The "Europa" phase of the HALO program requires AST to complete a series of...
ESA and ArianeGroup are targeting a spring 2026 hop test for the Themis reusable launcher demonstrator, now installed at Esrange’s Launch Complex 3B. The test will involve the 30‑metre T1H stage powered by a 100‑ton Prometheus methane engine and equipped with...
Low‑Earth‑Orbit (LEO) satellite broadband has reached roughly 3 million U.S. households, representing about 2 percent of residential subscriptions after five years. A detailed census‑block analysis shows that 6 percent of homes—dubbed broadband deserts—have no or only legacy DSL options, while 11 percent of rural...
Skynopy, backed by French Ministry funding, secured the SkyConnect Kenya project to digitize the Kenya Space Agency's 4.5‑meter S/X‑Band antenna. Partnering with Safran Space, the duo will install Skynopy’s Ground Station Stack and Safran’s virtualized Nuron equipment, linking the antenna...
Desider, the monthly corporate magazine of the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), was launched on 26 January 2026. It is aimed at DE&S staff, the wider MOD, armed forces and industry partners. The publication delivers stories on operational...
Japanese micro‑satellite firm Axelspace secured an exclusive contract to supply optical imagery for the Ministry of Defense’s new satellite constellation. The agreement, part of a broader ¥283.1 bn project led by a consortium of Mitsubishi Electric, SKY Perfect JSAT, Mitsui &...
Australia has taken delivery of two AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from the United States under a Foreign Military Sales agreement, marking the first arrivals of a 29‑aircraft order. The delivery is part of Project Land 4503, with the remaining helicopters slated for...
AFD Systems secured a £20,000 Made Smarter grant to acquire a high‑precision 3D laser scanner, launching a dedicated metrology and reverse‑engineering team. The new capability integrates scanning data into design, simulation and additive‑manufacturing workflows, enabling faster part development. AFD aims...
Rolls Royce confirmed that its upgraded F130 test engines for the B‑52 Stratofortress will be delivered in 2027 following successful altitude and operability testing. The engines, which replace the aging Pratt & Whitney TF33‑PW‑103 powerplants, completed trials at the Air...
During the initial climb of a Batik Air Boeing 737‑800, economy seats in an exit row tipped backward, flattening into the row behind and blocking the aisle near the emergency exit. The crew re‑seated passengers and the aircraft underwent an...
Avia Solutions Group is extending its global footprint by leveraging its Australian subsidiary, Skytrans, to launch a new charter route between Sydney and Cobar. Weekly flights began on 19 January 2026 and will run through mid‑May, using a 36‑seat Dash 8‑200...
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has issued a tender to co‑develop a conceptual design for a deployable Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) unit, mandating partnership with an Inuit firm from Nunavut. The 23‑month contract, valued up to $745,000, aims to produce...
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has launched a statutory pre‑application consultation for its Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) at Cawdor Barracks, with the consultation window closing on 23 March 2026. An extensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been completed and all...
Flightradar24 announced integration of Aireon's space‑based ADS‑B data, extending its tracking beyond the 55,000‑receiver terrestrial network to oceans, polar and remote regions. The satellite feed updates aircraft positions every 15 minutes when out of ground coverage, shown with a blue...
Aalyria, a Google spin‑out focused on space‑based networking, closed a $100 million Series B round that lifts its valuation to $1.3 billion. The funding, led by Battery Ventures and J2 Ventures, will fund a one‑third staff increase and accelerate rollout of its Spacetime...
Aveva announced it has completed its first major purchase of sustainable aviation fuel certificates (SAFcs) five years ahead of its World Economic Forum First Movers Coalition commitment. The certificates were bought from British Airways, which sources the fuel from renewable...
Exolaunch has completed integration of five university CubeSat payloads for Isar Aerospace’s second launch attempt, slated for 19 March 2026 from Norway’s Andoya spaceport. The payloads—CyBEEsat, TRISAT‑S, STS1, Platform 6 6UXL and FramSat1—represent student projects from Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Bulgaria and Norway. Isar’s first...
Exclusive: I recently spoke with @OfficialCSAF for his first interview in the job. Including his perspective on coming back to lead the service, the challenges facing the Air Force and his perspective of how to address them. A read to...
Aalyria, a Livermore‑based aerospace communications firm, closed a $100 million Series B financing round, bringing its valuation to $1.3 billion. The round was led by Battery Ventures and J2 Ventures, with participation from DYNE and other investors. The funding will be used to...
London‑based airline parts firm director Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala forged documents to sell tens of thousands of CFM56 engine components, injecting roughly 60,000 suspect parts into the global supply chain. The scheme, spanning January 2019 to December 2023, generated £6.9 million in revenue for...
Uavos Inc. has completed validation of a top‑loaded aerocomposite curing oven that delivers ±1.7 °C temperature uniformity, 2 kW heating and up to 200 °C operation while cutting energy use by 15‑25 %. The system’s dual‑fan airflow architecture promises lower scrap rates and higher...
After being glimpsed in a @aerosociety Lecture in https://t.co/Zm9M2njU6V in 2025 - @AirbusHeli reveals next generation rotorcraft concepts for #NATO #NGRC requirement. 2 concepts - a high-speed compound chopper and an advanced conventional design #avgeek https://t.co/PxLWEs1hSO
Collins Aerospace successfully demonstrated its Sidekick mission‑autonomy software on a General Atomics YFQ‑42A uncrewed jet, completing a four‑hour autonomous flight controlled from the ground. The test, part of the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, proved seamless integration...
A Pennsylvania National Guard team from the 28th Infantry Division captured the innovation prize at the Army’s inaugural Best Drone Warfighter Competition. Their Project R.E.D. uses AI‑driven object recognition and a 3‑D‑printed carbon‑fiber robotic arm to retrieve downed drones for intelligence...
The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has opened ticket sales for EBACE26, scheduled for 2‑4 June in Geneva. The event will feature a refreshed static display in a new airport location, showcasing turboprops and ultra‑long‑range jets. New amenities include an operators...
Sceye announced the SceyeCELL antenna, a custom HAPS payload that merges ground‑cell flexibility with LEO satellite precision. The antenna is built for long‑duration, high‑altitude missions that can blanket large swaths of the Earth. It is intended to bolster network resilience...
On Feb 16, 2026 a minor G1 geomagnetic storm lit up the night skies over Iceland and eastern Canada. The VIIRS sensor aboard NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite captured grayscale images of the auroral displays across the Denmark Strait and Canadian provinces. The storm,...
JSX launched ATR 42 service linking Scottsdale with Santa Monica earlier this year, and is now flying two -600 turboprops in its fleet. Will JSX's turboprop gamble pay off in the United States? https://t.co/88bAKAT83L #nosetotail #paxex #avgeek https://t.co/RLwdk90Upc
British Airways unintentionally published the seat map for its re‑configured A380 fleet, exposing a new layout that trims capacity to 421 seats, a 10% reduction. The redesign introduces 12 First Class suites, 84 World Traveller Plus seats, 215 World Traveller...
China’s Tianwen‑1 mission deployed the Zhurong rover in Utopia Planitia, where its Mars Rover Penetrating Radar (RoPeR) identified a shallow subsurface ice layer about 7 m thick. The radar data fit a model of dirty ice mixed with stones sandwiched between two...
French startup Skynopy secured a €500,000 award from the French Ministry to integrate Kenya Space Agency’s 4.5‑meter S‑ and X‑band antenna into its ground‑station‑as‑a‑service network. Working with Safran Space, the company will deploy modems and digital infrastructure at the Nairobi...
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and the U.S. Air Force completed a joint autonomy exercise at Edwards AFB, pairing an F‑22 Raptor with the MQ‑20 Avenger unmanned jet. The test used government‑reference autonomy software and a tactical data link to let...
.@OvzonAB: Our combined satellite capacity and mobile terminal sales in 2025 delivered record revenue, profit and backlog. Results add argument to our assessement re: building another satellite to meet demand.https://t.co/j7A2bpoBC9 https://t.co/abyH109gpe
West Star Aviation announced a major expansion of its Chattanooga Airport campus, increasing total space to roughly 400,000 square feet by February 2027. The project adds a 40,000‑square‑foot Hangar 26 with shop and office areas and a two‑story, 30,000‑square‑foot addition to...
The United Kingdom has signed onto the Low‑Cost Effectors & Autonomous Platforms (LEAP) programme, a five‑nation European effort to field an affordable, AI‑driven surface‑to‑air weapon capable of neutralising drones and missiles by 2027. The move comes as the long‑awaited Defence...
Kuala Lumpur is accelerating its ambition to become a regional air‑cargo hub through a partnership between MMAG Aviation Consortium and digital‑logistics firm BluOrbit. The alliance blends MMAG’s ground‑handling and terminal assets with BluOrbit’s real‑time tracking, automated documentation and route‑optimisation platform,...
Travelers and agencies are discovering that booking Eurowings flights through Lufthansa can cost up to double the price of direct Eurowings purchases, despite identical aircraft, baggage allowances, and service levels. The price gap stems from Lufthansa’s separate fare structures and...
Air cargo stakeholders are turning to South America as a growth market, highlighted by IATA’s decision to host the 2026 World Cargo Symposium in Lima, Peru. The region’s surge in perishable and high‑value shipments is prompting carriers and forwarders to...
CMA CGM Air Cargo has signed a long‑term extension of its unit load device (ULD) partnership with Jettainer, the Lufthansa Cargo‑owned ULD solutions provider. The agreement gives CMA CGM access to Jettainer’s network of more than 100,000 ULDs across 500 global...
SpaceX has shifted its lunar strategy, announcing plans to build a self‑sustaining city and orbital AI data centers on the Moon within a decade. The move intensifies competition with China, which targets a crewed landing by 2030, prompting the United...
In early 2026 Iranian protests triggered a sweeping internet shutdown, but smuggled Starlink terminals let activists maintain contact with the outside world. The satellite service enabled images and messages to bypass state jamming, turning a near‑total blackout into a contested...
The article proposes using federated learning (FL) to protect soldier‑astronaut health data while delivering AI‑driven medical support on lunar and Mars missions. Recent Crew‑11 evacuation highlighted the limits of Earth‑based medical assistance and the bandwidth constraints of deep‑space communication. FL...
Dark Merlin Is Now General Atomics’ YFQ-42A ‘Fighter Drone’s’ Nickname Merlins are small but fierce birds that attack in groups and are known for their stealthy attacks. https://t.co/H0oZhFL1j9
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems announced that its YFQ-42A collaborative combat aircraft will be called Dark Merlin. The unmanned system is one of two prototypes selected for the U.S. Air Force’s first increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, the other...
