United’s Premium Boeing 787s With New Cabins: Which Routes Do They Fly?
United Airlines has begun delivering a new fleet of 222‑seat Boeing 787‑9 Dreamliners, branded United Elevate, featuring an ultra‑premium cabin layout. The aircraft house 64 Polaris business seats—including eight Studio seats—35 Premium Plus seats and 123 economy seats. Currently four Elevate 787‑9s operate out of San Francisco on daily flights to London Heathrow and Singapore Changi, with additional routes to Zurich and extra London/Singapore frequencies slated for September 2026. United plans to have 33 of these jets in service by 2028, averaging about one delivery per month.
Albany Receives Pratt & Whitney Engine Component Contract Through 2036
Albany Engineered Composites (AEC) won a long‑term contract through 2036 from Pratt & Whitney to produce composite structural components for the GTF engine, its first high‑volume program with the RTX unit. Airbus completed the industry‑largest composite main‑deck cargo door for...
China Develops New Stealth Cruise Missile
China is developing a sub‑4‑meter stealth cruise missile that fits inside the internal weapons bays of its J‑20 and J‑35 fighters. The missile uses infrared‑cooling nozzles, a serrated exhaust, V‑tail shielding and rock‑wool insulation to lower radar and heat signatures....
Drone or Missile Strikes Reported in the UAE
Iran launched four loitering munitions toward the UAE, three were intercepted over territorial waters and one fell into the sea, prompting explosions in Dubai, Jebel Ali and Fujairah. A cargo vessel 36 nm north of Dubai suffered an engine‑room fire of unknown...
SmallSat Europe Speaker Focus: Massimo Comparini, Leonardo Space Division
Leonardo is committing roughly €500 million (about $540 million) to launch a proprietary constellation of around 20 small satellites that will carry SAR, high‑resolution optical and communications payloads. The effort is led by Massimo Comparini, newly appointed Managing Director of Leonardo’s Space...
China Imposes Extensive Regulations on Its Pseudo-Commercial Space Industry
China has released a comprehensive "Commercial Spaceflight Standards System" that governs its burgeoning pseudo‑commercial space sector. The six‑area framework addresses market access, safety supervision, debris mitigation, certification, energy conservation, and occupational health. CNSA Administrator Shan Zhongde convened a round‑table with...
Spirit Airlines’ Exit Removes 21.3 Million Seats From the U.S. Air Connectivity Network
Spirit Airlines announced it will cease operations on May 2, eliminating 21.3 million seats from the U.S. aviation market. The lost capacity represents 4.5% of domestic low‑cost seats and 1.4% of total U.S. connectivity through December 2026. Over 91% of the seats were...
Global Smallsat Deployment Accelerates, with 16,900 Satellites Projected Through 2035
Novaspace’s 11th Prospects for the Small Satellite Market report projects 16,900 small satellites (under 500 kg) to be launched between 2026 and 2035, averaging about 230 tons of hardware per year. Smallsats will account for roughly one‑third of all launches yet only...
Flying with Spirit Airlines? Here’s How to Get a Refund
Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. announced the immediate shutdown of Spirit Airlines on May 2, 2026 after failing to secure federal funding, canceling all scheduled flights. The airline’s bankruptcy leaves thousands of passengers stranded and creates uncertainty around refunds for tickets,...
$1.5bn Aseer Airport Expansion Project Set for Early 2027 Start to Boost Saudi Aviation Capacity
Saudi Arabia’s Aseer Airport Expansion, a $1.5 billion public‑private partnership, will begin construction in early 2027 and is slated for completion by 2032. The project will boost the Abha airport’s annual capacity to 12 million passengers, adding a new terminal, expanded runways...
FAA Proposes CF34 Inspections After 2024 Challenger Crash
The FAA has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require owners of roughly 1,152 General Electric CF34 engines—found on Challenger 600 series and CRJ200 jets—to perform borescope inspections for high‑pressure compressor case corrosion and subsequent variable‑geometry system checks. The...
Spirit Airlines Shut Down Overnight — Stranding Thousands of Passengers: ‘We Were Scrambling. It’s Insane’
Spirit Airlines abruptly ceased all operations at 3 a.m. Saturday after bondholders rejected an 11th‑hour $500 million government bailout. The shutdown ended the carrier’s 34‑year history, left thousands of passengers stranded across the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America, and eliminated 17,000 jobs....
SpaceX Sends South Korean Imaging Satellite, 44 More Payloads to Orbit on Falcon 9
SpaceX successfully lifted off a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Station, delivering 45 payloads into low‑Earth orbit. The mission, designated CAS500‑2, carried South Korea’s Compact Advanced Satellite 500‑2, the second unit in KAI’s Phase 1 CAS500 Earth‑observation program, along with 44...
Purdue Drone Initiatives Focus on the Future of Autonomy in the Sky
Purdue University is spearheading a multi‑disciplinary push into autonomous drones, blending AI, advanced computing and aerospace engineering. The school helped Indiana win an FAA‑designated unmanned aircraft systems test site and launched the Center on AI for Digital, Autonomous and Augmented...
The Scoop: After Spirit Folds, Other Airlines Step in to Win Loyalty
Spirit Airlines abruptly ceased operations Saturday after a failed bid for a federal bailout, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and about 17,000 employees out of work. Major U.S. carriers—American, United, Delta and Frontier—quickly introduced rescue fares, with caps ranging from...
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East African Countries to Launch Regional Satellite
Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda announced a joint effort to design and launch a regional communication and broadcasting satellite under the Northern Corridor Regional Communication and Broadcasting Satellite Initiative (NCRCBSI). The ministers met on the sidelines of the Connected...
DARPA Chief Says Agency Must Harness Commercial Space Boom
DARPA director Stephen Winchell announced a strategic shift to treat the agency’s space portfolio as a bridge to the booming commercial market, leveraging private‑sector advances in launch, satellite manufacturing, and on‑orbit services. The agency will use its flexible contracting and...
Lockheed Martin, Firefly, and Seagate Partner for Sea-Based National Security Launch
Lockheed Martin, Seagate Space, and Firefly Aerospace announced a three‑way partnership to develop sea‑based launch capabilities for national‑security missions. The collaboration centers on Seagate’s “Gateway” semi‑submersible launch platform, which received ABS Approval in Principle in December 2025, and Firefly’s Alpha rocket...
Crowded Space
The General Catalogue of Artificial Space Objects now lists roughly 35,000 items the size of a softball or larger in Earth orbit. Recent years have seen a sharp rise in payload launches, driven largely by broadband constellations such as SpaceX’s...
US Army Combines Bunker-Buster Warhead with Drone Delivery
The U.S. Army successfully tested the Bunker Rupture and Kinetic Explosive Round (BRAKER), a high‑kinetic warhead mounted on an expendable UAV, at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. Leveraging 3D‑printed components and the Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit, the system can attach...
GITAI Selected by U.S. Space Force for Space-Based Interceptor Program
GITAI USA Inc. has been selected by the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command for the Space‑Based Interceptor (SBI) program. The award places GITAI among a small group developing interceptor systems for national security. GITAI will use its vertically integrated...
May 4, 1967: Surveyor 3 Last Contact
NASA’s Surveyor 3, the second soft‑landing probe, touched down on the Moon on April 20, 1967 after a rough descent that caused two rebounds. Over the next two weeks it transmitted more than 6,300 photos, thermal readings and radar data to prove the...
EVERYWHERE Communications Partners with Parsons to Enable Resilient, Beyond-Line-of-Sight Autonomous Drone Operations Under SBIR Initiative
EVERYWHERE Communications has teamed up with Parsons Corporation under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to create a resilient data‑transport layer for autonomous drones. The solution uses Iridium satellite connectivity to keep drones linked to command centers even in...
German Defence Ministry Says No 'Definitive Cancellation' Of US Weapons Deployment
The German defence ministry said there is no definitive cancellation of the United States’ plan to station a battalion equipped with long‑range Tomahawk missiles in Germany. The clarification follows Washington’s announcement to withdraw 5,000 troops from its largest European base,...
StratEdge Honored with a Partner 2 Win Gold Tier Award From BAE Systems
StratEdge Corporation announced it has received a Gold Tier Award from BAE Systems’ Partner 2 Win program, recognizing its 2025 performance in the Electronic Systems supply chain. The award highlights StratEdge’s delivery of high‑reliability ceramic and gold‑plated tab packaging for RF, microwave...
Payload Field Guide: Lunar Rovers
NASA’s March Ignition event announced a shift toward faster, scalable lunar rover delivery to support a permanent human presence. Private firms such as Astrobotic, Lunar Outpost, ispace, Intuitive Machines, Venturi Astrolab, and JAXA‑Toyota are racing to field rovers that can...
Video: United Plane Hits Truck on New Jersey Turnpike
A United Airlines jet clipped the cab of a delivery truck on the New Jersey Turnpike, leaving the driver with non‑life‑threatening injuries while authorities launch a safety investigation. At the same time, an Instagram Reel showing a mother’s surprise reunion...
Lawsuit Claims Starship Launches Damage Homes
SpaceX is gearing up for the 12th test flight of its Starship vehicle, slated for May 12‑18, marking the debut of the upgraded Starship v3. Residents of Port Isabel and South Padre Island have filed a lawsuit alleging that prior...
The Moonbase Moment
At NASA’s Ignition event in March, the agency announced a $30 billion, decade‑long plan to build a permanent lunar base, outlining three phases from 2026 to 2036. The program calls for dozens of landers, habitats, power systems and a near‑monthly launch...
Governance Is Always Late to the Party. Here's Why That's Not an Accident.
The article argues that space governance habitually lags behind the rapid growth of in‑orbit servicing and other circular‑economy activities. While technical missions succeed, legal frameworks for liability, safety standards, and jurisdiction are still being debated after the fact. This lag...
Review: Open Space
David Ariosto’s new book *Open Space* chronicles the accelerating U.S.-China lunar race, spotlighting NASA’s ambitious goal of 21 landings between 2026 and 2028. The narrative follows Intuitive Machines’ rocky IM‑1 and IM‑2 missions, illustrating the technical hurdles that still plague...
IndiGo’s Head of Global Sales Vinay Malhotra Resigns
IndiGo’s head of global sales, Vinay Malhotra, announced his resignation effective July 3, 2026, following the earlier departure of CEO Pieter Elbers. During his four‑year tenure, Malhotra helped steer the airline’s commercial strategy, but his exit comes as the carrier posted a 77.5% year‑on‑year...
US Approves $5bn PATRIOT and APKWS Systems Sale to Qatar
The U.S. State Department approved two foreign‑military sales to Qatar worth over $5 billion. The package includes $4.01 bn for Patriot air‑defence replenishment, spare parts and logistics, and $992 m for 10,000 APKWS‑II precision rocket rounds with associated launchers and support. An emergency...
Dubai International Airport Passenger Traffic Plunged 66% in March as Iran War Closed Airspace
Dubai International Airport saw passenger traffic plunge 66% in March, handling only 2.5 million travelers as the Iran‑Israel war forced regional airspace closures. The first quarter recorded a 21% year‑over‑year decline to 18.6 million passengers, pushing the airport’s 2026 target of 99.5 million...
Spirit Airlines’ Shutdown Is a Case Study in What Happens when a Turnaround Plan Breaks
Spirit Airlines announced an orderly wind‑down after 34 years, citing an inability to secure new capital and a sharp rise in jet fuel prices. The ultra‑low‑cost carrier’s 2025 restructuring plan collapsed, leaving it in bankruptcy for a second time within...
Air India to Cut International Flights Due To Rising Costs, CEO Shortlist Narrows
Air India announced it will trim its long‑haul international schedule between May and July as jet fuel prices surge and mandatory reroutes inflate costs. The airline cited airspace closures linked to the Iran conflict, which add distance and fuel burn...
Pixxel Partners Sarvam To Launch Orbital Data Centre Satellite By Q4 2026
Pixxel, a Google‑backed Indian spacetech startup, announced it will launch Pathfinder, the country’s first orbital data‑centre satellite, in the fourth quarter of 2026. The 200‑kg satellite will be built, launched and operated by Pixxel, while AI firm Sarvam will run...
China ‘Madman of Science’ Believes Budget Space Travel Is Viable After Low-Cost Rocket Launch
Chinese inventor Lu Yulong’s five‑person team launched the 12‑meter Shenzhen Pioneer rocket in Qinghai, reaching 3,700 m after just 15 days of construction. The low‑cost liquid‑rocket engine costs under $150 per tonne of thrust, enabling a 100 kg microsatellite launch for about...
Electric Aircraft Can Be Integrated with Other Aircraft but Will Require “E-Route” Planning – Avinor
Avinor, Norway’s air navigation service provider, completed 126 low‑level test flights with BETA Technologies and Bristow, demonstrating that electric aircraft can safely share airspace with conventional traffic. The final report recommends creating dedicated low‑altitude “e‑routes” and adjusting regulations to reflect...
For First Responders, Faster Adoption of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Means Stronger Physical Security
The Science and Technology Directorate’s National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) is seeing a surge in demand for small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) among first‑responder agencies. To meet this need, NUSTL released a comprehensive "Small Unmanned Aircraft System Program Documentation...
The Big Interview: Johanna Hutchinson, CDO, BAE Systems
Johanna Hutchinson, BAE Systems' first chief data officer, joined the defense giant in 2022 to turn data into a strategic asset. BAE, with 111,000 staff and an order backlog of £83.6 billion (about $106 billion), relies on Hutchinson to streamline delivery of...
U.S. Army Awards Contract for Autonomous Resupply Drone
The U.S. Army has awarded SURVICE Engineering a production contract for the Joint Autonomous Aerial Resupply System (JTAARS), an autonomous cargo‑delivery drone built on the Tactical Resupply Vehicle platform with UK partner Malloy Aeronautics. The contract was secured through the...
Welcome to the Great American Satellite Age
Basalt Space, led by CEO Max Bhatti, assembled its first small satellite in a San Francisco apartment and delivered it to SpaceX for an April 1 launch on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg. The startup plans to let customers lease or own private...
ACN Awards: Enter the Air Cargo Charter Project of the Year
The Air Cargo News (ACN) Awards are now accepting entries for the Air Cargo Charter Project of the Year, a category sponsored by Network Airline Services. Companies that completed a complex, customer‑focused charter shipment in the past 12 months may...
NASA Prepares To Get The Roman Space Telescope Ready For Launch
NASA technicians moved eight high‑efficiency particulate air (HEPA) wall modules and other ground‑support gear to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility in Florida, advancing preparation for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The Roman telescope will carry a Wide Field Instrument and a...
Albany Engineered Composites Receives Pratt & Whitney Engine Component Contract
Albany Engineered Composites (AEC), a segment of Albany International, secured a long‑term contract from Pratt & Whitney, an RTX subsidiary, to supply composite structural components for the GTF engine. The award marks AEC’s first volume‑production program with Pratt & Whitney and broadens...
Lithuania Air Focus: Majority of $235.98 Million Drone Investment to Be Spent Before 2030
Lithuania’s Ministry of Defence has earmarked €200 million (≈ $236 million) for uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) programmes through 2029, with more than $54 million already deployed. The initial spend included a €36 million ($39 million) purchase of three drone systems, notably the home‑grown Hornet XR mini‑fixed‑wing UAV....
JetZero Embarking on Home Facility Revamp
JetZero Inc. is renovating its 32,000‑square‑foot headquarters at Long Beach Airport, with Mark Odom Studio leading the redesign. The modernized campus will feature flexible workspaces around a central hangar to accelerate decision‑making and foster innovation. The upgrade follows a $175 million...
Primoco UAV Reports Strongest Q1 in Its History: Robust Performance, New Contracts and Infrastructure Expansion
Primoco UAV posted its strongest first‑quarter ever, generating roughly $4.5 million in revenue and $2.7 million EBITDA. The company now holds a $38 million backlog of 30 aircraft, including a rapid one‑month delivery to Spain’s Guardia Civil. It is expanding infrastructure with a new...
Launch Boosts European Earth Monitoring and Connectivity
Thirteen European satellites were launched on a SpaceX Falcon‑9 rideshare from Vandenberg, adding seven IRIDE Earth‑observation units for Italy, four Hellenic Fire System satellites for Greece, and two CubeSats testing optical communications. The IRIDE additions bring Italy’s constellation to 31...