China’s First Moon Astronauts Could Land at This Surprising Site
A new Nature Astronomy paper identifies the equatorial Rimae Bode region as a prime candidate for China’s first crewed lunar landing, targeting a 2030 timeline. The study highlights the area’s flat terrain, near‑constant sunlight, and direct line‑of‑sight to Earth, reducing landing risk and communication complexity. Researchers propose four potential sites, with Landing Site 2 offering proximity to volcanic glass beads, basaltic plains, and high‑thorium deposits. The findings suggest China may prioritize an easier near‑side landing before tackling the more challenging south‑pole bases planned for later missions.
UK Deftech Firm UForce With Ukrainian Roots Raises $50M at $1B Valuation
UForce, a UK‑based defence tech firm with Ukrainian origins, closed a $50 million financing round led by Lakestar and Shield Capital, pushing its valuation above $1 billion. The company develops autonomous air, sea and land systems, including marine drones, heavy‑bomber UAVs, unmanned...
Turning Farms Into Jet Fuel Factories Won’t Fix Aviation Emissions
The aviation sector is betting on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to cut emissions, but crop‑based SAF may negate carbon gains due to indirect land‑use change and water use. Waste‑oil SAF offers high reductions but lacks scalability, while corn, soy and...
Indian Airlines Report $576 Million Losses, Despite Growth In Demand
Indian airlines posted a loss of INR 53 billion ($576 million) in FY 2024‑25, nearly five times the loss recorded a year earlier. The loss came despite a 7.7% rise in domestic passenger traffic, as soaring fuel prices, exchange‑rate swings and high operating...
Czech Venoms to Support Poland
The Czech Republic is sending a detachment of Bell UH‑1Y Venom helicopters to Poland to protect its airspace against unmanned aerial systems. The Venoms replace Mil Mi‑171ŠM helicopters that have been on standby since September after a wave of Russian...
Lux Aeterna Raises $10 Million Ahead of 2027 Reusable Satellite Demo
Lux Aeterna, a Denver startup founded by former SpaceX engineer Brian Taylor, announced a $10 million seed round led by Konvoy, bringing its total capital to $14 million. The funding will support development of Delphi‑1, a 200 kg reusable satellite with a 30 kg...
'The Future of the Space Economy': Colorado Startup Lux Aeterna Raises $10 Million to Develop Reusable Satellites
Colorado startup Lux Aeterna announced a $10 million seed round to accelerate its fully reusable satellite program. The funding, led by Konvoy, brings total capital to $14 million and will support the 2027 test flight of its Delphi prototype on a SpaceX...
Lux Aeterna Closes $10M Seed to Build Reusable Sats
Lux Aeterna, a Colorado‑based startup founded by former Starlink engineer Brian Taylor, closed a $10 million seed round led by Konvoy Ventures to develop its reusable satellite platform Delphi. The 200‑kg demo satellite, built with COTS parts and a NASA‑partnered heat...
WISPA Raises Interference Concerns About SpaceX's Mega Constellation
SpaceX has filed an FCC application for a mega‑constellation of up to one million low‑Earth‑orbit satellites that would host space‑based AI data centers. The system would operate in the 18.8‑19.3 GHz (space‑to‑Earth) and 28.6‑29.1 GHz (Earth‑to‑space) bands, relying on narrow‑beam optical links....
Starliner and Artemis: Commercial Label Vs. Commercial Discipline
NASA classified Boeing's 2024 Starliner crewed test flight as a Type A mishap, pinpointing decision‑making and leadership failures rather than hardware flaws. The investigation revealed a pattern of closing anomalies without full root‑cause analysis, exposing a gap between the program’s commercial...
Space Travel: Gender Equality
NASA announced that its newest Astronaut Candidate Class is 60% female, marking the first time women outnumber men in a NASA cohort. The announcement coincided with International Women’s Day and underscores a broader shift toward gender parity in the space...
SpaceX Is 'About 4 Weeks' Away From Launching Its Most Powerful Starship yet, Elon Musk Says
SpaceX announced that its upgraded Starship V3 is slated for a test flight in early April, roughly four weeks away. The version features taller Super Heavy and upper stages powered by the new Raptor 3 engine, delivering higher thrust and efficiency....
Flying with Kids Is a Seating Gamble. Should U.S. Airlines Fix It?
Southwest’s shift to assigned seating in January 2026 spotlights a broader U.S. airline dilemma of keeping families together. Parents now must pay extra for adjacent seats or gamble on random allocation, and even purchased seats can be reassigned after last‑minute...
Global Aviation in Turmoil: Lufthansa Expands as London, Paris, Addis Ababa and Helsinki Compete to Replace Gulf Hubs
War in the Middle East has forced the abrupt closure of Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, the three Gulf hubs that have underpinned global air travel for decades. Lufthansa Group quickly responded by adding long‑haul services from Frankfurt and Munich, including...
Landspace Tests 220-Ton Methane Engine for Future Heavy-Lift Launchers
Chinese launch startup Landspace announced a successful long‑duration hot‑fire test of its BF methane‑liquid oxygen engine, which generates roughly 220 metric tons of thrust. The full‑flow staged combustion (FFSC) cycle engine is intended as the core propulsion unit for the company’s...
Philippine Marine BrahMos Force Stands Up Northern Luzon Unit
The Philippine Marine Corps activated the 273rd Marine Company at Camp Cape Bojeador, extending its BrahMos supersonic anti‑ship missile coastal‑defense regiment into Northern Luzon. The unit joins a three‑battery structure, each battery fielding two launchers, radar and command vehicles, and...
MCBS and LYNEports Sign AAM MoU
Oman’s Modern College of Business and Science (MCBS) and LYNEports have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to foster education, research, and innovation in advanced air mobility (AAM). The agreement establishes joint programmes such as the Future Flight Academy and Smart...
How North American FBOs Are Preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
North American fixed‑base operators in Vancouver and Monterrey are mobilizing months‑ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to handle an unprecedented surge in business‑aviation traffic. Million Air Vancouver has joined a collaborative work‑group with the Vancouver Airport Authority, deploying a...
Emerging Trends in Aircraft Parts Availability
Locatory.com’s February 2026 marketplace data reveals the top 50 most‑searched and hardest‑to‑find aircraft parts worldwide, underscoring persistent demand for legacy CFM56 engine components, APU and power‑generation hardware, and avionics LRUs. The report also highlights a surprising shortage of basic structural...
Karun Airlines F50s, Pars Air Aircraft Destroyed in Iran
Iranian carrier Karun Airlines reported the destruction of its Fokker 50 turboprops, while Pars Air also lost aircraft in the same incident. The loss removes key short‑haul capacity from both operators, further shrinking an already limited fleet. Details on the...
Rolls-Royce and PGZ Team up on Joint Projects for Poland’s Armed Forces
Rolls‑Royce and Poland’s defence conglomerate PGZ have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop joint propulsion projects for the Polish armed forces. The agreement covers servicing, overhauling and eventual production of MTU‑based engines for land vehicles and naval vessels. It...
Germany's LUMINAIR Inducts First Falcon 7X
LUMINAIR announced the induction of its first Dassault Falcon 7X, a 2009‑built trijet registered D‑ALIN, which entered service on 8 March with a Hamburg‑Paris‑Larnaca routing. Configured for up to 14 passengers, the aircraft joins a fleet that already includes four Falcon 900LX, two...
Iran Fields Updated Shahed-101 Kamikaze Drone
Iran has unveiled an upgraded Shahed‑101 loitering munition featuring a front‑mounted electric motor and nose‑propeller, diverging from the family’s traditional gasoline piston engines. The redesign retains the fixed‑wing airframe and 800 km strike range while adding a rear‑mounted rocket booster for...
Gulf Airlines Slowly Increase Flights Amid Iran Missile Threats
Airlines across the Persian Gulf are cautiously expanding capacity even as Iran continues to launch missiles and drones that regional airspace must intercept. Emirates, the world’s largest international carrier, has lifted its schedule to serve roughly 100 destinations in more...
What Is the UCS Satellite Database, and Why Is It Important?
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) Satellite Database is a publicly available catalog of 7,560 active Earth‑orbiting satellites, with data current through May 1 2023. It uniquely combines 28 technical and operational fields—including ownership, purpose, and orbital parameters—allowing users to sort satellites...
What Is Space-Track, and Why Is It Important?
Space‑Track is the U.S. government’s public portal for space situational awareness, offering satellite catalog data, two‑line element sets, decay predictions, and conjunction support. Its REST‑style API enables operators, researchers, and developers to integrate real‑time orbital information into automated workflows. Though...
GA-ASI Expands MQ-9B Capabilities With Long-Range Standoff Weapons & Naval Strike Roles
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) is adapting its MQ‑9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian UAVs to carry next‑generation long‑range standoff weapons such as the JASSM, LRASM and Joint Strike Missile. Engineers have completed performance analytics and plan a flight‑test of at least...
Airbus CSO on Supply Chain Blind Spots, Space Threats, and the Limits of AI Red-Teaming
Airbus Chief Security Officer Pascal Andrei warns that the aerospace and defense supply chain’s deepest vulnerabilities now reside in sub‑tier suppliers and the digital threads linking them. He highlights Airbus’s shift toward a collaborative, intelligence‑led model, tighter integration of security...
Ground Control & ArduPilot Demonstrate MAVLink Telemetry over Iridium Certus
Ground Control and the ArduPilot team demonstrated that MAVLink telemetry can operate reliably over Iridium Certus 100 satellite service using the RockREMOTE UAV OEM modem. Tests showed round‑trip latencies between 600 ms and 1,600 ms, keeping data flow within a sub‑2‑second window. The...
University Joins UK's £17bn Space Sector
The University of Southampton has launched the Southampton Space Institute, positioning the city as a hub for the UK’s rapidly expanding £17 bn annual space sector. The institute consolidates decades‑long aerospace expertise and partners with the Space South Central cluster, linking...
Metalysis Garners Nearly €1m From ESA For Titanium Processing
Metalysis, a South Yorkshire firm, secured nearly €1 million from the European Space Agency for a two‑year initiative to commercialise a continuous or quasi‑continuous titanium production method using its patented FFC process. The funding reflects ESA’s drive to create a greener,...
More Airliner Deaths in 2025 Despite Fewer Accidents: IATA
The International Air Transport Association reported that 2025 saw 394 fatalities across eight fatal air crashes, up from 244 deaths in seven accidents in 2024. The surge is attributed to two high‑profile disasters – the Air India Boeing 787 crash in...
How Addis and Nairobi Hubs Are Driving Africa’s Aviation Growth
Eastern Africa’s hubs in Addis Ababa and Nairobi are reshaping the continent’s aviation landscape, siphoning traffic from Middle‑Eastern gateways and driving the fastest‑growing sub‑region. The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) has lifted intra‑African connectivity from 14.5% to roughly 23%,...
Optical Cable Corp (OCC) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings reported a full‑year revenue of $122.8 million, a 25% increase, and posted a net income of $4.1 million, reversing a loss from the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $45.3 million, and management forecast 2026 revenue of $135‑$145 million with...
SpaceX Launches Direct Television Satellite for EchoStar
SpaceX lifted off a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral on March 9, 2026, deploying EchoStar‑25, a direct‑to‑home television satellite for Dish Network. The booster, B1085, completed its 14th flight and landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, marking the vessel’s 146th...
Hyde County (NC) to Trial Pivotal eVTOL Emergency Medical Response Operations
Pivotal is piloting a proof‑of‑concept with Hyde County, N.C., and Code Blue Resources to deploy FAA Part 103 ultralight eVTOL aircraft for emergency medical response. Flight‑trained paramedics will serve as volunteer pilots, delivering rapid advanced care to high‑acuity scenes without needing...
Qatar Airways to Operate Limited Repatriation Flights for Stranded Travelers
Qatar Airways announced a limited series of repatriation flights operating from Doha on March 10‑12, aimed at passengers whose bookings were disrupted by the Iran‑related conflict. The temporary schedule covers major cities such as London, Dallas, Istanbul, Mumbai, Madrid, Moscow and...
Designing for the Next Generation of GEO With Swissto12 CEO Emile De Rijk
Swissto12, founded by Emile de Rijk, is reshaping geostationary orbit (GEO) access by building smaller, more flexible satellites that cut launch costs and delivery times. The CEO discussed the company’s advanced payload technology, its relevance to sovereign space initiatives, and...
EHang, Türk Telekom and Argela to Bring Pilotless eVTOL Services to Türkiye
EHang has signed a strategic partnership with Turkey’s telecom giant Türk Telekom and its tech subsidiary Argela to launch pilotless eVTOL services across the country. The deal integrates EHang’s certified EH216‑S aircraft with Argela’s unmanned traffic management (UTM) platform and...
Ghana Takes Delivery of First Airbus H175 Helicopter From France
Ghana’s Air Force took delivery of its first Airbus H175 helicopter on 5 March 2026, arriving from France after technical acceptance. The aircraft joins a parliamentary‑approved procurement that also includes an H160 and a Dassault Falcon 6X, aimed at modernising an ageing fleet....
AeroVironment Wins $97.4m GENESIS Contract From US Army
AeroVironment secured a three‑year, $97.4 million contract from the U.S. Army’s Aviation and Missile Technology Consortium to develop the Generative Environment for the Next Era of Spectral Imaging Stimulators (GENESIS). The program will deliver a hardware‑in‑the‑loop test environment at Redstone Arsenal,...
Aerospace Update | February 2026
The February 2026 Aerospace Update outlines AI’s expanding role in optimizing aerospace operations, safety, and strategic planning. It highlights microgravity biomanufacturing as a promising yet IP‑intensive frontier, while noting Thinkorbital’s recent seed round as evidence of rising investment in orbital technologies....
US Department of Transportation Selects Eight eIPP Programmes to Progress AAM US Operations
The U.S. Department of Transportation and FAA announced eight Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL Integration Pilot Program projects spanning 26 states, slated to begin operations by summer 2026. The selected initiatives encompass urban air‑taxi services, regional passenger routes, cargo logistics,...
Hughes Network Systems Tapped for AFRL Space Data Networking Experimentation
The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Hughes Network Services a contract under its RAPID program to support the STAR‑FISH procurement for space data networking experimentation. The effort targets resilient, hybrid satellite‑terrestrial networks that can dynamically route data across multiple domains....
Additive Aerospace Update: GE Aerospace, Rocket Lab, Velo3D, and More
Additive manufacturing is gaining momentum in aerospace and defense, with 41% of industry leaders forecasting a rapid acceleration this year. GE Aerospace announced a $1 billion U.S. investment, including a $115 million spend to expand 3D metal‑printing capacity at its Cincinnati hub...
Drone Dominance Program Selects 11 Finalists For Potential Orders After First Gauntlet
The Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program announced the 11 companies selected for prototype orders in the first phase, known as Gauntlet I, of a two‑year effort to field hundreds of thousands of low‑cost one‑way attack drones. The finalists—ranked from Skycutter to...
American Airlines Just Cut This Major Long-Haul Route
American Airlines has permanently removed its seasonal Miami‑Paris route, ending a winter‑only service that carried just over 53,000 round‑trip passengers in the last year. The cancellation reduces American’s Miami‑Europe weekly departures from 31 to 24, a 23% cut and the...
How Much Does A Boeing 777X Cost?
The Boeing 777X, slated for its first delivery in 2027, carries a historic list price of roughly $442 million, though airlines negotiate substantially lower figures. Program delays have already cost Boeing about $15 billion, pushing the timeline and adding financial pressure. Major carriers...
Michigan Capitol Deploys Drone Traffic Platform to Monitor Skies
Michigan’s State Capitol has fully deployed Airspace Link’s AirHub Portal, a drone operations management system that provides real‑time monitoring of both unmanned and manned aircraft over the Capitol complex. The platform aggregates data from Remote ID, ADS‑B, radar, RF detectors...
Pioneering Global Connectivity Through Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks
Airbus is building an integrated connectivity platform that merges terrestrial mobile infrastructure with low‑Earth‑orbit satellite constellations to deliver uninterrupted, gate‑to‑gate broadband for aircraft. The initiative includes a successful 5G non‑terrestrial network trial with Eutelsat’s OneWeb and the launch of the...