Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Nov. 23

Aerion Links With Spire For Boomless Supersonic Cruise

Credit: Aerion Supersonic

Supersonic business jet developer Aerion has teamed with satellite company Spire Global to supply the high-fidelity weather data critical to the aircraft maker’s goal of achieving Mach 1-plus cruise speeds without generating a sonic boom on the ground.

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Croatia To Buy Emergency Helicopters With EU Funds

Credit: Croatia's Ministry of the Interior

Croatia is to purchase three multimission helicopters for civil protection missions with the help of grants provided by the European Union.

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China’s Lunar Sample Return Mission Lifts Off

Credit: Planetary Society

The Chinese National Space Administration’s Chang’e 5 lunar sample return mission lifted off Nov. 23 U.S. time, initiating a planned 3-4-week excursion to gather the youngest-ever samples from the Moon’s surface.

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AirbusArtist's concept of FCAS

U.S. Army Will Combine Africa, Europe Commands

Credit: U.S. Army

The U.S. Army plans to consolidate Army Europe and Army Africa into a single, four-star-led, service-component command.

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Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Joins Satellite Fleet Measuring Sea Rise

Credit: SpaceX

A week after sending its first space taxi to the International Space Station for NASA, SpaceX launched the flagship Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite into an 800-mi.-high, high-inclination orbit to join a fleet of spacecraft collecting key data for tracking climate change via sea-level rise.

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The Weekly Debrief: Vast New Range Awaits Hypersonic Flight Tests

Credit: U.S. Air Force

With three flight tests of hypersonic missile prototypes still planned at some point within the next 39 days, the U.S. Defense Department’s flight test of new infrastructure for long-range, high-speed air vehicles will finally be put to the test. 

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Ten Drone Models Advancing To FAA Type Certification

Credit: 3DRobotics

The FAA on Nov. 23 released proposed airworthiness criteria for four small unmanned aircraft systems, bringing to 10 the number of drones that are positioned to earn design approvals from the agency.

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NOAA To Buy Weather Data From GeoOptics, Spire

Credit: Spire Global

Following up on a pilot program to assess the value of commercially provided weather forecast data, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration said Nov. 23 it has awarded data purchase contracts to GeoOptics and Spire Global.

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Vast new range awaits hypersonic flight tests, China’s lunar sample return mission lifts off, Croatia to buy emergency helicopters with EU funds and more. A roundup of aerospace, space and defense news powered by Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN).

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