In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, Apr. 13, 2022

April 13, 2022

NASA, SpaceX Ready Crew 4 Mission To ISS

NASA’s SpaceX Crew 4 Dragon mission to the International Space Station holds promise for the agency’s goals of extending the life and utility of the ISS as well as transitioning its human spaceflight focus to the Moon and Mars. The launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) of NASA’s Kjell Lindgen, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins alongside the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Samantha Cristoforetti aboard the Freedom Dragon capsule is planned for no earlier than April 23 at 5:26 a.m. EDT. Credit: NASA

U.S. Sending 11 Mi-17s To Ukraine As Part Of New Aid Package

The U.S. military is sending 11 more Mi-17 helicopters to Ukraine as part of a dramatic increase in military equipment for the country as it prepares for another phase of its fight against Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on April 13 and agreed to the additional $800 million in aid, bringing the total of U.S. assistance to Ukraine to $2.6 billion since the invasion began in February. Credit: Staff Sgt. Todd Pouliot

First NATO E-3 Sent For Final Upgrade

The first NATO Boeing E-3 Sentry has been flown to Italy to be inducted into the Final Lifetime Extension Program (FLEP). The aircraft, known as N-1, will be taken through the FLEP program by Leonardo at its facility in Tessera near Venice. Credit: NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force

USAF Prepares To Make Its Case To Congress For More Fleet Cuts

U.S. Air Force
F-22

AFRL Completes ASCENT-Fueled 1-Newton Thruster Vacuum Testing

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has successfully completed testing of a prototype 1-newton thruster using its Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-toxic (ASCENT) propellant in a vacuum chamber. The monopropellant hot fire testing was done at the laboratory’s Chemical in-Space Thruster Test and Research Site facility at Edwards AFB in California, AFRL said on April 11. Credit: AFRL

Europe Severs Russian Moon Mission Partnership

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) governing council announced April 13 that it is ending cooperation with Russian space agency Roscosmos on three future Moon missions—Luna 25, 26 and 27. ESA plans to transition Europe’s science and technology contributions for lunar exploration to NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and LUPEX, a joint Japanese and Indian lunar/rover mission. Credit: NASA

Software Split Key To Future Fighter Designs, USAF Chief says

Flight controls and mission systems for the next U.S. Air Force fighter will be designed to use separate software instructions, Gen. Charles Brown told reporters April 12. The original versions of the F-35 and F-22 featured an electronics architecture that relied on tightly integrated software, Brown says. Credit: Lockheed Martin

DOD Selects Idaho For Small Nuclear Reactor Demonstrator

A 1-5 megawatt-class mobile nuclear reactor funded by the Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) will be tested at the Idaho National Laboratory, the U.S. Defense Department announced April 13. The SCO’s Project Pele seeks to demonstrate the first small nuclear reactor designed in the U.S. in decades, as a potential power source for electricity-hungry weapon systems such as high-powered microwaves and directed energy weapons deployed in remote locations. Credit: U.S. Department of Energy

From NASA’s SpaceX ready Crew 4 mission to ISS to U.S. sending 11 Mi-17s to Ukraine as part of new aid package. Take a look at these and more in our daily roundup of aerospace & defense news.

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