In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, Feb. 06 2023

Credit: Voyager Space. Voyager Space, developer of a commercial space station, has raised an $80.2 million round of capital, according to a financial filing.

Credit: AVIC, via WeChat. A new official rendering of a future fighter by a Chinese aircraft manufacturer offers some insights into one of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) prized development projects, although perhaps not in the actual details shown by the released design. 

Credit: United Launch Alliance. United Launch Alliance (ULA) has completed stacking its first flight-ready Vulcan-Centaur rocket in its Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Cape Canaveral in preparation for a series of prelaunch tests, including booster fueling practice runs and a static engine firing. 

Credit: TsENKI. Russia conducted its first space launch of 2023 on Feb. 5, when a 700-ton heavy Proton-M rocket lifted off with the Elektro-L meteorological satellite from Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan.

Credit: CGTN. China will continue with the fourth phase of its lunar exploration campaign this year, with the primary objective of setting up an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) on the Moon’s south pole sometime around 2028.

Credit: Coulson Aviation. Two pilots have survived after the Boeing 737-300 firefighting tanker they were flying crashed while on a mission in Western Australia. 

Credit: Chen Chuanren. The AIR5349 Phase 6 Project aims to “ensure commonality” between Australia's EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft and the U.S. Navy’s Growler fleet.