In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, May 24, 2022

Lilium Reveals Refined Design For Regional eVTOL

LiliumLilium Jet

On-Orbit Metal Cutting ‘Outpost’ Demo Prepared To Launch

The Outpost Mars Demo-1 payload, an on-orbit metal cutting robotic arm, is being prepared to launch aboard SpaceX’s Transporter 5 rideshare flight on May 25. Credit: Voyager Space

Investors: Lunar Outpost One Of Most Financed Cislunar Startups

Another lunar buggy contender is emerging, this time with an autonomous explorer angle: Lunar Outpost on May 24 unveiled a $12 million seed round, promising a new class of autonomous Moon rovers. Besides the new class, the money will go to deploy robotics in additional, unidentified environments and finance upgrades to Lunar Outpost’s existing platforms. Credit: Lunar Outpost

Space Station Astronauts Prep Boeing’s Starliner For Return To Earth

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) secured hatches between Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and the seven-person orbital laboratory May 24, preparing the uncrewed capsule for departure and a return to Earth at White Sands, New Mexico, weather permitting. Starliner’s undocking from the ISS U.S. segment Harmony module forward port is planned for May 25 at 2:36 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA

NASA Psyche Asteroid Mission Delayed By Software Issue

A NASA robotic spacecraft designed to investigate the metal asteroid Psyche will miss its August launch date due to a software issue. The launch delay, first reported by Spaceflightnow.com, will bump the spacecraft’s sendoff to no earlier than Sept. 20, NASA said in a May 24 statement. Credit: Isaac Watson/NASA

U.S. Navy Seeks TACAMO Integrator For C-130J-30 Fleet

The U.S. Navy will select a mission integrator in fiscal 2023 to convert the Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 airlifter into the next Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) platform, a new Navy document says. The selected company will be in charge of integrating a very low frequency (VLF) antenna onto three C-130J-30 test aircraft the Navy acquired last year. Credit: U.S. Navy

BlueHalo Gets $1.4B Space Force Satellite Control Contract

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) has awarded BlueHalo a $1.4 billion contract to increase the capacity of the Satellite Control Network (SCN) as the service projects an increase in demand. The Satellite Communications Augmentation Resource (SCAR) contract, awarded May 21, will increase communications capacity tenfold for satellites in geosynchronous orbit with the use of transportable and electronically steerable phased array antennas, the Space Force said in an announcement. Credit: U.S. Air Force

Boeing Employees Speaking Up As Safety Plans Make Progress

Almost three years into a radical shake up of its safety practices following two successive 737 MAX accidents in 2018 and 2019, Boeing says the company is on track to strengthen its engineering discipline, enhance oversight, improve safety management and encourage transparency and openness with its 140,000 employees. Credit: Boeing

F-35 Program Office Eyes Gripen’s EW Pod

A potential electronic warfare add-on for the Lockheed Martin F-35 could originate from the Saab Gripen fighter. The F-35 Joint Program Office has requested to buy two Saab Enhanced Survivability Technology (ESTL) pods, which include chaff, flare and decoy dispensing pods. Credit: Saab

From a refined design to a new eVTOL to an on-orbit metal cutting robotic arm being prepared to launch aboard SpaceX’s Transporter 5 rideshare flight on May 25. Take a look at these and more in our daily roundup of aerospace & defense news.

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