Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Shanghai-based Vertax has flown a half-scale model of its design and is targeting certification in 2026.

Placing Eutelsat's Konnect VHTS into orbit signals the beginning of the end for Europe’s Ariane 5 workhorse.

The aircraft is expected to begin remotely piloted test flights before the end of the year.

Stymied by a new liquid hydrogen leak, NASA called off its second attempt to launch the Artemis I flight test.

NASA managers on Sept. 3 cleared the Kennedy Space Center launch team to proceed with fueling the two-stage Space Launch System (SLS) rocket

The U.S. Space Force recently broke ground on an Enhanced Polar Systems-Recapitalization satellite communications terminal in Clear Space Force Station, Alaska.

The U.S. Air Force Academy is showcasing new test capabilities developed as part of research stretching back 16 years supporting the design of the Orion crew capsule for NASA’s Artemis program.

U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command on Sept. 2 returned its CV-22 fleet to flight after more than two weeks of grounding because of an issue with the tiltrotor’s gearbox for which the service still does not have a root cause.

Finland has retired its indigenous Vinka training aircraft after 42 years of use.

A British think tank suggests the UK should leave Copernicus and develop its own Earth observation program with the European Space Agency.

NASA is confident an engine-cooling process is working as designed so is pressing ahead with the second attempt on Sept. 3.

The module will contribute to increased efficiency and lower fuel burn.

Private equity investors CIC Partners and Juniper Capital Management have teamed to buy Applegate EDM and Icon Machine, both in the Dallas area, to create a new portfolio company called Precision Aerospace that focuses on exotic and precision metal work for defense and commercial space.

OQ Technology, a 5G Internet-of-Things satellite startup, has received a €13 million ($12.9 million) Series A investment led by Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of oil-and-gas company Saudi Aramco.

Boeing on Aug. 31 received a $927.5 million undefinitized contract for four KC-46A refueling tankers for Israel, a deal that will cover the testing of the next-generation refueling vision system and deliveries by the end of December 2026.

Ultralight aircraft are usually the simplest of flying machines, often just tube and fabric—no certification, no pilot’s license, no commercial use.

NASA pressed Sept. 1 to resolve the propellant loading issues that triggered the Aug. 29 scrub of the much-anticipated liftoff of the Artemis I mission.

The Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet is using Exercise Pitch Black to gain additional certifications and operational experience as the unit moves toward initial operating capability.

The largest Russian manufacturer of commercial aircraft has seen its first-half losses increase tenfold.

NASA has added five more missions to SpaceX’s crew transportation services contract, bringing the total value for 14 flights to $4.9 billion.

The Portuguese Air Force is acquiring six used Black Hawk helicopters to boost the country’s firefighting capability.

NASA and Axiom Space have signed a mission order for a second four-person private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), planned for the second quarter of 2023.

Royal Caribbean Group plans to start installing SpaceX’s Starlink satellite dishes aboard its cruise ships.

Satellite-based hyperspectral imagery and data provider Pixxel expects to launch its first “commercial-phase” satellites in early 2023, followed by more later that year, representatives said in August while revealing the startup’s latest strategic backer, Accenture.

Sierra Space has signed a deal to use its Dream Chaser spaceplane in 2024 to deliver to the International Space Station a life sciences incubator made by German biotech company Yuri.