Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Bill Carey
Business-aviation and air-medical services provider Aero-Dienst on Aug. 10 announced a four-year contract award from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to maintain its Dassault Falcon 2000LX Inflight Systems and Technology Airborne Research aircraft.
Business Aviation

By Mark Carreau
Intuitive Machines, one of NASA’s initial Commercial Lunar Payload Services providers, has selected the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for the first-quarter-2024 launch of its third mission to the Moon.
Space

By Graham Warwick
General Electric has signed a memorandum of understanding to supply a customized variant of the CT7-8 turboshaft engine to power startup Transcend Air’s planned Vy 400 tiltwing vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
The test brings ZeroAvia a step closer to first flight of a Dornier 228 testbed powered by the system before the end of the year.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
The U.S. Space Force’s Rocket Systems Launch Program Office has added ABL Space Systems, Astra Space and Relativity Space to work toward a quick-launch effort under the Orbital Services Program-4.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Hybrid Air Vehicles, the developer of the Airlander airship, is to collaborate with the U.S. Navy’s Naval Postgraduate School to study of the use of hybrid aircraft technologies in military applications.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris
Plans for the center will be welcomed by the U.S. high-speed systems development community, which for years has highlighted the shortage of adequate centralized hypersonic test facilities.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
The FAA is closing in on its first special condition for type certification of an electric propulsion system, and acknowledges that amending requirements developed over decades for piston and turbine engines is proving challenging.
Emerging Technologies

By Chen Chuanren
The organizers of the Australian International Airshow, better known as the Avalon Airshow, have canceled this year’s event as they acknowledged the “unpredictable environment” brought about by the Delta strain of COVID-19.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
NASA and Russian federal space agency Roscosmos are assembling teams of experts to assess the unanticipated thruster firings of Russia’s Nauka module following its docking with the International Space Station.
Space

By Michael Bruno
SpaceX apparently has acquired Silicon Valley small-satellite maker Swarm Technologies, according to a U.S. Federal Communications Commission filing in which SpaceX seeks to obtain the startup’s mobile satellite-service licenses.
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA is seeking a quartet of applicants for the first in a series of three planned year-long simulations of life on Mars intended to evaluate how human explorers might respond to limited resources, equipment failures, communications delays and environmental stresses.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The existence of the new production facility also points to a likely return by the Skunk Works to a series manufacturing role after spending most of the last four decades focused on being a rapid prototyping arm and future concepts developer.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
Startup space vehicle maker Firefly Aerospace continues to roll out offerings, announcing a new line of business dedicated to supplying rocket engines and components to the emerging new-space industry.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Beta Technologies believes the most direct path to FAA certification of an electric aircraft is to keep the vehicle simple.
Emerging Technologies

By Tony Osborne
The UK Ministry of Defense plans to explore the use of free-space optical communications in low-Earth orbit through the use of a satellite demonstrator.
Space

By Mark Carreau
The Martian surface delivered a bit of a surprise late last week as NASA’s Perseverance rover tried to acquire its first sample of rock from the floor of Jezero Crater for caching and eventual return to Earth.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Italy is committing funding to the Tempest Future Combat Air System as part of an uptick in the country’s national defense spending.
Missile Defense & Weapons

The Japanese Defense Ministry has reported to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that the F-15J upgrade program will proceed without the Lockheed Martin AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), according to state broadcaster NHK.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Tony Osborne
The TH-73 arrived at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Florida, on Aug. 6 following the June 10 handover of the aircraft by manufacturer Leonardo in Philadelphia, where the aircraft is being produced.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris
As the Pentagon develops a plan to formalize the investigation of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), a group of scientists and researchers are advocating for greater civilian involvement.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Irene Klotz
A NASA-backed Moon mission targeted to launch from Wallops Island, Virginia, will instead fly from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand spaceport due to ongoing efforts by NASA to certify the Electron booster’s automated flight termination system for use at Wallops.
Commercial Space

By Graham Warwick
Building on their cooperation to install a first-of-kind space surveillance radar, LeoLabs and the New Zealand Space Agency have announced a multiyear agreement to develop a space regulatory and sustainability platform.
Commercial Space

By Graham Warwick
In a bid to bridge the so-called valley of death between technology demonstration and full-scale development, DARPA is exploring the concept of an “X Prime” program that would fit between an experimental X-plane and a Y-plane prototype and help transition capabilities from research to operation.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Eurofighter partner nations have agreed to a €300 million ($352.8 million) package of enhancements to boost the fighter’s capabilities that will also prepare the aircraft for future upgrades.
Aircraft & Propulsion