Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s commercial lunar Human Landing System (HLS) partners drew praise from the agency’s program manager as they outlined the biggest challenges they face in returning human explorers to the Moon’s surface in 2024 before a virtual SpaceCom conference audience.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Raytheon Technologies expects to end 2020 with $10 billion in cash on hand, in part thanks to a new deal to sell its Forcepoint cybersecurity business, but also due to 20% fewer commercial aerospace employees, executives said Oct. 27.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
The head of the U.S. Air Force’s mobility aircraft fleet has outlined a series of future aircraft programs that will come online after the KC-46A Pegasus.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
The European Space Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NASA on Oct. 27 to participate in the planned lunar-orbiting Gateway.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Ecuador’s Air Force has begun receiving new H145 twin-engine light helicopters from Airbus.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris
As Virgin Galactic enters final preparations for the first rocket-powered flight of SpaceShipTwo from its Spaceport America operational facility in New Mexico, the company has added two additional pilots to its ranks.
Commercial Space

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense

By Irene Klotz
NASA and SpaceX are targeting Nov. 14 for the launch of Crew-1, the first operational crew ferry flight to the International Space Station from U.S. soil in more than 11 years.
Space

By Guy Norris
Guidance, navigation and control (GNC) software for Stratolaunch’s Talon-A hypersonic flying testbed has passed a preliminary design review and is being readied by developer Draper for loading next year into the vehicle’s flight control computers.
Space

By Steve Trimble
U.S. government officials often accuse China of stealing or copying American research in hypersonics, but a close reading of Chinese research papers actually was the inspiration for the new consortium.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
The disclosure adds another option to the Pentagon’s ever-expanding arsenal of hypersonic weapon development programs.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Lee Hudson
The JSE creates a synthetic world that allows operational testers to gauge the F-35’s performance in theater-level scenarios. JSE testing is delayed from December to some time in 2021.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
A 15th batch of Starlink satellites reached orbit on Oct. 24, SpaceX’s second launch within a week to build up an initial 1,450-member broadband communications network.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The estimated $2.37 billion deal announced by the U.S. State Department would include 100 Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems, 4111 missile containers, 100 transporters, 25 radar trucks and support services.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Osiris-Rex mission team has announced plans for an Oct. 27 early stow of the spacecraft’s Touch and Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism collection head into the probe’s Sample Return Capsule to minimize the loss of material collected from the asteroid Bennu.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Wichita aerostructures giant Spirit AeroSystems has struck a 45% cash discount with Bombardier for the latter’s Short Brothers capacity in Northern Ireland, as well as Bombardier Aerospace North Africa and most of a Dallas MRO site.
Program Management

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Space Force has not closed the door on helping industry fund a “manufacturing on orbit” concept, meaning building parts for satellites while in space, according to the service’s acquisition executive.
Space

By Steve Trimble
It is tempting to speculate that Lockheed’s third-quarter, classified earnings windfall—accounting for 26% of a year-over-year, $502 million sales increase for Aeronautics—is based on something we already know about.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Mark Carreau
New research offers unambiguous evidence of widely distributed water on the Moon’s surface, including in more accessible sunlit regions.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Ten NATO countries have linked arms for the development of short and medium range ground-based air defenses.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Osiris-Rex mission team is expediting efforts to secure the material collected from the surface of the asteroid Bennu after a camera scan of the sample container revealed some of the scientific bounty escaping.
Space

By Tony Osborne
British unmanned technologies firm Blue Bear Systems has demonstrated the swarming of 20 unmanned air systems of different types in a beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Leonardo has demonstrated a manned-unmanned teaming using its AW159 Wildcat utility helicopter.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Leonardo has delivered the last Eurofighter Typhoon to the Italian Air Force.
Aircraft & Propulsion