Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Mark Carreau
NASA plans to delay departure of the Osiris-Rex spacecraft from the asteroid Bennu from March 3 to May 10, with a May 24 backup, which will provide an early April opportunity for a final flyby.
Space

By Lee Hudson
President Joe Biden may opt to reassess the headquarters location of U.S. Space Command, which was previously selected during the waning days of the Trump administration.
Space

By Irene Klotz
Joining former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and Israeli entrepreneur Eytan Stibbe on the first privately financed U.S. mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will be real estate and technology investor Larry Connor of Ohio and Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist Mark Pathy, Axiom Space said on Jan. 26.
Commercial Space

By Tony Osborne
Airbus Helicopters CEO Seeks Euro Cooperation On Military Rotorcraft Tony Osborne, [email protected] Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even has called on Europe’s rotorcraft industry to cooperate on a future military rotorcraft program, as NATO countries begin considering their medium-lift needs for the 2030s and beyond.
Defense

By Steve Trimble
The requests for enhanced white papers show the U.S. Army’s plans for the next iteration of a portfolio of Long Range Precision Fires programs, which includes the Precision Strike Missile and the Mid-Range Missile Capability.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Graham Warwick
While it has a large potential domestic market for advanced air mobility, the U.S. needs a clear national strategy if it is to lead this new market globally, a report by consultants Deloitte and the Aerospace Industries Association says.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Steve Trimble
Three F/A-18E/Fs have already been delivered from an SLM line in St. Louis, Missouri. But the fourth SLM-updated F/A-18E/F delivered to the Navy emerged from Boeing’s facility at Kelly Field.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Maxim Pyadushkin
Russia has pushed back the expansion of its segment of the International Space Station (ISS).
Space

By Bill Carey
Satellite operator Inmarsat announced on Jan. 25 that it will provide satellite communications for a UK government initiative to create a zero-carbon emissions regional air transportation network.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Army recently established a joint systems integration laboratory to test new technologies and determine whether they are a fit for Project Convergence ’21, according to the head of Army Futures Command.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Tony Osborne
BAE Systems will conduct a demonstration flight of its PHASA-35 high-altitude pseudo-satellite in the U.S. this year for potential Defense Department customers.
Space

By Michael Bruno
The U.S. aerospace industry’s future in China is doomed.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Steve Trimble
AFWERX has launched a six-week market research phase to understand the bourgeoning field of startup companies seeking to build supersonic and hypersonic transports.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Thierry Dubois
The Greek government on Jan. 25 formally ordered 18 Rafale fighters from Dassault Aviation after an agreement was reached with the French Ministry of Armed Forces.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
As the UK launches a series of projects under its Future Flight Challenge, a new study highlights the potential socio-economic benefits of an integrated aviation system built on freight-carrying drones, urban air taxis and hybrid-electric regional aircraft.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Guy Norris
As Virgin Orbit gears up for the start of operational missions following its successful Jan. 17 demonstration flight, the California-based space company has revealed it has been selected to launch the first military satellite for the Netherlands.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
NASA and Boeing are now targeting March 25 for the launch of an uncrewed CST-100 Starliner on the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) to the International Space Station—four days earlier than previously planned.
Commercial Space

By Mark Carreau
This week NASA observes the agency’s annual Day of Remembrance, a memorial to 17 astronauts who perished over seven decades.
Space

By Tony Osborne
A team headed by Spirit Aerosystems will lead the development and demonstration of a low-cost unmanned combat aircraft that could go on to operate as a loyal wingman for the UK’s Typhoon, F-35, and later Tempest manned fighters.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine began a new job on Jan. 25: senior advisor to Acorn Growth Companies, an Oklahoma-based private equity firm focused on midsize aerospace, defense and intelligence companies.
Space

By Tony Osborne
The pilot of a Pilatus PC-12 who made an illegal landing at a military airfield in Wales last year to visit a nearby beach has been fined £3,400 ($4,650) following court hearings.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Sikorsky and Boeing have taken the wraps off their Defiant X offering for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft requirement, and the design differs only in detail externally from the SB-1 Defiant technology demonstrator now in flight test.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
The Transporter-1 mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 10 a.m. on Jan. 24 following a one-day delay due to weather.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The selection by MDA eliminates Leidos and Raytheon from the competition to demonstrate the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS).
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Lee Hudson
The Pentagon made budgetary gains under former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, and now President Joe Biden’s newly installed defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, must lead the military through an anticipated era of flat funding.
Budget, Policy & Operations