Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Arianespace is planning on a Vega launch on April 28, five months after mission VV17 failed due to an assembly error.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
The U.S. Government Accountability Office expects to rule by Aug. 4 on a pair of protests filed over NASA’s $2.9 billion award to SpaceX for a human lunar lander flight demonstration.
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA and Space X have announced that the planned splashdown of four Crew-1 Dragon astronauts returning from the International Space Station will now take place on May 1 rather than April 28.
Space

By Irene Klotz
Blue Origin and Dynetics filed separate protests on April 26 with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) over NASA’s $2.9 billion award to rival SpaceX for a human lunar landing system demonstration mission.
Space

By Mark Carreau
Keeping the International Space Station’s U.S. segment steadily staffed at five astronauts is continuing to significantly contribute to the research and technology demonstrations underway aboard the orbiting science laboratory, says NASA astronaut Shannon Walker.
Space

By Irene Klotz
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket lifted off from Vandenberg AFB in California on April 26 to put a classified payload into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Space

By Mark Carreau
Keeping the International Space Station’s U.S. segment steadily staffed at five astronauts is continuing to contribute significantly to the research and technology demonstrations underway aboard the orbiting science laboratory.
Defense

By Steve Trimble
How does the F-35 program close a roughly 25% delta between actual and objective sustainment costs within four years, which implies a 7% annual reduction on average each of the next four years?
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) has completed its Combat Systems Ship’s Qualification Trials (CSSQT), marking the end of the post-delivery test and trials phase, and is the U.S. Navy is now focused on the aircraft carrier moving toward full ship shock trials this summer.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Lee Hudson
Over the next 12 months, the U.S. Marine Corps intends to develop options for the commandant on whether the reserve forces should operate the MQ-9 or an unmanned logistics long-haul aircraft to better compete with China and Russia in the 2030s.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Jen DiMascio
Arianespace launched the latest batch of 36 OneWeb satellites into low Earth orbit on April 25.
Space

By Steve Trimble
A memorandum of understanding signed on April 23 by the FAB and the Brazilian manufacturer launches a study and evaluation of the “necessary capabilities for the conceptual deisgn and development of advanced” UAS.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Steve Trimble
Weapons and sensors for 12 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. MQ-9B Sky Guardians for a previously announced potential sale to Australia have been confirmed by a required U.S. government agency notification.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Irene Klotz
NASA’s Mars Ingenuity Helicopter conducted a third flight test on April 25, zipping downrange as far as 164 ft. and temporarily out of view of cameras on the Perseverance rover.
Space

By Mark Carreau
SpaceX’s NASA-contracted Crew-2 Dragon successfully docked with the International Space Station early April 24, delivering a four-member, multinational crew for a six-month tour of duty.
Space

By Lee Hudson
The Pentagon is assessing what future contractor presence may look like for U.S. companies, especially those supporting aircraft maintenance, in Afghanistan after the military drawdown.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Maksim Pyadushkin
The celebration of the 60th anniversary of Yury Gagarin’s first orbital flight sparked a new discussion in Russia about its space exploration priorities.
Space

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Army has announced that a regiment located in Ansbach, Germany, will be the first unit to field and test the Mobile-Short Range Air Defense System that is designed to protect soldiers from unmanned aircraft systems, rotary-wing and fixed-wing threats.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
The SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts experienced several minutes of unexpected suspense as they prepared for a scheduled 8-hr. sleep period following their 5:49 a.m. EDT liftoff on April 23 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center due to the potential close approach of a space debris fragment.
Space

By Graham Warwick
A U.S. military version of Logos Technologies’ BlackKite ultralight wide-area motion imaging sensor has completed two weeks of flight testing on the Insitu RQ-21A Blackjack small tactical unmanned aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Air Force has grounded the B-1B fleet after identifying a “discrepancy” with an augmenter fuel pump filter housing.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
Two senior House Democrats are threatening to not support inserting additional F-35s over the base budget request in fiscal 2022 because of a laundry list of problems, including a large backlog the program is facing at the depots.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Lee Hudson
Lockheed Martin has disclosed that the company waived $60 million in fees because of delays in F-35 Technology Refresh-3 and Block 4 development.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Slovakian pilots have test flown Aero Vodochody’s L-39NG jet trainer as part of a proposal for strategic cooperation between Prague and Bratislava.
Light Attack and Advanced Training

By Tony Osborne
The Royal Netherlands Air Force has resumed flights with its Lockheed Martin F-35s a day after a temporary grounding prompted by concerns over engine wear.
Aircraft & Propulsion