Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Oct, 24

Taiwanese Company Aims At Launch Costs 10% Of Competitors’
Hot fire test of Tispace 1-metric-ton-thrust engine: TispaceA Taiwanese company plans to enter the market for light space launches with what it says will be 10% of the costs of current major operators.
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MHI Assembles H3 Second Stage, Ready For Captive Testing
H3: JAXAMitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has assembled the second stage of the first H3 medium-lift space launcher, preparing for captive firing tests in a few months.
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French Navy Gears Up For Maritime Patrol ATL2 Introduction
Atlantique 2: C. Cosmao/Dassault AviationThe first two upgraded Atlantique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft were delivered this past summer to the French Navy’s Lann-Bihoue air base where they are undergoing “operational experimentation”.
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B-21 Program On Track, But Facing Schedule Pressure
B-21: Northrop GrummanThe first stealth bomber has entered production inside Northrop Grumman’s Site 4 facility at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. But the pressure on the development program is rising ahead of a scheduled first flight milestone in December 2021.
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NASA, Boeing Set Dec. 17 For Starliner Debut Flight
BoeingBoeing aims to fly its CST-100 Starliner commercial space taxi on a long-awaited trial run to the International Space Station (ISS) on Dec. 17, setting the stage for a crewed flight test as early as March 2020.
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Germany Becomes Naval NH90 Operator
NH90: French NavyGermany looks set to have the largest NH90 helicopter fleet in the world as it gears up to equip its naval air arm with an all-NH90 force by the late 2020s.
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JAXA In Detail Design Of HTV-X Cargo Spacecraft
JAXAThe Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is working on detail design of its new HTV-X cargo spacecraft, aiming at a first launch in 2022.