Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Sept, 17
September 18, 2019![](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/gallery_images/hidron-sept-test.jpg.crop_display.jpg?itok=W37OTTth)
HiDRON Glider Sets New High In Stratospheric Flight
An unmanned glider has been launched from a stratospheric balloon at 111,434 ft. altitude on a scientific flight to test an airglow monitor (AMON).
The Sept. 1 night flight by the HiDRON glider, developed by Stratodynamics Aviation and UAVOS, beat its previous highest release altitude of 98,450 ft., achieved on Aug. 2 on the first of two AMON test flights.
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Lockheed Pitches F-35 Sustainment Savings Plan
“Initially, we though a multiyear [contract] would be the right way to go and I still think we can get more savings if we can guarantee the funding for that five-year period, but we think it might be too tough to sell on the Hill,” Merchant said.
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Boeing, Safran Invest In Battery Developer EPS
Boeing and Safran have made a joint investment in Electric Power Systems (EPS), a developer of certifiable battery packs for electrified aircraft propulsion.
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Northrop Gears Up For Sat Life Extender Launch
Northrop Grumman is preparing for the first launch of its Mission Extension Vehicle, a spacecraft designed to supply propulsion to in-orbit satellites that would otherwise run out of fuel.
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Marines Kick Off Studies For AH/UH-1 Replacement
The USMC has released plans to select multiple vendors to perform “concept advancement” studies on the Attack Utility Replacement Aircraft, a high-speed rotorcraft to replace the UH/AH-1 fleet.
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Boeing Assembling Japan’s First KC-46
Boeing began assembling Japan’s first KC-46 Pegasus aircraft after being awarded a foreign military sales contract in December 2017.
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NASA’s LRO Fails To Spot Chandrayaan-2 Lander
Shadows covered much of the landing site and the lander may not be in the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's field of view, NASA says.
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First Production Standard Virgin Spaceship Comes Together
As Virgin Galactic continues to transition flight testing to its New Mexico operations site, the company’s sister production unit, The Spaceship Company, has announced completion of fuselage and wing mating for the spaceline’s second suborbital vehicle at its Mojave site in California.
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