Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Feb. 09

Northrop Confirms Interest In USAF's New AAR Program

Northrop Grumman has confirmed plans to participate in U.S. Air Force studies for the Advanced Air Refueling (AAR) program, which seeks to deliver a stealthy and possibly autonomous tanker in the next decade. Northrop will engage in an analysis of alternatives (AoA) for the AAR program by Air Mobility Command, which is scheduled to begin in 2022, said Richard Sullivan, the company’s vice president for program management.

Trainer, C4ISR Provider Cubic Concedes To Activist, Will Go Private

Cubic, a military training and C4ISR services specialist, will be taken private in a $2.8 billion takeover by Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital, an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management.

British Airways Invests In Sustainable Fuel Producer LanzaJet

British Airways (BA) plans to invest in a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant to be built in the U.S. and anticipates receiving 7,500 metric tonnes a year of low-carbon jet fuel from the facility beginning at the end of 2022. BA joins Canadian energy company Suncor and Japanese trading house Mitsui in investing in LanzaJet, the sustainable aviation fuel producer launched in May 2020 by carbon recycling company LanzaTech. All Nippon Airways (ANA) is also participating in LanzaJet. Credit: LanzaJet

FAA Approves First Landing Site For Commercial Spacecraft

The FAA has approved the first Re-entry Site Operator License for the Launch and Landing Facility in Titusville Florida, clearing the way for future commercial space operators to horizontally land spacecraft. The approval of the five-year license on Jan. 19 received little notice until it was hailed three weeks later by Sierra Nevada Corp, which plans to use the facility in 2022 upon the return of the Dream Chaser from a scheduled resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

U.S. Navy Increases Anti-Ship Missile Inventory

The U.S. Navy is adding 16 refurbished Harpoon Block IC missiles to its inventory to expand the anti-ship missile capacity of its Los Angeles-class submarine fleet. Boeing’s $11 million Jan. 22 contract award from the Navy is for 16 refurbished cruise missiles and four All-Up Round encapsulated missiles. Credit: Avriette

Russian Cargo Capsule Departs ISS For Destructive Re-Entry

Russia’s MS-15 cargo capsule, filled with trash and discarded equipment, departed the International Space Station (ISS) early Feb. 9 for a destructive re-entry into the South Pacific Ocean. The capsule launched with a 5,600-lb. cargo on July 23, 2020, to carry out a successful automated docking with the ISS Russian segment. Credit: NASA

Turkey Plans Two Moon Probes As Part Of New Space Program

Turkey will send a probe to make a hard landing on the Moon in 2023 as part of celebrations of the country’s centenary, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared. The moonshot is to be followed by a second probe planned to make a soft landing on the lunar surface in 2028. They are part of an ambitious new national space program announced by Erdogan on Feb. 9. Credit: NASA

Thales Alenia Wins $3 Billion Telesat Contract

Telesat has awarded a $3 billion contact to Thales Alenia Space to build its planned 298-member low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband constellation, named Lightspeed. Unlike SpaceX’s direct-to-consumer Starlink service, currently in public beta trials, Lightspeed is designed to supply new and existing Telesat customers, including mobile network operators, telecommunication companies and internet service providers, with fiber-like broadband connectivity and cellphone tower links. Credit: Thales Alenia Space

Pilot’s Spatial Disorientation Caused Kobe Bryant Helo Crash, NTSB Says

Spatial disorientation of the pilot led to the fatal crash of a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter in hilly terrain northwest of Los Angeles in January 2020 that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant and eight others, the NTSB has found. The pilot’s decision to continue flying the helicopter under visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) “resulted in spatial disorientation and loss of control,” the NTSB announced in a probable cause finding on Feb. 9. Credit: NTSB

Swarm Satellite Network For IoT Brought Online

Swarm, a low-cost satellite communications network company selling data from space for less than the cost of a Netflix subscription, is now available for commercial use. The company has 81 tiny satellites in orbit and plans to complete a constellation of 150 by the end of the summer. Credit: Swarm

Senator Seeks UH-60 Probe After Four Fatal Crashes

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is asking the Pentagon to launch a formal investigation into four fatal UH-60 crashes to determine whether there is a systemic problem with the helicopter. The four crashes resulted in 11 deaths. The most recent incident occurred Feb. 2, when three members of the Idaho National Guard died in a UH-60 crash outside Boise. Two weeks before on Jan. 20, three members of the New York National Guard died during a routine training mission near Rochester. Credit: DOD

UAE Hope Probe Reaches Mars Orbit

The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) Hope spacecraft completed a 27-min. braking burn to put itself into orbit on Feb. 9, earning the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a place in history as the first Arab nation to successfully reach the red planet. Credit: MBRSC

Dutch Airport Operator Backs Sustainable-Fuel Projects

Two projects have been announced in the Netherlands with the goal of producing carbon-neutral synthetic jet fuel using renewable energy. The Zenid project led by Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM) wants to build a demonstration plant producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere. Meanwhile, Amsterdam-based startup Synkero aims to develop a commercial plant producing SAF from green hydrogen and CO2. Credit: Climeworks