Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Jan. 12

A newly created “European launcher alliance” will gather the European Commission (EC), the European Space Agency (ESA), EU member states and the launcher industry to work out a road map for future European launchers, the EC has announced. Credit: Arianespace

Urban air mobility startup Archer has partnered with carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to prepare its planned electric air taxi for large-scale production. Archer said the agreement supports its vision of being a leader in the first wave of urban air mobility providers with the goal of beginning passenger services by 2024. Credit: Archer

After a one-day weather delay, SpaceX’s upgraded Dragon resupply capsule departed the International Space Station (ISS) early Jan. 12 for a first-ever commercial atmospheric re-entry and parachute descent off the Florida coast with a 4,400-lb. scientific and equipment return payload. Credit: NASA

Leonardo’s AW139 twin-engine medium helicopter has been ordered by Colombia’s air force for VVIP duties. The helicopter, which is due to be delivered in the second quarter of 2021, will arrive in a “VVIP configuration” for flying the Colombian president, the OEM said in a Jan. 11 announcement. Credit: Leonardo

F-35

Exotrail has conducted an in-orbit demonstration of its miniaturized electric thruster, paving the way for the propulsion of nanosatellites. A cubesat mission launched last November on India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle into low Earth orbit included Exotrail’s ExoMG Hall-effect thruster. “In December, we performed a 700-meter altitude change,” co-founder and CEO David Henri said. “We performed multiple ignitions.” Credit: Exotrail

France has lifted the lid on the development of a hybrid inertial navigation system that can take star readings in daylight. The Vision demonstration program, led by French defense materiel agency DGA, calls for the development of a sovereign, high-performance, discreet navigation system that is not dependent on transmissions and therefore cannot be compromised by jamming or decoying. Credit: French Ministry of the Armies

General Motors’ (GM) urban air mobility (UAM) aspirations have been confirmed following CEO Mary Barra’s keynote on Jan. 12 at CES 2021. The automaker introduced a Cadillac vertical-take-off and landing (VTOL) concept, which it says will deliver a “pivotal connection between first- and last-mile EV [electric vehicle] travel.” Credit: General Motors

Rolls-Royce will study the potential of nuclear power for future space exploration under a new contract with the UK Space Agency. The company will lean on its experience with producing reactors for submarines as part of the six-month study, which it says will help to “develop space technologies over the next decade.” Credit: NASA

DARPA has launched the manufacturing and flight test phase of the Operational Fires (OpFires) program to demonstrate a hypersonic missile with a throttleable solid rocket motor and a variety of potential payloads, the agency announced on Jan. 11. Credit: DARPA

Pentagon

As CEO of Airbus, Thomas Enders oversaw the European aerospace giant’s first ventures into electric aviation with flights of the ducted-fan E-Fan and tiltwing Vahana technology demonstrators. Those initiatives have yet to bear fruit at Airbus. But Enders, now retired, has joined the board of Lilium, adding the weight of his reputation to the German startup’s ambitious plans to launch a regional air mobility service by 2025. Credit: Lilium