Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Oct, 10

In a draft budget proposal, the Space Development Agency (SDA) is asking Congress for more than $11 billion over five years to plan, design and deploy large constellations of satellites. 

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Oklahoma State University (OSU) and Vigilant Aerospace Systems conducted an autonomous, long-distance flight of a small fixed-wing drone using Vigilant’s unmanned traffic management (UTM) and active detect-and-avoid system to monitor the aircraft.

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 The prototype for the U.S. Air Force’s low-cost, Loyal Wingman concept sustained damage after completing a third flight test on Oct. 9 at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) says. 

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In a comment that comes closest to acknowledging a likely slide in the launch target for NASA’s Artemis-1 Space Launch System (SLS) test flight, Ken Bowersox, the acting associate administrator for human exploration and operations, says the mission may not lift off until as late as mid-2021.

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Porsche has become the latest carmaker to embrace urban air mobility (UAM), signing a memorandum of understanding with Boeing to study product development for the premium market for personal air vehicles.

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Poland has laid out yet another new plan for the modernization of the country’s armed forces, with the aim of spending 524 billion zlotys ($133 billion) on equipment through 2035.

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As commercial space operations prepare to ramp up to new levels across the U.S., the FAA says it remains on track to issue updated launch and re-entry regulations by the third quarter of 2020.

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A crude plastic mockup of an improbable doughnut-shaped military helicopter was displayed at the China Helicopter Expo, held Oct. 10-14.

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Aero Engine Corp. of China (AECC) has begun testing major components for a turboshaft engine of at least 1,000 kW (1,300 hp) takeoff power for a future civil helicopter.

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Sales of military aircraft and weapons to Turkey would be prohibited and the country’s arms industry would be sanctioned under new legislation that supports the embattled Kurdish population, two U.S. senators say. 

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Avic’s project to produce the Advanced Heavy Lifter (AHL) helicopter should soon be ready to present to the state group’s head office for launch approval, an industry source said.

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The U.S. Air Force and aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky turned around the troubled HH-60W search-and-rescue helicopter program in 12 months and shepherded the new aircraft into production on time.

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Taiwan has begun early research on fighter engine development in support of a possible program for a potential indigenous combat aircraft.

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The first on-orbit servicing spacecraft, Northrop Grumman subsidiary SpaceLogistics LLC’s Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-1), is sending back telemetry following its Oct. 9 launch.

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