Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Oct, 24

A 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.

Subscribers can access the full article here. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. 

Mitsubishi 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.

Subscribers can access the full article here. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. 

The 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”.

Subscribers can access the full article here. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. 

The 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. 

Subscribers can access the full article here. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. 

Boeing 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.

Subscribers can access the full article here. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. 

Germany 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.

Subscribers can access the full article here. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. 

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is working on detail design of its new HTV-X cargo spacecraft, aiming at a first launch in 2022.