Aerospace

Despite the pandemic, the industry continued to make progress in sustainability, space, aviation safety and more.

The Boeing-Airbus duopoly cannot count on widebody sales anytime soon, so their hope is to get narrowbody production back to normal.

Redwire, the private equity-backed space rollup, said Dec. 15 it bought LoadPath, a developer of payload adapters, deployable structures and thermal products for the space industry.

Air taxi startup Blade Urban Air Mobility will be taken over by a special purpose acquisition company, setting up what could become the first publicly traded electric-powered air vehicle service provider as the technology emerges this decade.

CHARGER INVESTMENT PARTNERS acquired majority stake in ADVANCED COMPOSITE PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGY, CA.

STRATA MANUFACTURING, UAE delivered its first 787 vertical fin shipset to Boeing South Carolina for installation in early 2021.

GA TELESIS UK was authorized by Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs to operate customs warehouse at Bournemouth from January 2021; it expects to process

German air rescue service ADAC Luftrettung has reserved two VoloCity electric air taxis from Volocopter to prepare for operational emergency medical service tests of the piloted multicopters in 2023.

IRKUT (United Aircraft Corporation) completed first flight of MS-21-300 with PD-14s; aircraft can carry 163-211 passengers.

DIGITAL MANUFACTURING CENTRE and PRODUMAX teamed to combine resources to drive automated/digital future of additive manufacturing in UK.

ROLLS-ROYCE plans to roll out upgraded Trent 1000 TEN high-pressure compressor turbine (HPT) blades in mid-2021 and does not expect to see any more

BOEING and UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA demonstrated use of thermal disinfection (applying extreme heat (50ºC/120ºF) to surfaces, especially on hard-to-clean

AÉRO MONTRÉAL and AICHI-NAGOYA AEROSPACE CONSORTIUM formed partnership to strengthen supplier relatioships in Canada and Japan.

Iridium has officially launched its own Global Maritime Distress and Safety System service, providing a single terminal for emergency data and voice communications that company leaders said would be competitively priced.

Ask the Editors: China and Russia are not likely to follow in U.S. footsteps and establish separate space force branches within their militaries.

Long-haul aviation market has changed since the 777X was launched, increasing pressure on Boeing’s business case.

NORSK TITANIUM US, NY was selected by Leonardo, Italy to supply additive manufactured 787 components using its Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD) process

CARLISLE INTERCONNECT TECHNOLOGIES has US patent for its new ARINC 791/792 adjustable fittings for existing/emerging aerospace applications.

FLY GREEN FUND (non-profit to reduce climate impact) has delivered 46 tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), purchased from AIR BP, to three

EHang has received an experimental flight permit in Austria allowing it to begin flight trials of the two-seat EH216 autonomous air vehicle with partner FACC.

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have selected the initial trio of astronauts for the third of SpaceX’s commercial crew launches to the International Space Station, Crew-3, which is expected to launch in fall 2021.

HEICO increased its existing credit facility with banking syndicate to US$1.5b and extended maturity to November 2023.

IRKUT (United Aircraft Corporation) began taxi testing of MS-21-300 with PD-14s in preparation for first flight by end 2020.

LIBERTY HALL CAPITAL PARTNERS has acquired COMPLY365, WI (SaaS-based content management solutions), its seventh platform acquisition.

U.S. back in human spaceflight business.