Defense

A Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital booster failed 1 min. 4 sec. after liftoff on Sept. 12, triggering the automated ignition of the capsule’s emergency escape system and a successful parachute touchdown.

The U.S. Air Force proposes to retire 1,463 aircraft and buy 467 between fiscal 2023 to 2027 in the Future Years Defense Program, resulting in a net loss of 997 aircraft.

The NASA-funded Capstone small-satellite mission has entered safe mode as a planned trajectory correction maneuver was concluding, according to a space agency advisory.

As chair of the second meeting of the White House National Space Council, Vice President Kamala Harris has announced efforts to inspire and expand the country’s space workforce through a new STEM educational initiative.

Against a backdrop of tough geopolitical and economic issues, Director General Josef Aschbacher has to convince the agency’s 22 member states that those difficulties are precisely why they need to invest more into space.

The US Air Force is augmenting its normal bomber deployments in the Middle East with frequent ‘presence patrols’ by long-range Boeing B-52H Stratofortress heavy bombers.

A partial grounding of the U.S. V-22 fleet has been lifted after a nagging issue with a slipping sprag clutch caused two more emergency landings.

The FCC has recommended shortening the maximum period for post-mission disposal of low-Earth-orbit satellites to five years or less, down from 25 years, as concerns grow about space junk, traffic and collisions.

The U.S. Defense Department may allow Lockheed Martin F-35 deliveries to resume within weeks, pending the outcome of legal, security and airworthiness

The U.S. Navy says it has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of physiological incidents in its aircraft since a high in 2017.

Every category of incident, from the most expensive Class A through the lowest Class D, has increased for ship-related operations since 2011.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

On its 75th anniversary, the service looks to a future using increased autonomy and a further migration of key missions to space.

Here is an overview of 10 of the service’s top priorities as it looks to shape its future force.

The service aims to become “ruthless” in selecting development programs under ongoing review.

An intake blank designed to protect the F-35’s engine from foreign objects has been linked to the loss of a Royal Air Force-operated aircraft last November.

Houston-based Axiom Space, one of two companies selected by NASA to develop, manufacture and operate spacesuits for Moon-walking astronauts, has been awarded a $228.5 million task order for the first purchase under NASA’s public-private Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services program.

Following ongoing work to repair a hydrogen leak that derailed the inaugural launch of the Space Launch System rocket on Sept. 3, NASA plans to conduct a tanking test at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B as early as Sept. 17.

The assistance raises the Biden administration’s overall financial commitment to Ukraine’s defense to about $15.2 billion.

A panel of experts assembled by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics has expressed optimism that NASA, two cabinet departments and the commercial sector are prepared to address the challenges of embracing space-nuclear power and propulsion.

Poland wants to triple the size of its attack helicopter force, having declared plans to purchase nearly 100 Boeing AH-64 Apaches.

GOVT OF POLAND selected Boeing's AH-64E Apache for its KRUK Attack Helicopter program; it is expected to acquire 96.

PCX AEROSTRUCTURES acquired PACIFIC CONTOURS, CA (CH-47/F-35 flight critical components/assemblies).

Airbus is testing a pair of UK defense cubesats in readiness for the first orbital launch from the UK.

Northrop Grumman quietly developed a nickel-alloy combustor that could unlock a decades-long hurdle to rapid propulsion.