Defense

By Tony Osborne
Raytheon has signed agreements with Romanian defense companies to produce SkyCeptor missiles in the Eastern European country.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Garrett Reim
DARPA has released a presolicitation for phase 2 and 3 of its Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations program, an effort to develop a nuclear thermal rocket engine. DARPA is interested in developing such an engine to speed up the time it takes to move spacecraft through the vast distances of cislunar space.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Norway is investing in a mini-constellation of maritime reconnaissance satellites to support surveillance in the High North.
Commercial Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA is teaming with crowdsource solutions sponsor HeroX, computer game developer Epic Games and real-time graphics developer Buendea to sponsor the NASA MarsXR Challenge, a call for contributions to a virtual reality testbed environment meant to simulate experiences and situations that future astronauts might encounter on Mars.
Space

By Steve Trimble
A $1.404 billion plan to acquire a 75-aircraft Armed Overwatch fleet for U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) will kick off with a contract award in July and finish with the last aircraft delivery by the end of fiscal 2027, budget documents show.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Army has deployed a second jet-based technology demonstrator to perform operational missions in the Indo-Pacific Command while gathering data and lessons for a future acquisition program.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Mark Carreau
Four astronauts are headed for a splashdown in waters off the Florida peninsula early May 6, following their departure from the International Space Station aboard NASA’s Crew-3 SpaceX Endurance Dragon spacecraft.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Under Russian ownership in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Let L-410 manufacturer was crippled by the effect of sanctions.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris
Growing defense roles, including responsive launch and hypersonic tests, factor in Virgin Orbit near-term capability goals.
Commercial Space

By Sterling Richmond
The Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker-Transport (MRTT) is a European air-refueling tanker derived from the widebody civil airliner bearing the same name.
Defense

By Guy Norris
Stratolaunch successfully completed the first flight of the Roc carrier aircraft with the large underwing pylon developed to carry and launch the company’s Talon-A hypersonic testbed vehicle at Mojave, California, on May 4.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Aviation Week Staff
The deployment of the high-orbiting segment of Russia’s Glonass global navigation satellite system is expected to start in 2026, Chief Designer Sergey Karutin said in an interview with Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin on the Sputnik radio station on May 2.
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA is preparing for a second attempt at a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) for the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) in early June.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Hydrogen-propulsion startup Hydroplane has received a second U.S. Air Force small business contract to demonstrate a fuel cell-based powerplant.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Michael Bruno
Satellite-based remote sensing startup Satellogic expects to grow its low Earth orbit constellation to as many as 34 Earth observation satellites by the fourth quarter, executives say.
Commercial Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA and its crowdsource partner HeroX have announced the winners of their “Honey I Shrunk the NASA Payload, the Sequel” challenge for miniaturizing payload prototypes for Moon missions to fill scientific knowledge gaps.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Astroscale has completed rendezvous operations with its ELSA-d orbital debris removal demonstration despite losing half the servicing spacecraft’s maneuvering thrusters.
Commercial Space

By Michael Bruno
Two years after forming from its predecessor companies, Super Tier 1 aerospace supplier and large defense prime Raytheon Technologies has opened a corporate ventures office to make small venture-capital-style investments.
Emerging Technologies

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Army has delayed key milestones for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program by up to four years, budget and solicitation documents show.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris
Start-up launch vehicle and satellite developer Phantom Space has emerged from stealth mode with a purchase agreement for more than 200 rocket engines from Colorado-based propulsion company Ursa Major.
Commercial Space

By Garrett Reim
MDA has made the first commercial sale of its Canadarm3 robotic arm technology to Axiom Space.
Commercial Space

By Jen DiMascio
A way to transfer fighters to Ukraine; NGAD’s collaborative wingman; DARPA studies HAWC lessons learned; and Russia launches Angara 1.2.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris
Aviation Week flies aboard Northrop Grumman’s reengined L-1011 TriStar carrier aircraft for a simulated rocket launch.
Defense

By Irene Klotz
A Boeing CST-100 spacecraft was due to be transported to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex-41 on May 4 in preparation for a third attempt to reach the International Space Station for an uncrewed flight test.
Space

By Mark Carreau
In NASA’s first congressional hearing on its $26 billion 2023 budget request—an 8% percent increase—Administrator Bill Nelson expressed confidence in a continuing partnership with Russia to operate the International Space Station.
Space