Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Graham Warwick
Ultralight aircraft are usually the simplest of flying machines, often just tube and fabric—no certification, no pilot’s license, no commercial use.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Mark Carreau
NASA pressed Sept. 1 to resolve the propellant loading issues that triggered the Aug. 29 scrub of the much-anticipated liftoff of the Artemis I mission.
Space Focus

By Chen Chuanren
The Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet is using Exercise Pitch Black to gain additional certifications and operational experience as the unit moves toward initial operating capability.
Budget, Policy & Operations

Aviation Week Staff
The largest Russian manufacturer of commercial aircraft has seen its first-half losses increase tenfold.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
NASA has added five more missions to SpaceX’s crew transportation services contract, bringing the total value for 14 flights to $4.9 billion.
Commercial Space

By Tony Osborne
The Portuguese Air Force is acquiring six used Black Hawk helicopters to boost the country’s firefighting capability.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
NASA and Axiom Space have signed a mission order for a second four-person private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), planned for the second quarter of 2023.
Commercial Space

By Garrett Reim
Royal Caribbean Group plans to start installing SpaceX’s Starlink satellite dishes aboard its cruise ships.
Commercial Space

By Michael Bruno
Satellite-based hyperspectral imagery and data provider Pixxel expects to launch its first “commercial-phase” satellites in early 2023, followed by more later that year, representatives said in August while revealing the startup’s latest strategic backer, Accenture.
Commercial Space

By Garrett Reim
Sierra Space has signed a deal to use its Dream Chaser spaceplane in 2024 to deliver to the International Space Station a life sciences incubator made by German biotech company Yuri.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Saab will launch production of aft fuselage systems for a Boeing advanced trainer at a newly opened plant in West Lafayette, Indiana, under a $71.2 million contract, the Swedish manufacturer said on Aug. 31.
Aerospace

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force wants to set a new target for the annual operating costs of the Lockheed Martin F-35A.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Mecachrome has completed the takeover of the WeAre Group, a significant step in the consolidation of the French supply chain.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Asia Pacific Staff
The Japanese Defense Ministry is asking for at least 5.59 trillion yen ($40.3 billion) in a budget request for 2023 announced Aug. 31.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Army has grounded its Boeing H-47 Chinook fleet following a small number of engine fires that OEM Honeywell says is connected with the installation of problematic O-rings during service-performed depot maintenance.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Jen DiMascio
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Ursa Major a $3.6 million contract to develop a rocket engine for the booster and upper stages of satellite launches to low Earth orbit by year’s end. The U.S. Air Force Tactical Funding Increase program to boost relationships with startup companies was seeking a flight-qualified 5,000-lb. oxygen-rich staged-combustion engine.
Space

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Ursa Major a $3.6 million contract to develop a rocket engine for the booster and upper stages of satellite launches to low Earth orbit by year’s end. The U.S. Air Force Tactical Funding Increase program to boost relationships with startup companies was seeking a flight-qualified 5,000-lb. oxygen-rich staged-combustion engine.
Space

By Chen Chuanren
The Republic of Singapore Air Force Next Generation Fighter Office says despite the fact that it has already ordered an initial batch of four F-35Bs with an option for eight more, the service has not ruled out the possibility of purchasing F-35As as well.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
This is Germany’s first overseas fighter deployment to the region following a shift in focus to the Indo-Asia Pacific by Berlin.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Mark Carreau, Irene Klotz
The weather forecast for a launch attempt on Sept. 3 is not ideal, with just a 40% chance conditions will be suitable for liftoff due to cloud cover and the chance of rain and lightning.
Space Focus

By Chen Chuanren
A number of UK Royal Air Force, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy crewmembers are currently attached to the Royal Australian Air Force’s Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft unit, as the two air forces await delivery of their own E-7s.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
Details have emerged of two additional consortia bidding to participate in South Korea’s K-UAM Grand Challenge urban air mobility demonstration project.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Garrett Reim
Outpost Technologies has raised a $7.1 million seed round to develop satellite re-entry and recovery technology.
Commercial Space

By Tony Osborne
Plans for a third round of flight testing to support F-35 operations from the UK’s two new aircraft carriers are facing delays after the HMS Prince of Wales developed technical problems shortly after leaving port.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
BAE Systems has started upgrading the mission crew stations on three Boeing P-8A Poseidons under a U.S. Navy contract.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare