Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Garrett Reim
Sierra Space has completed a test readiness review of its carbothermal reactor, a system designed to extract oxygen from the Moon’s soil, and plans to proceed to a physical test of the technology.
Space

AeroVironment will deliver six Jump 20 uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) to the U.S. Army under an $8 million contract announced on Aug. 18, Army acquisition officials said.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Graham Warwick
As it prepares for the Atlantic hurricane season, utility Florida Power & Light has introduced a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed aircraft that will be able to survey the electric grid across the state to detect storm damage and speed repairs.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
Skyports is challenging misconceptions about the development and operation of vertiports as the UK company closes a $26.1 million Series B funding round intended to consolidate its position as a leader in the advanced air mobility infrastructure market.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Artemis I initial test flight of the Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule will be carrying a rich array of secondary science and technology payloads intended to demonstrate new space technologies and pave the way for a permanent human presence at the Moon and subsequent human exploration of Mars.
Space Focus

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force is the only one of three services to ground the Bell Boeing V-22, with the Marine Corps and Navy saying they will keep the tiltrotor flying with precautions.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
Lockheed Martin has mated the wing to the fuselage of the first F-16 Block 70 fighter built in Greenville, South Carolina, a company official said Aug. 17.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The Czech Republic has handed design organization approval for Russian-built helicopters operated by the Czech military to maintenance, repair and overhaul and training organization LOM Praha, after the Russian government suspended maintenance certificates of several helicopter repair organizations across Eastern Europe.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
Textron has restarted work on the Nexus electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxi but moved the program from Bell to a new unit within its eAviation business segment focused on sustainable flight.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Tony Osborne
Scotland-based satellite launch startup Skyrora has completed a static fire test of the second stage of its Skyrora XL satellite launcher.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Kurt Hofmann
The aerospace technology and component provider has begun ramping-up its 787 production lines; “[It’s] a factor that will increase FACC’s revenue stream as we speak,” the CEO says.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain

By Chen Chuanren
The new engine is designed to give the armed drone greater payload, range and operating altitude.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force has grounded its Bell-Boeing CV-22 fleet due to issues with the tiltrotor’s gearbox causing multiple safety incidents, including one as recent as last weekend.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
With the ambition of becoming a midtier aerospace and defense player, AIRO Holdings Group plans an initial public offering to fund its entry into the electric air mobility market.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Mark Carreau
A Russian spacewalk outside the International Space Station ended well ahead of schedule on Aug. 17 when Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev experienced a sudden voltage fluctuation in the internal battery that powered his spacesuit’s life support system.
Space

By Brian Everstine
In the summer of 2021, the U.S. Air Force appeared to have a clear schedule for its refueling future: continued deliveries of Boeing’s KC-46 for the next several years, a “bridge tanker” KC-Y to follow starting in 2029 and then the next-generation KC-Z to follow beginning in the mid-2030s.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
The UK Royal Air Force has extended the life of its Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules airlifters for another three months as it attempts to overcome shortfalls in availability of its Airbus A400M fleet.
Multi-Mission Aircraft

By Irene Klotz
The first Space Launch System rocket, topped with an Orion deep-space capsule, was rolled out to Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B on Aug. 17 in preparation for an Aug. 29 launch attempt.
Space Focus

By Graham Warwick
AeroTEC’s flight-test center in Moses Lake, Washington, will host the first flight of Eviation's Alice.
Emerging Technologies

By Tony Osborne
The aircraft will participate in the biennial multi-national air exercise Pitch Black led by the Royal Australian Air Force.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
The Land GBAD program calls for the creation of a “fully integrated air defense system of systems.”
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Garrett Reim
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has selected Microchip Technology to develop a High-Performance Spaceflight Computing (HPSC) processor with “at least 100 times the computational capacity of current spaceflight computers.”
Space

By Graham Warwick
Boeing company Aurora Flight Sciences has partnered with the University of California San Diego to develop tools to automate the design of electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles under a NASA University Leadership Initiative project.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Garrett Reim
As part of its Project Crimson research effort, the U.S. Army’s Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center is looking for a drone to quickly deliver blood to wounded service members during times when medical evacuation is not possible.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Army on Aug. 15 transferred its satellite communications mission to the U.S. Space Force, putting control of all military satcom under one command.
Space