Lockheed Martin engineering managers in charge of developing the Orion crew capsule for NASA say the vehicle planned for an unmanned three-week mission in lunar orbit next year could be ready for an eight-day lunar flyaround with two astronauts on board before the end of 2019.
The dual-launch of the Thales Alenia Space-built SGDC and Koreasat-7 satellites on an Ariane 5 has been postponed from its March 21 target due to a strike in French Guiana, where Europe’s Kourou spaceport is located.
The planned launching of Orbital ATK’s seventh NASA-contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station has moved from March 24 to no earlier than March 27.
Thales Alenia Space sees overcapacity as a factor in the weak telecommunications satellite market, in addition to fast-moving technology and a slow global launch rate.
The French government is making a last-ditch effort to get Malaysia to order Dassault Rafales ahead of a planned visit by its president to the Southeast Asian nation.
Space start-up Rocket Lab is accelerating series production of rocket engines and avionics for its Electron launch vehicle at a newly opened facility in California.
AUSTRALIA’s defense ministry launched A$730m ($560m) Next Generation Technologies Fund to improve Australian defense capability and innovation over a ten-year period. F-35 LIGHTNING II recently conducted first firing trials of MBDA Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (Asraam) at NAS Patuxent River, MD, and Edwards AFB, CA, marking first launch of a non-U.S. missile from the stealthy fighter.
British and French criminal investigators are doubling down on an inquiry into Airbus and alleged misuse of third-party agents and European export credit. Last August, Airbus acknowledged the U.K. Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had opened an investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption in the civil aviation business of Airbus Group relating to irregularities concerning third-party consultants.
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Planetary scientists gathered March 19 for a "town hall” to discuss the proposed science objectives of a NASA-led robotic lander mission to search for life on the Jupiter moon Europa.
Britain’s plan to reinstitute a carrier-based strike capability faces potential delays and capability limitations, the independent National Audit Office has warned.
The ninth Boeing-built Wideband Global Satcom jam-resistant military communications satellite has successfully launched aboard a Delta IV rocket on March 18.
SpaceX's 10th NASA-contracted International Space Station Dragon resupply capsule re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on March 19, descending by parachute to a Pacific Ocean splashdown and recovery.
If the U.S. Air Force chooses to move forward with the buy, the service could use fiscal 2016 and 2017 dollars to field the notional fleet very quickly.
