NASA

NASA’s Langley Research Center has completed its final round of testing on the eXternal Vision System (XVS) for the agency’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft. According to NASA, the system has already been shipped to X-59 builder Lockheed Martin for installation. Designed to replace a forward-facing window, the XVS is a camera and display […]

Joby Aviation has announced that it will be working with NASA to study the acoustic signature of its all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The tests, which will be part of NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign, will use NASA’s Mobile Acoustics Facility and more than 50 pressure ground-plate microphones to “capture the […]

NASA has designated three academic teams as Vertical Lift Research Centers of Excellence (VLRCOE), continuing its support and funding for university research into vertical life technology. Made up of universities across the country, the teams will be led by the Georgia Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Maryland. In partnership with […]

NASA announced that it successfully switched the Hubble Space Telescope over to backup hardware on Friday, starting the process of bringing the telescope back online after a payload computer failure last month. The issue, which resulted in the suspension of Hubble’s data collection, is believed to have stemmed from the telescope’s power control unit. With […]

NASA’s Glenn Research Center has announced that it plans to retire its Lockheed S-3B Viking research aircraft after 16 years of service. The last example of the model still flying, NASA acquired its S-3B from the U.S. Navy in 2004. The aircraft has been used primarily for flight communications research, including missions designed to help […]

Former astronaut and retired U.S. Air Force officer Pam Melroy was sworn in as NASA Deputy Administrator during a ceremony at the agency’s Washington headquarters on Monday. Melroy was nominated for the position in April and confirmed by the Senate on June 17. Selected as an astronaut candidate in 1994, she served as pilot on […]

NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft has started its return journey after almost five years in space. The trip is expected to take 2.5 years with OSIRIS-REx currently due to reach Earth on Sept. 24, 2023. As previously reported by AVweb, the spacecraft touched down briefly on asteroid Bennu last […]

The FAA has announced that it is adding more space launch activity area markers to pilot navigation charts with the goal of “increasing pilot safety and airspace awareness.” Citing a significant increase in commercial space operations, the agency emphasized that pilots flying near space launch activity areas should check the NOTAM database for any space […]

The U.S. Senate voted unanimously on Thursday to confirm former astronaut and senator Bill Nelson as the 14th administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He takes over from acting NASA administrator Steve Jurczyk. Nelson, who went to space in 1986 as payload specialist on space shuttle Columbia, represented Florida in the U.S. […]

Pilot, astronaut and author Michael Collins passed away on Wednesday at the age of 90. Chosen as one of fourteen members of NASA’s third astronaut group in 1963, Collins first went to space as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 10 mission. He also flew the Apollo 11 mission, piloting the command module while crew members […]