Recent Updates

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 […]

SpaceX wrapped up the fifth high-altitude flight test of its Starship prototype with a successful landing on Wednesday evening. The prototype used for Wednesday’s flight, SN15, is the first to avoid what SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has termed “rapid unscheduled disassembly” during testing. While the testing procedure was similar to that of the four previous […]

The FAA has announced that it will be hosting a second virtual edition of its two-part unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drone) symposium later this year. The first segment of the symposium, called Episode III, is scheduled to take place on June 9-10 followed by Episode IV on Sept. 14-15. As previously reported by AVweb, Episodes I […]

Air taxi developer Wisk Aero has announced plans to provide up to 30 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for short-distance routes in Blade Urban Air Mobility’s U.S. network. Pending certification of its eVTOL design, Wisk says the aircraft will be chartered by Blade while being owned, operated and maintained by Wisk. The partnership […]

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. […]

An unmanned MQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter crashed into the side of USS Charleston shortly after taking off from the ship on Monday. No one was injured in the incident, but U.S. Navy officials reported that the aircraft fell into the water and was not recovered. The crash occurred at approximately 3:40 p.m. local time. “The […]

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 […]

NASA signed a memorandum of understanding this week with the National Science Foundation (NSF) “to collaborate on an initiative to open new avenues to engineering careers for communities underserved and underrepresented in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math].” The collaboration will tap Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in recruiting and educating the engineers it cites as “essential […]

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on Friday morning and is en route to the International Space Station (ISS). On board Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour are NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut  Akihiko  Hoshide  and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas  Pesquet. Endeavour is expected […]

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has established a type certification team for EHang’s EH216 “passenger-grade” autonomous electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. According to EHang, the team met for the first time last week with “the aim to officially advance the [type certificate] approval work” for the autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV). During […]