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The first Airbus BelugaXL has rolled out of the paint shop, sporting a special, beluga whale-inspired livery selected by Airbus employees.

Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have launched RemoveDEBRIS, the first satellite with space debris-removal capabilities and the largest satellite ever deployed from the ISS. RemoveDEBRIS, a low Earth orbit test bed for determining the efficacy of active debris removal (ADR) systems, is a multinational effort involving space agencies, aerospace experts, and technologies from throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the U.S.

Boeing collaborates with Assembrix to manage and protect intellectual property shared with vendors across its global supply chain for additive manufacturing.

In contrast to the stiff, rigid wings found on most commercial aircraft, flexible wing technology is considered essential to next generation, fuel efficient aircraft. However, flexible wings are susceptible to “flutter,” or highly destructive aeroelastic instability. To better understand and mitigate flutter, engineers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) equipped the X-56 with fiber optic sensing (FOS) technology.

A cowling, or engine cover, is a critical airframe component that reduces drag and directing airflow into the engine. For the E-8C JSTARS, an aircraft with four massive Pratt and Whitney JT3D-based TF33-102C turbofan engines, each set of engine cowling components can cost up to $80,000 per set. Even a slightly warped cowling renders the entire housing unsafe and unserviceable.

Counterfeit parts prevention is integral to an effective obsolescence management plan, and the focus of anti-counterfeit standards – including Counterfeit Avoidance Standard (AS5553) and Counterfeit Detection Standard (AS6081) – from SAE International in Warrendale, Pa. SAE International officials are bringing the anti-counterfeit discussion and sharing best practices, which include adherence to critical standards, to the Future of Obsolescence Management (FOM) event on October 10 and 11 in Washington.

Engineers at Martin UAV are incorporating Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network (MANET) technology from Persistent Systems into the company’s V-BAT small, vertical takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Rolls-Royce in London is unveiling a concept electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) vehicle, including civil and military variants, that could take to the skies as soon as the early 2020s. The flexible design – able to be adapted for a variety of applications, including personal transport, public transport, logistics, and defense – is based upon technologies currently in use and under development.

Astro Aerospace is partnering with carbon composite manufacturer Paterson Composites i to build components for its new, state-of-the-art, autonomous aerial transport vehicle, the Astro Aerospace Passenger Drone.

On June 6, a joint team from ONERA – internationally known as “The French Aerospace Lab” – and Germany’s DLR completed an eight-day course of static ground vibration testing on the new model.

Jun 13, 2018 - The Aerospace Material Specification committee on Additive Manufacturing (AMS-AM) at SAE International in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, has released its first suite of Aerospace Material Specifications (AMS) additive manufacturing materials and process specifications. The new aerospace technical standards, now available from SAE, support the certification of critical aircraft and spacecraft parts, providing both a framework to protect the integrity of material property data and traceability within the aerospace supply chain.

Standards development teams at SAE International in Warrendale, Pa., have issued 11 new technical documents and revised or reaffirmed another 54 technical reports focused on mobility engineering across the aerospace, automotive, and commercial transportation communities. The new documents, issued throughout June 2018, cover a variety of technical subject areas, including: diagnostic link connector security, mitigation strategies against illumination effects, data dictionary for quantities used in cyber physical exams, requirements for production of metal powder feedstock for use in additive manufacturing of aerospace parts, and laser powder bed fusion process.

The 3D printing materials market will experience high double-digit growth in the aerospace industry through 2024, as manufacturers of aircraft and spacecraft vehicles and components increasingly adopt and reap the benefits of additive manufacturing, market analysts at Frost & Sullivan in Mountain View, California, predict.

The Global 7500 business jet from Bombardier Inc. in Montreal appears to be on the fast track to entering service, thanks in large part to high-tech engineering design, simulation, and test tools. Bombardier engineers and officials are crediting the program’s extensive use of proven engineering tools, digital simulation, innovative ground testing systems for helping to ensure: a mature aircraft at the start of flight testing, an efficient flight validation program, test aircraft that exceed original performance goals, and completion of one lifetime of simulated flights, which exceeds the requirements at time of certification.

Future airspace will be filled with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones, commercial aircraft, helicopters, and more. Several prototypes are currently targeting urban air mobility (UAM) platforms, such as air taxis, and revolutionary aircraft models like next-generation commercial supersonic aircraft. Add to this autonomous swarm technologies, enabling manned-unmanned teaming, and systems for future vertical lift and it’s clear that the technology wave can easily become overwhelming.

Aerospace systems, subsystems, and components must continue to operate as intended when exposed to fire, rather than going up in flames and ceasing to work altogether. Fire and flammability testing is an all-important prerequisite to airworthiness, and the focus of a new technical standards committee that SAE International in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, is forming in response to a request from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials in Washington.

Even at the early stages of this new era of urban air mobility, there is already a scramble amongst well-known aerospace giants, as well as start-ups, to develop and evaluate the civil VTOL market. And this all starts with air-taxi concepts.

AeroVironment revealed its critical role in collaborating with NASA JPL to build the “Mars Helicopter” for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. Program officials plan to have the Mars Helicopter flying on Mars in less than three years.

Engineers from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL’s) Manufacturing Technologies Division successfully demonstrated the capabilities of a new multi-purpose maintenance and manufacturing robot at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

Stratolaunch Systems Corp., founded by Paul G. Allen, in Seattle, Washington, has completed the first flight of the Stratolaunch, the world’s largest all-composite aircraft, with a dual-fuselage design and wingspan greater than the length of an American football field. The Stratolaunch aircraft took flight on April 13 at 0658 PDT from the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California; achieved a maximum speed of 189 miles per hour; and flew for 2.5 hours over the Mojave Desert at altitudes up to 17,000 feet.