The left rear landing gear on Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnight Two failed during a test flight in the Mojave desert 19 Aug.
The quad-engine jet that will be the mothership carrying Virgin's passenger spaceship was on its 37th test flight. The spaceship was not attached at the time of the incident. No one was injured.
The gear failure was a "very, very minor incident" says Virgin Galactic, and will have "no impact on the project at all."
Embraer’s leaders stressed this week that they want to better understand technology advancements before committing to a development track. Embraer must also still work out the tricky question of how to pay for such a project – the answer seemingly being collaborations with deep-pocketed partners.
Textron Aviation has secured an agreeement to deliver a pair of Cessna SkyCourier turboprops to Air Marshall Islands.
Boeing has secured a $2.4 billion US government contract to build 15 KC-46A tankers, adding to the number of contracted orders for the 767 derivative.
Orbital launch pioneer SpaceX is being contracted by the American space agency NASA to develop a so-called “US Deorbit Vehicle” that can safely return the International Space Station to Earth via controlled re-entry.
The Boeing X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle, operated by the US Space Force, will return to orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster for its seventh long-endurance flight mission.
The US space agency is asking aerospace suppliers to design a new orbital craft that could be used to perform a controlled de-orbit of the multinational space station, which is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2030.
