Blog & Resources

Category Archive: Aerospace

  1. Aerospace Manufacturer Begins Search for First U.S. Facility to Produce Blended-Wing-Body Aircraft

    Apr
    01
    2025

    Aerospace manufacturer Natilus has announced a significant venture, seeking a site for its first manufacturing facility in the U.S. The large-scale site will produce the KONA, Natilus’ innovative regional blended-wing-body (BWB) freighter. In addition, the company plans to expand with a larger production footprint for its 200-passenger aircraft, HORIZON. The selection of a U.S.-based facility […]

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  2. Bulletproof and Featherlight: How Composite Metal Foam is Changing the Game

    Mar
    25
    2025

    Imagine a material that defies expectations—strong enough to stop a bullet yet remarkably light. This is the promise of Composite Metal Foam (CMF), a breakthrough material developed at North Carolina State University. More than just a new alloy, CMF is a meticulously engineered composite, consisting of hollow metallic spheres embedded within a metallic matrix. This […]

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  3. Tidal’s Hybrid-Electric Polaris Seaplane Consumes 85% Less Fuel

    Mar
    06
    2025

    Hybrid cars are already taking over the automotive industry, and it’s easy to see why. They consume less fuel, without sacrificing performance, and crucially produce less greenhouse gases. Now, hybrid-electric powertrains are also becoming more prominent in the aviation industry, particularly for seaplanes. They are seen as a stopgap to fully electric and hydrogen-electric aircraft […]

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  4. Retro Sierra Space’s Historic Commercial Spaceplane Sets for 2025

    Feb
    14
    2025

    Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser cargo spaceplane has demonstrated that it can handle payloads after passing a major milestone as it’s readied for its debut orbital mission. Cargo missions to the International Space Station (ISS) are as common, one of these looks very different from others. Dream Chaser is a retro-futuristic spacecraft with a mixture of […]

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  5. U.S. Navy Gives Lockheed Martin $383 Million for Next Generation Trident II D5 Missile Design

    Feb
    10
    2025

    The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin, a defense technology company, a $383 million cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to the existing Lockheed Martin contract for developing the next generation of the Trident II Strategic Weapons System D5 missile. The contract modification entails the design of the integrated, modernized missile, called the Trident II D5 Life […]

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  6. Boeing’s Air Force One Program Hits Delays Due to Lack of Parts

    Feb
    07
    2025

    A senior administration official said the Air Force One program may be delayed until 2029 or years later because of supply chain issues and changing requirements after the White House highlighted delays in the project. According to the official, Boeing faced problems getting components since some manufacturers had gone out of business. In addition, some […]

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  7. First Look at Jet-powered VTOL X-plane After Finishing Wind Tunnel Tests for DARPA SPRINT Program

    Jan
    21
    2025

    Bell has completed wind tunnel tests of its X-plane model at the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University, part of DARPA’s Speed and Runway Independent Technology (SPRINT) program, aimed at creating an aircraft to demonstrate technologies allowing high-speed flight without the need for traditional runways. According to a press release by […]

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  8. NASA and MagniX Start Altitude-Testing Hybrid Electric Planes

    Nov
    26
    2024

    Fully-electric commercial planes are still far from reality. Unlike cars, planes need to carry as little weight as possible, and the heavy lithium-ion batteries certainly won’t help with that. However, hybrid planes, where electricity is used to aid the turbine engines, are around the corner. These would carry much smaller batteries while being more efficient […]

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  9. US Space Force Foreign Military Sales Increased by 500%

    Nov
    22
    2024

    The U.S. has by far the most powerful military in the world but is also the biggest exporter of military hardware. And it’s not even close. The U.S. had a 42% market share globally from 2019 to 2023, and according to recent data shared by representatives, the market domination will be even bigger.  Namely, the […]

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  10. Chinese Firm “Space Transportation” Tested a Mach 4 Commercial Aircraft

    Nov
    18
    2024

    Ever since the last Concorde flight took place in 2003, humanity has dreamt of another aircraft capable of supersonic flights. Unsurprisingly, because flying from New York to London took less than three hours. Still, the Concorde also had high operational costs, limited passenger capacity, and produced a disturbing sonic boom. Fortunately, multiple companies are working […]

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  11. NASA Changes the Aviation Industry with Innovation New Materials for Aircraft

    Nov
    14
    2024

    NASA is known for its focus on investment in cutting-edge technologies ranging from basic materials to full-scale experimental aircraft, aiming to raise efficiency and reliability while reducing weight and cost. Engineers at NASA are recently developing and deploying innovative new materials that can help to produce better parts for aircraft engines and related systems. Silicon […]

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  12. Rocket Lab Builds the World’s Largest 3D Printer for its Neutron Rocket

    Oct
    15
    2024

    You might not have heard about Rocket Lab, particularly because of the popularity of SpaceX, but it’s one of the most advanced space companies out there. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab was founded by Peter Beck to launch small satellites and spacecraft cost-effectively and at scale. Recently, the company made waves in the […]

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  13. Solar Platform Station Will Hover in the Stratosphere to Provide Internet Connection

    Oct
    10
    2024

    Companies like Starlink are advancing us into the “internet everywhere” direction. However, these satellite internet solutions are still costly and don’t provide the same speeds as regular on-the-ground providers. But what if you could put aircraft in the stratosphere and beam internet from there? That’s the idea behind the Sceye HAPS (High-Altitude Platform Station), which […]

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  14. Boeing’s Hydrogen-Powered SKIRON-XLE Drone Completes 7-Hour Flight

    Sep
    10
    2024

    Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing subsidiary, has completed a seven-hour test flight with the SKIRON-XLE, a small drone powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The test flight took place at an airfield in Virginia, making a significant advancement in flight endurance for Group 2 drones. The SKIRON-XLE drone is designed for long-range surveillance missions and […]

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  15. This Hydrogen-Electric Seaplane Promises a 370-mile Range

    Aug
    26
    2024

    Fuel cells are a promising technology in transportation, though they are still to break the mold. Even so, many companies think that the technology that combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity is useful in larger vehicles like trucks. Moreover, thanks to the lower weight of fuel-cell propulsion than battery-electric propulsion, fuel cells could be […]

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