December 24, 2020 - No. 97 In This Issue : Aircraft company ZeroAvia secures $21.4 million for hydrogen-electric planes : Piper is turning out new, less-expensive training aircraft from its Vero Beach headquarters : Los Angeles Creates New Partnership to Advance Urban Air Mobility : NASA Helps Bring Airport Communications into the Digital Age : Electric aircraft motor company MagniX lands deal to power UK startup’s planned 300-plane fleet : Flying in formation to save emissions: inside the Airbus fello’fly project : Boeing Proves Super Hornet Can Ski-jump : LOFT Adding Citation Excel Type Rating Program : Houston Spaceport Slated to Become Home to the World's First Commercial Space Station Builder : Volansi to support USAF in developing unmanned aircraft : SpaceX’s 9th Starship Prototype Is Ready For The Next Big Mars Test Aircraft company ZeroAvia secures $21.4 million for hydrogen-electric planes Hydrogen-electric aircraft developer ZeroAvia has secured $21.4 million of backing from a raft of major investors, including Amazon and Shell, as the company completed its first fundraising round in support of plans to run its first commercial zero emission planes from 2023. Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Ecosystem Integrity Fund led the investment round, with follow-on investment from the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Horizons Ventures, Shell Ventures and Summa Equity, the start-up announced. The news follows the announcement Saturday of a new partnership between ZeroAvia and British Airways to explore the development of zero emission aircraft for use in the airline's fleet, as well as the approval of $16.3 million of U.K. government funding via the Aerospace Technology Institute (ARI). Today's latest announcement therefore brings total new funding in ZeroAvia to $37.7 million, and overall funding since the firm's inception to almost $50 million. "Both aviation and the financial markets are waking up to the idea that hydrogen is the only meaningful path towards large-scale, zero-emission commercial flight," said Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia. "Powering a 100-seat plane on hydrogen is not out of the question. We feel deeply grateful to our top-tier investors for joining us in the next phase of our exciting journey; to bring in a new golden age of aviation." By 2027, the company also plans to have hydrogen technologies in service capable of powering commercial aircraft carrying up to 100 people. In September ZeroAvia completed the "world's first" hydrogen fuel cell power flight of a commercial-grade aircraft in the skies over Bedfordshire, England, and is aiming to carry out further tests next year with a target of running commercial hydrogen-electric, 20-seater flights with a range of up to 500 miles from as early as 2023. By 2027, the company also plans to have hydrogen technologies in service capable of powering commercial aircraft carrying up to 100 people, ramping up to journeys of over 1,000 miles by 2030. Kara Hurst, vice president for worldwide sustainability at Amazon, said the funding awarded via the firm's Climate Pledge Fund was aimed at supporting the development of technologies and services that would help companies deliver net zero emissions by 2040. In September ZeroAvia completed the 'world's first' hydrogen fuel cell power flight of a commercial-grade aircraft. "ZeroAvia's zero-emission aviation powertrain has real potential to help decarbonize the aviation sector, and we hope this investment will further accelerate the pace of innovation to enable zero-emission air transport at scale," she said. Elisabeth Brinton, executive vice president for new energies at oil and gas giant Shell, described ZeroAvia's mission to develop hydrogen-electric flight as "innovation at its finest." "In their respective journeys towards net-zero emissions, each industry faces its own unique challenges," she said. "ZeroAvia's work in hydrogen pushes the limits of the imagination — and brings the aviation industry a small step closer to the possibility of net zero-emissions flights." https://www.greenbiz.com/article/aircraft-company-zeroavia-secures-214-million-hydrogen-electric-planes Piper is turning out new, less-expensive training aircraft from its Vero Beach headquarters VERO BEACH – With sales of its top-of-the-line M600 turboprop boosted by new auto-landing technology, Piper Aircraft last week announced the first delivery of its new budget trainer aircraft. The Pilot 100 has been granted type certification by the Federal Aviation Administration, Piper said in a news release. Vero Beach-based Piper calls the Pilot 100 the value-priced addition to its trainer-class line. Equipped with digital autopilot, the Pilot 100 is priced under $300,000, at least $100,000 less that its best-selling Archer trainer. “During these uncertain times, our team has continued to remain focused and has worked diligently to bring to market an aggressively priced, proven trainer that offers the advanced systems and performance that flight schools and airline programs of all sizes desire," Piper President and CEO Simon Caldecott said in the news release. The Pilot 100 seats three instead of four, has one less window and no baggage door and a less-expensive array of Garmin avionics. Following certification, Piper began deliveries to its launch customer, American Flyers, which is to take delivery of eight Pilot 100i aircraft by the end of this year. American Flyers, based in Fort Worth, Texas, operates training facilities in Pompano Beach, New Jersey, Arizona and three in Texas. The company expects to deliver 11 Piper 100s by year-end, Piper spokeswoman Jackie Carlon said. Piper’s production lines were slowed in the first quarter of this year as it implemented additional safety measures to protect employees from the pandemic. Piper currently has 940 employees, “down ever so slightly” from a year ago, Carlon said, as the company wades cautiously through the pandemic. A handful of employees, whose health is compromised, are working remotely, Carlon said. In the second and third quarters, though, the company outpaced its production during the same period of 2019. Piper built only 25 aircraft in the first quarter this year, fewer than half the 28 it built in the first quarter of 2019, but then built 133 aircraft in the second and third quarters, compared with 124 in the same period last year. For at least the past four years, the fourth quarter has been Piper’s strongest, but the company will be hard-pressed to match the 108 aircraft it delivered in that period last year, including 17 M600s after it was upgraded with an SLS model that includes the new Halo Safety System as standard equipment. The Halo system includes Garmin Autoland technology that, when engaged either automatically or by a passenger, assumes control of all systems necessary to land the aircraft safely on the best-suited runway. Piper expects overall production for 2020 to be down about 15%, Carlon said, mostly because of slowed production in the first quarter. https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/2020/12/22/piper-aircraft-based-vero-beach-turning-out-new-model/3959233001/ Los Angeles Creates New Partnership to Advance Urban Air Mobility Los Angeles took its next step in integrating Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles into its skies with the creation of the Urban Air Mobility Partnership, a collaboration between the Mayor’s office, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), and Urban Movement Labs (UML), according to a Dec. 16 press release. “Los Angeles is where we turn today’s ideas into tomorrow’s reality — a place where a barrier-breaking concept like urban air mobility can truly get off the ground,” Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti said in a press statement. “The Urban Air Mobility Partnership will make our city a force for cleaner skies, safer transportation, expanded prosperity, and stunning innovation, and provide a template for how other local governments can take this new technology to even greater heights.” The Urban Air Mobility Partnership is a one year project that will map out challenges to UAM in the city, implement solutions to challenges, visualize a vertiport, and hire a UAM fellow to advance public engagement around UAM, according to the release. The effort will receive financial support from the UAM Division of Hyundai Motor Group. “Developing a scalable system to support urban air mobility will ‘take a village,’ and Hyundai is proud to work alongside the City of L.A. and Urban Movement Labs to advance this important mode of transportation,” Pamela Cohn, chief operating officer, Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group said in a press statement. “This partnership sets a precedent for how diverse stakeholders can collaborate on a safe, community-centered approach to integrating aerial mobility technology into existing and new multimodal platforms.” This announcement succeeds the publication of the “Principles of the Urban Sky” from the World Economic Forum. The LADOT, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) collaborated on the report with the World Economic Forum to establish a policy road map for implementing UAM in Los Angeles. Another goal for the partnership is to enable testing of new transportation technologies in a select number of "Urban Proving Grounds" or neighborhoods where new concept of operations can be tested, according to the Idea Accelerator document the partnership has provided. The Idea Accelerator includes guidelines on how new companies, entrepreneurs and inventors can "pitch a project, attend a workshop, suggest a solution, develop a proof-of-concept" or work for the partnership. The “Principles of the Urban Sky” established seven UAM principles: safety, sustainability, equity of access, low noise, multimodal connectivity, local workforce development, and purpose-driven data sharing. https://www.aviationtoday.com/2020/12/22/los-angeles-creates-new-partnership-advance-urban-air-mobility/ NASA Helps Bring Airport Communications into the Digital Age Some of the best entertainment at the airport is all the action outside the window. Loaded luggage carriers zip past on their way to planes. Fuel trucks come and go. Catering trucks restock galleys. During winter, de-icing crews and snowplows add to the bustle. This organized chaos is overseen by the ground-control managers as part of an airport-wide effort to ensure the safety of all ground operations. And as air travel has increased, the challenge of keeping track of all the moving parts has only grown. However, a digital, wireless airport communications system developed in part by NASA is now poised to change the game. For decades, airports have relied mainly on voice communications over unsecured radio frequencies, with landline phone calls as the only secure backup option. Going forward, the Aeronautical Mobile Aircraft Communication System (AeroMACS) will allow Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) staff in control towers to send safety-critical information digitally and securely – and should lead to shorter wait times on the tarmac. Breaking the Language Barrier Just how far airport technology had fallen behind became too obvious to ignore when consumer cellular service became widely available. Passengers on the tarmac have high-speed data connections on their phones, “but the bandwidth available to a pilot on the flight deck for communications is under kilobits per second,” said Declan Byrne, president of the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) Forum. The forum, an independent industry group established to support and advocate for the adoption of AeroMACS technology, also certifies the new hardware created for airports. The FAA and other air-traffic-control authorities around the world, along with NASA, participate in the forum. AeroMACS will eventually phase out the use of voice communication as the primary method of information sharing for airport ground operations. The new, encrypted, high-speed digital data networks will streamline communications among ground crews and air traffic controllers. Messages sent to a pilot after the plane is on the ground can include diagrams and GPS-style maps, as well as text instructions for runway navigation, gate assignment details, and surface navigation directions. When any airplane lands now, the pilot gets on a voice network and talks to the air-traffic-control manager over a radio. “If you've got a German pilot trying to speak English to a Chinese air traffic controller, the possibility of miscommunication certainly exists,” said Byrne, adding that a bad connection can compound the problem. Aviation authorities from more than 150 countries chose and agreed to adopt the WiMAX standard. Formally adopted in 2007, WiMAX uses cellular network infrastructure that’s customizable for the new frequency – the spectrum of 5091 to 5150 megahertz is reserved for safety-critical aviation communications only. A New Hardware Toolkit NASA engineers have been part of this process from the start. The agency’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland took the lead on AeroMACS testing. The center had worked on these issues previously and had extensive expertise, which made it a natural partner for the FAA. The two organizations signed a Space Act Agreement in 2007 to validate the new system and establish functional standards. “NASA was one of the leading technology R&D agencies that validated AeroMACS,” said Byrne. “The agency deployed a system and tested it. That work was essential for stakeholders in the international aviation community. It proved that this was a reliable standard they could support.” To run the first aviation tests, NASA worked with the Broadband Wireless Access division of Alvarion Technologies Ltd. to modify existing WiMAX hardware. Acquired by Telrad Networks, the company was able to leverage its work with the agency to become one of the first to receive AeroMACS Wave 1 Certification, an independent validation of performance from an industry observer. In this family of hardware, any sensors called subscriber stations will collect, transmit, and receive data. Telrad builds the base station which performs the same function as in a cellular network, routing transmissions, with GPS providing timing for the network. The company also assists with identifying the best antenna type, and placement depends on the airport configuration and signal coverage needed around the surface. A proxy client server executes banking-level security protocols and enables user authentication to verify the sender and receiver, blocking outside intrusions. The Access Service Network gateway enables connectivity throughout the network. This complete system customized by Telrad is all that’s needed to set up an AeroMACS-based wireless network. “Airports have a dedicated frequency allocated by government regulators that is free of charge for them to use,” said Yishai Amsterdamer, general manager of Telrad’s Broadband Wireless Access division. “Each one can develop it for themselves.” The Israeli company, which has an office in Delmar, New York, is now working with airports around the world to customize system configurations. Telrad has also created Star Suite, a software network management program that can support any application an airport might require. A 20-Year Job AeroMACS is cheaper to operate and maintain than existing voice-based infrastructure, but it will take time to transition all airports to the new technology. Each aviation authority may choose to implement it in smaller stages. So far, some U.S. airports are using the system to collect information from surveillance sensors, which will help improve aircraft tracking on runways and taxiways, explained Rafael Apaza, principal investigator for NASA’s development of AeroMACS and senior communications research engineer at Glenn. And for the first time, in 2016, NASA successfully transmitted aviation data, including route options and weather information, to a taxiing airplane over a wireless communication system. The sophisticated electronics used in airplanes are highly sensitive, so inexact wireless communication could disrupt those systems. Successfully eliminating the risk of signal interference while maintaining throughput capacity was what made this accomplishment so significant. Only then was the system proven safe for airplanes. NASA engineers also proved that mobile assets such as emergency vehicles and laptop computers could be included in the wireless network. This will make it possible to track these assets when they’re needed. To date, more than 50 airports in about 15 different countries are using AeroMACS to replace voice with data transmission. It’s estimated that it will take 20 years to transition over 40,000 airports worldwide. When it’s fully implemented, it will be able to swiftly and securely route any ground communications. A three-month pilot program at the Beijing Airport deployed the system for mobile assets and found that using AeroMACS instead of voice commands shaved 20 minutes off the time planes were spending on the ground. As aviation authorities such as the FAA publish AeroMACS guidelines, Telrad and other hardware providers will be able to develop new tools to support the use of wireless communication at airports. Innovation will take off, according to Amsterdamer. “This is going to be millions of dollars in innovation. When this is adopted by the airline companies, then the business can grow.” NASA has a long history of transferring technology to the private sector. The agency’s Spinoff publication profiles NASA technologies that have transformed into commercial products and services, demonstrating the broader benefits of America’s investment in its space program. Spinoff is a publication of the Technology Transfer program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. For more information on how NASA brings space technology down to Earth, visit: spinoff.nasa.gov https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-helps-bring-airport-communications-into-the-digital-age Electric aircraft motor company MagniX lands deal to power UK startup’s planned 300-plane fleet A Seattle-area company has been picked to provide the electric motors for a proposed fleet of 300 aircraft to be built in the United Kingdom by 2030. The deal has the potential to be the largest yet announced for MagniX, which is emerging as a player in the electric aviation niche. The company, based in Redmond, recently announced deals with Sydney Seaplanes in Australia to retrofit a nine-passenger Cessna 208 Caravans with battery-powered electric motors, and has joined an effort to retrofit a 40-passenger de Havilland Dash 8 Q-300 with two electric motors powered by hydrogen fuel cells. In addition, the company continues work to certify its first battery-powered aircraft — which first flew 12 months ago — so that it can begin carrying paying passengers. And it has continued development work with sister company Eviation on its proposed battery-powered Alice nine-seat commuter plane. All in all, “the last six months have just been crazy good, despite everything that’s going on with Covid,” said MagniX CEO Roei Ganzarski . “We’re really excited with the fact that what’s going on in the marketplace is solidifying our product and our strategy.” The Alice, which is expected to have its first flight next year, would be the world’s first battery-powered aircraft designed to be all-electric from the start. All other battery-powered planes to fly to date have been conversions of conventional carbon-burning aircraft. But while that would be a huge milestone for MagniX, the most-recent deal, announced Dec. 17 in the United Kingdom, is potentially the biggest. MagniX is a partner with Faradair, a UK startup that aims to bring an 18-passenger propeller-driven triplane to market as soon as 2026. Existing battery technology isn’t strong enough to power an aircraft that size, Ganzarski said. So as an interim step, Faradair proposes a biofuel-powered generator to provide electricity to a pair of 750 horsepower MagniX motors. By 2030, the company says it plans to have built 300 of its planes, configured for aerial firefighting, cargo/passenger conversions, full-time freighters and for use by government agencies for missions like border and fisheries patrol or drug interdiction. Faradair has not announced any customer commitments for the planes. It says it plans to maintain ownership and lease them to operators. Whether they’re powered by batteries, biofuel generators or hydrogen, MagniX’s electric motors will be assembled at a new plant in western Washington. Ganzarski said he’s not ready to announce where the new plant will be, but a published report in Australia suggests it will be in Everett. Electronic aircraft are a small but interesting niche in the broader aerospace industry, said Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia, who was part of a virtual panel on the state of the aerospace industry in Washington earlier in December. “I am intrigued by the Pacific Northwest angle,” he said. “It does seem with that combination of entrepreneurialism and engineering and background in aviation … that there will be opportunities for the Pacific Northwest to lead the way.” The Washington Department of Transportation this month designated six airfields as “beta test” sites for electric aircraft. The designation means that local airport administrators will work with DOT’s Aviation Department to plan for the type of infrastructure electric-powered aircraft will need. The airports are King County International (also known as Boeing Field), Chehalis-Centralia, Felts Field in Spokane, Grant County International in Moses Lake, Olympia Regional and Yakima Air Terminal. https://www.geekwire.com/2020/electric-aircraft-motor-company-magnix-lands-deal-power-uk-startups-planned-300-plane-fleet/ Flying in formation to save emissions: inside the Airbus fello’fly project Airbus’s fello’fly project is working to apply the principle of wake-energy retrieval to commercial aviation, a move that could help reduce between 5%-10% of carbon emissions. Demonstrator leader Nick MacDonald talks about the idea and next steps towards implementation. From Leonardo da Vinci to the Wright brothers, scientists have been observing birds’ flying techniques and using them to implement game-changing innovations in commercial aviation. This is what a team at European aerospace corporation Airbus is trying to do once again, having found inspiration in migratory flocks. Much like geese and cranes, they believe that groups of aircraft could fly in a V-shaped formation to recreate the principle of wake-energy retrieval used by migratory birds. This could, they say, result in a reduction of between three and four million tonnes of carbon emissions a year. Airbus is currently testing the viability of this model as part of a project called fello’fly. The initiative involves air traffic controllers, airlines, navigation providers and lawmakers, and could enter into service within the next five years. Applying bird formations to aviation sustainability “If you look in nature, there are large birds like geese that fly in a V-shaped formation for their inter-continental migration,” explains fello’fly demonstrator leader Nick MacDonald. “Over recent decades scientists have figured they do this because the bird in the front creates a wake in the air, and the bird behind rides the updraft this creates, flapping its wings in synchronisation.” This is known as the principle of wake-energy retrieval, allowing birds to reduce their flying efforts during their long migratory journeys. Airbus has been testing its potential in aviation since 2016, when it flew an A380 aircraft as leader and an A350 as its follower, keeping them 3km apart. “The two vortices that are created as a commercial aircraft flies lead to a smooth updraft on the outboard sides,” he says. “If you position another aircraft within that stable updraft of air you can reduce your engine setting, and therefore save fuel and emissions as a result.” The 2016 tests showed potential for between 5% and 10% of carbon reductions, persuading Airbus to launch the fello’fly project and reach out to aviation partners for further developments. https://www.airport-technology.com/features/formation-flight-airbus/ Boeing Proves Super Hornet Can Ski-jump Boeing and the U.S. Navy proved recently that the F/A-18 Super Hornet can operate from a “ski jump” ramp, demonstrating the aircraft’s suitability for India’s aircraft carriers. The demonstrations, held at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, showed that the Super Hornet would do well with the Indian Navy’s Short Takeoff but Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) system and validated earlier simulation studies by Boeing. “The first successful and safe launch of the F/A-18 Super Hornet from a ski jump begins the validation process to operate effectively from Indian Navy aircraft carriers,” said Ankur Kanaglekar, India Fighter Sales lead for Boeing. “The F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet will not only provide superior war fighting capability to the Indian Navy but also create opportunities for cooperation in naval aviation between the United States and India.” The Indian Navy is evaluating its fighter options. If it selects the Super Hornet, it would benefit from billions of dollars invested in new technologies by the U.S. Navy and others. Those technologies include advanced networking, longer range through conformal fuel tanks, infrared search and track, and a new advanced cockpit system. The ski jump demonstrations follow the delivery of two Block III flight-test aircraft to the U.S. Navy in June. Boeing is on contract to deliver next-generation Block III capabilities to the U.S. Navy beginning in 2021. The Super Hornet provides the most weapons at range in the U.S. Navy’s fighter inventory, including five times more air-to-ground and twice the air-to-air weapons capacity. Boeing has strengthened its supply chain with 225 partners in India and a joint venture to manufacture fuselages for Apache helicopters. Annual sourcing from India stands at $1 billion. Boeing currently employs 3,000 people in India, and more than 7,000 people work with its supply chain partners. Boeing’s employee efforts and India countrywide engagement serves communities and citizenship programs to inspire change and make an impact on more than 200,000 lives. https://www.mbtmag.com/home/news/21208004/boeing-proves-super-hornet-can-skijump LOFT Adding Citation Excel Type Rating Program There is a new option for pilots seeking Cessna Citation 560XL training. LOFT, a Part 142 flight training operation in Carlsbad, California, is expanding its offerings from the current Citation 525 and Citation 560 (Citation V) programs to include initial and recurrent courses for the 560XL. I had the opportunity to fly LOFT’s new 560XL full-flight simulator recently. Built by Aeronautical Systems Engineering Training and Simulation (ASE) in Odessa, Florida, the new ASE 2000 series Level D simulator incorporates the latest visual display and electric motion and control loading technology. LOFT v-p Richard Sears joined me in the right seat as Collin Yantos, director of marketing, operated the simulator. Yantos positioned us on runway 22L at JFK. Our flight would be short: depart Runway 22L then vector around for an ILS on the same runway. The graphics on the RSI Visuals EPIC-View D-Series visual display on this simulator are some of the highest quality I’ve seen. I took some time to get familiarized with the flight deck layout and Honeywell Primus 1000 avionics. Sears calculated our performance data (weight, V speeds, etc.) and I entered the data into the avionics. In the meantime, Yantos was completing his set up of the simulator—weather, lighting, and other parameters. Power levers full forward, and with 7,300 pounds of thrust we rocketed down the runway. Richard made the callouts and when he said “Vr” I pulled back to our takeoff pitch. Positive rate of climb, gear up, and quickly it was time to retract the flaps. To stay under 200 kias immediate power reduction was necessary. Yantos vectored us around for the ILS. I hand flew the whole time, and the simulator had very smooth feedback. We had loaded the ILS into the FMS, and with the approach reference speed loaded were ready for the approach. Yantos had set the ceiling just a few hundred feet above the 212-foot decision altitude. We broke out early, and Sears made the visibility callouts and I stayed with my head down until minimums. We touched down, activated the thrust reversers, and both of us had smiles on our faces. A short, and fun, workout. LOFT and ASE worked two years on this simulator, leasing a Citation XLS and instrumenting it to capture data, which necessitated a change to the Experimental category. ASE then captured the data necessary to develop the flight model for the LOFT simulator. LOFT has simultaneously been developing its courseware for pending approval by the FAA. The next steps are for the FAA’s National Simulator Program to certify that the sim is an accurate representation of the actual aircraft, including precise sound levels in the flight deck. After that approval, the FAA’s San Diego FSDO will review the program, observe a full course with students, and if everything meets their approval add the course to LOFT’s Part 142 certificate. If everything goes as planned, LOFT should begin 560XL training by the second quarter of 2021. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2020-12-23/loft-adding-citation-excel-type-rating-program Houston Spaceport Slated to Become Home to the World's First Commercial Space Station Builder HOUSTON, Dec. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston Spaceport, the nation's 10th commercially licensed Spaceport, will be home to the world's first commercial space station builder, Axiom Space. The aerospace company announced plans to create a 14-acre headquarters campus to train private astronauts and begin production of its Axiom Station — the world's first free-flying, internationally available private space station that will serve as humanity's central hub for research, manufacturing and commerce in low Earth orbit. "While we have confronted the challenges of a global pandemic this year, our work to move our city forward never stops. Today's announcement is another leap that demonstrates how Houston embraces humankind's boldest challenges and lives-up to every bit of its namesake - The Space City," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. "With Axiom Space at the Houston Spaceport, we expect to energize our workforce by adding more than a thousand high-quality jobs and engage our communities that are focused and dedicated to the STEM fields." The new Axiom Space Headquarters campus will be located in phase one of the 400 acres Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport, EFD. The first phase, 153 acres, was completed in December and includes vital infrastructure like streets, utilities, robust communications systems. The Houston Spaceport is ideally located minutes from downtown Houston. "We had a vision of Houston Spaceport bringing together a cluster of aviation and aerospace enterprises that would support the future of commercial spaceflight," Houston Airports Aviation Director Mario Diaz said. "Today, we have an urban center for collaboration and ideation, a place where the brightest minds in the world can work closely together to lead us into the next frontier of space exploration." Axiom Space's Houston Spaceport headquarters campus will include the construction of approximately 322,000 square feet of facility space to accommodate Axiom Station modules and terminal building space to house private astronauts, operations, engineering and other requirements. The campus will have ease of access to the Ellington airfield. "Houston Spaceport represents an ideal headquarters location with its infrastructure and benefits as well as its co-location at Ellington Airport," Axiom Space CEO Mike Suffredini said. "The opportunity to build high-bay hangars where we can assemble the Axiom Station while simultaneously training our private astronauts for missions gives us the flexibility we need as we build the future of commercial space." The development is estimated to bring more than a thousand jobs to Houston, which already has one of the highest concentrations of engineering talent in the nation. Johnson Space Center, which employs more than 11,000 people and utilizes airfields at Ellington Airport, is just minutes from the Houston Spaceport. "Axiom Space's announcement is a game-changer for Houston as we extend our position as a commercial aerospace leader," President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, the economic development organization serving the Greater Houston area, Bob Harvey said. "Houston is a city built on innovation with a technology-focused workforce, and this move adds to the region's momentum as one of the country's leading next-generation tech hubs." One of Houston Spaceport's tenants includes Intuitive Machines, a private company that secured a NASA contract to build the NOVA-C Spacecraft, a nearly 13-foot lunar lander that will deliver cargo to the moon in 2021. San Jacinto College has also invested in building its Edge Center, the official education partner for Houston Spaceport that offers aerospace training and career pathways for students. "The same great environment that produced so many technological advancements in Houston's past is, once again, creating its next successful venture into space – Axiom Station – the world's first commercial space station," President of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Bob Mitchell said. "The synergies now being realized at the Houston Spaceport – between Houston's dynamic industry partners, its world class training and academic providers, and its far-sighted community investors – are not only benefitting Axiom but will only get stronger over time. We are all in this together and the best is yet to come!" https://www.aviationpros.com/airports/press-release/21203812/houston-airport-system-houston-spaceport-slated-to-become-home-to-the-worlds-first-commercial-space-station-builder Volansi to support USAF in developing unmanned aircraft American unmanned aerial vehicle logistics company Volansi is set to support the US Air Force (USAF) in developing the next generation of unmanned aircraft. Voly Defense Solutions (VDS), a subsidiary of the company, was selected by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) as an official vendor of the USAF’s Skyborg Vanguard Program. As one of the Skyborg vendors, VDS will be tasked with designing specific, to-be-determined aspects of the experimental aircraft. Overall, the multiple indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract is worth $400m in subsequent delivery orders. The plan of selecting multiple companies will help in creating a diverse and competitive vendor pool comprising several non-traditional and traditional contractors. Volansi co-founder and CEO Hannan Parvizian said: “Instead of awarding a winner-take-all contract, AFLCMC created a pool of competent companies they can rely on to tackle different parts and problems. “Put these together and the net result will be a portfolio of innovative, state-of-the-art solutions AFLCMC can pull from.” The Skyborg project seeks to develop capabilities that will help in developing family of unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV) to meet military requirements. https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/volansi-usaf-unmanned-aircraft/ SpaceX’s 9th Starship Prototype Is Ready For The Next Big Mars Test While clean-up work is still underway at SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch site following the historic test flight of Starship SN8 two weeks, the next prototype, SN9, has arrived at the launch pad as SpaceX prepares for the second high-altitude test of the future Mars-colonizing spacecraft. The 165-feet-tall stainless steel rocket was rolled out to the launch pad on Tuesday. It was the first time a Starship prototype arrived at the launch pad with (two of three) Rapter engines installed and the nosecone attached. (A third Rapter engine arrived at the launch site Wednesday morning.) The prototype was almost aborted in an accident earlier this month. On the morning of December 11, as SN9 was waiting for rollout in the “High Bay” storage building near the launch pad, an unknown issue caused the rocket’s workstand to partially collapse and tilt the rocket by about five degrees before colliding with a side wall. Thanks to the angle and direction toward which the SN9 fell, the rocket suffered only minor damages on the exterior, which were fixed in the following days. Although behind schedule, there’s still a chance SN9 will fly before the end of the year, depending on the results of pre-launch tests, likely including a cryogenic-proof test run with liquid nitrogen and a triple-engine static fire test. On December 7, the eighth Starship prototype, SN8, successfully completed a high-altitude flight to 12 kilometers and came back almost in one piece before exploding in the final seconds of a hard landing. SN9 is expected to fly to the same altitude and attempt a perfect landing. Its flight data will also determine how soon future prototypes will reach for the next goal of up to 20 kilometers. https://observer.com/2020/12/spacex-starship-sn9-ready-high-altitude-test/ Curt Lewis