August 5, 2021 - No. 60 In This Issue : DHL Express orders 12 electric cargo aircraft : New aviation centre to manufacture hydrogen aircraft in Washington : PULITZER TROPHY DUSTED OFF FOR ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT : Sustainable Aviation Fuels Aren’t Sustainable, Not Yet at Least : i6 Group Successfully Deploys Real-Time Fuel Management Technology for Boston Logan Consortium : Brazil’s Azul Adopts eVTOL Technology : The US Navy's New Solar Aircraft Will Fly For 90 Days Without Landing : Malaysia Airlines Partners with GE Digital to Modernize the Airline’s Fuel Analytics Platform : Civil Aviation Authority becomes UK space regulator and launches licencing regime : Autonomous cargo drone startup Elroy Air lands $40M Series A : SpaceX lifts huge Super Heavy rocket onto launch stand DHL Express orders 12 electric cargo aircraft DHL Express has ordered 12 fully electric Alice eCargo planes from US all-electric manufacturer Eviation. “We firmly believe in a future with zero-emission logistics,” said John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express. “Therefore, our investments always follow the objective of improving our carbon footprint. On our way to clean logistics operations, the electrification of every transport mode plays a crucial role and will significantly contribute to our overall sustainability goal of zero emissions. “Founded in 1969, DHL Express has been known as a pioneer in the aviation industry for decades. We have found the perfect partner with Eviation as they share our purpose, and together we will take off into a new era of sustainable aviation.” The Alice aircraft can be flown by a single pilot and will carry 1,200kg (2,600 lb). Its makers claim it will require 30 minutes or less to charge per flight hour and have a maximum range of up to 815km (440 nautical miles). “From day one, we set an audacious goal to transform the aviation industry and create a new era with electric aircraft,” said Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay. “Partnering with companies like DHL who are the leaders in sustainable e-cargo transportation is a testament that the electric era is upon us. This announcement is a significant milestone on our quest to transform the future of flight across the globe.” Travis Cobb, EVP global network operations and aviation for DHL Express, added, “With Alice’s range and capacity, this is a fantastic sustainable solution for our global network. Our aspiration is to make a substantial contribution in reducing our carbon footprint, and these advancements in fleet and technology will go a long way in achieving further carbon reductions. For us and our customers, this is a very important step in our decarbonization journey and a step forward for the aviation industry as a whole.” https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/vehicles-fleet/dhl-express-orders-12-electric-cargo-aircraft.html New aviation centre to manufacture hydrogen aircraft in Washington Hydrogen-converted Dash-8 regional turboprop aircraft are set to be manufactured at a new hydrogen aviation test and service centre at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington. Universal Hydrogen, magniX, Plug Power and AeroTEC on Wednesday (August 4) unveiled the new centre which will support the hydrogen Dash-8 to start commercial service in 2025. The hydrogen-powered aircraft has already received a considerable amount of attention, with early adaptors of the zero-carbon emission technology include Ravn Alaska, Icelandair and Spain’s Air Nostrum. All of the above have inked letters of intent with Universal Hydrogen to convert existing and future fleets to a hydrogen powertrain, and for long-term hydrogen fuel supply contracts using Universal Hydrogen’s modular capsule distribution network. The hydrogen powertrain comprises electric propulsion units from Everett-based magniX and fuel cells from Plug Power. AeroTEC will lead aircraft conversion, flight test and certification activities, drawing on its own extensive experience with electric aviation. On the latest developments, Emily Wittman, President of CEO of Seattle-based Aerospace Futures Alliance, said, “This is a game changer for the state, and, frankly, aviation. “The Universal Hydrogen, magniX, Plug Power and AeroTEC teams have demonstrated a clear and credible path to zero-carbon aviation in the near term. Their investment in Moses Lake puts Washington at the forefront of these efforts. The possibilities for our state’s aviation sector are enormous.” https://www.h2-view.com/story/new-aviation-centre-to-manufacture-hydrogen-aircraft-in-washington/ PULITZER TROPHY DUSTED OFF FOR ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT Five of the first six pilots to have their names engraved on the Pulitzer Trophy were military airmen clocked around a closed course at speeds starting at 157 mph in 1920, up to a blistering 248 mph by 1925. The trophy was created to inspire innovation, and particularly faster airplanes. That vintage trophy housed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum will be engraved with its first new name in 97 years in 2022, following completion of a 1,000-nautical-mile cross-country race by up to 25 electric aircraft. It remains to be seen how many electric aircraft will answer the call to spend two or three days (flying day VFR only) covering the distance between Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, and Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, North Carolina. (The National Aeronautic Association may have been tempted to set the finish line 5.97 nautical miles north at Kill Devil Hills, though First Flight Airport is only 999 nautical miles from Omaha; it has no electric charging infrastructure yet installed; and its amenities are limited to restrooms, a pilot lounge, and Wi-Fi.) Ralph Pulitzer, the son of Joseph Pulitzer (whose endowment allowed Columbia University to create the more famous Pulitzer Prize that recognizes excellence in journalism, photography, literature, history, poetry, music, and drama), created the original air races to give early aircraft designers an incentive to improve distance over time. The younger Pulitzer, a newspaper publisher himself, sponsored six closed-circuit races against the clock that were dominated by military aircraft and were the forerunners of the Stihl National Championship Air Races of the present day. NAA (founded in 1905 as The Aero Club of America) seeks to recapture the magic of the great airplane races of yesteryear, and tapped retired U.S. Air Force pilot Scott Neumann to serve as director of the Pulitzer Electric Aircraft Race, which was announced July 21 at the (virtual) Electric Aircraft Symposium held just ahead of EAA AirVenture. Neumann’s briefing, later posted on YouTube, described the upcoming event as a “resumption” of the original Pulitzer races that were conducted six times between 1920 and 1925. The first was held on Long Island in November 1920, when U.S. Army Lt. Corliss Moseley took home a gold iteration of the actual Pulitzer Trophy (a silver-clad bronze sculpture designed by Mario Josef Korbel) as a tangible take-home prize that was destined to be sold for $16,966 in a 2011 auction. Moseley went on to help found Western Air Express in 1924; Bert Acosta, the only civilian pilot in that first Pulitzer race, finished third, though he went on to win the 1921 race in Omaha, where the 2022 event is scheduled to begin, and remains the only civilian to claim the trophy—a distinction that may be erased next year. Neumann said the race rules allow up to 25 participants to fly piloted, heavier-than-air aircraft (drones are not eligible) of any type, across a route chosen in part for its relatively benign terrain. Recognizing that many potential entrants are still in a relatively early stage of development, there will be no flying at night, and only the time between liftoff and landing, as recorded by on-board GPS devices provided by NAA, will count toward the race time. Electric propulsion is a must, though that electricity can be stored in any combination of batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, optionally augmented by solar panels. Vertical takeoff and landing aircraft are welcome, as well as fixed-wing airplanes. “We wanted to design a race that advances electric aviation technology, and promotes public acceptance of electric aviation, by flying real aircraft in real airspace, landing at real airports,” Neumann said. “We have designed the Pulitzer Electric Aircraft Race to provide an open canvas for design innovations, and to be a sort of flying expo for the electric aviation industry.” Neumann said race registration will open in December. He encouraged more sponsors to join the first two: Signature Flight Support and FlightAware, which will allow the public to track the progress of each race aircraft online in real time. It was not immediately clear who will be lining up to race from Omaha to (near) Kitty Hawk, with several recharging stops almost certainly required due to physics and current battery capacity. There are more than 300 electric VTOL aircraft currently in development, and a few electric airplanes already in service, with more on the way. Messages sent to about half a dozen industry leaders produced some expressions of curiosity, but no firm commitments. One other organization will be participating for sure: Carrot, an organization that promotes science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, will get elementary school students (grades 5 and 6) engaged in STEM learning activities built around the race, Neumann said. Neumann closed his pitch urging potential participants to “build us into your plans … this is going to be a great opportunity to do some operational testing with these aircraft in a realistic environment, and a clear signal to investors and buyers that these aircraft are really ready to go places.” https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2021/august/04/pulitzer-trophy-dusted-off-for-electric-aircraft Sustainable Aviation Fuels Aren’t Sustainable, Not Yet at Least Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are attractive to the aviation industry because they provide a large reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with little changes to current technology. SAF is a drop-in solution meaning current aircraft can use a 50 percent blend of SAF and Jet A with no modifications. It can also provide up to an 80 percent reduction in emissions compared to jet fuel. Because of these benefits, many companies have cited SAF as a major part of their strategy to get to net-zero emissions. Alaska Air Group GEO Ben Minicucci spoke in a June 30 Washington Post Live event about the company’s strategy to get to net zero emissions by 2040 and cited SAF as the most impactful solution in their plan. “...A big one, is sustainable aviation fuels,” Minicucci said. “This is probably the biggest enabler to get to 2040. There is a lot of work being done with the government on a SAF blender's tax benefit and there's a lot being done with industry to increase the amount of sustainable aviation fuel. So this will be a huge one, something that we all have to work out because it will have the largest impact.” While the aviation industry has found an environmentally sustainable technology in SAF, the technology to produce it is not yet economically sustainable. SAF currently costs four times as much as conventional jet fuel and it makes up less than one percent of fuel available in the market. “Right now, the cost of sustainable aviation fuel on its own without any incentives, if you will, would cost maybe four or five times that of existing petroleum fuels and that's not sustainable for the industry,” Sheila Dillard, the director of the bioenergy technologies office at the Department of Energy’s Office of energy efficiency and renewable energy, told Aviation Today. Experts in the aviation industry say that there is no one solution to increasing the supply of SAF, but a combination of policy incentives, capital investments, and time is necessary for these fuels to be an effective sustainable solution for the industry. Paul Stein, chief technology officer at Rolls-Royce PLC, compared the need for the development of SAF to the current COVID-19 vaccination production during a panel discussion at the remotely hosted Farnborough International Airshow Connect on July 14. “Just have a look at the current vaccination crisis around the world and just how much the world has re-industrialized to produce billions of doses of vaccine,” Stein said. “It’s that sort of spirit that's going to be required to get the scale into sustainable aviation fuels, and I think it's entirely possible.” Some in the industry are looking towards governments and policy programs to increase SAF. Naveed Hussain, chief technology officer and vice president and general manager at Boeing Research & Technology, said that to accelerate the scale of SAF available, there need to be incentive programs. “That's going to involve a number of different elements, certainly things like incentive programs to make SAF economically competitive with Jet A for airlines and economically attractive relative to transport fuels for fuel producers, access to capital to enable the development of these new production capacities by the incumbents and also the startup fuel producers, and stable and predictable government policies to reduce the risk and enable a government support mechanisms to de-risk this capital,” Hussain said during the Farnborough International Airshow Connect on July 14. California has adopted the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) which works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by setting annual carbon intensity (CI) standards which reduce overtime for gasoline, diesel, and the fuels that replace them. The LCFS gives credits to fuels with low CIs and deficits for high CIs. Dillard cited this policy for encouraging the production of SAF. “Currently there is a policy of California, the LCFS, and that has enabled some initial deployment of the fats, oils, and grease technology pathways that are out there today because they're getting an incentive for the CO2 reduction,” Dillard said. “That's really helpful in overcoming that barrier, right, of that risk. We're able to test those technologies there, we're able to look at how that's working, and it helps drive our research strategy.” There is legislation in Congress that could provide a similar blender’s tax credit for SAF nationwide. The Sustainable Skies Act would establish a $1.50 per gallon tax credit for SAF that reduces emissions by 50 percent. The Department of Energy has a $250 million budget allocated to research, development, and demonstration activities related to finding new pathways to create SAF, Dillard said. The pathways describe how SAF is produced. There are currently eight different pathways certified to produce SAF. Some companies like Neste—a Finland-based oil refining and marketing company—are using old cooking oils to make SAF through a process called hydro-treated esters and fatty acid (HEFA) that uses hydrogen to turn the oils into SAF, Pratik Chandhoke, technical services manager of renewable aviation at Neste, told Aviation Today. “Our SAF is produced from sustainable feedstock waste residues such as used cooking oil and animal fat, and then actually goes through a very, very involved process of getting it processed and certified,” Chandhoke said. “Generally, it's very similar to jet fuel processing. This same kind of technology; it's hydroprocessing, removing the oxygen component then further processing it to hydrocarbons. So very similar to an oil refinery. The only difference is that the feedstock is not from non-fossil sources.” The Department of Energy and USDA have found that the nation could produce one billion tons of sustainable biomass feedstock from these used cooking oils, Dillard said. “We in the Department of Energy, working closely with USDA, developed a billion tonnes report, which is really 15 years of resource assessment and understanding the science behind the biomass feedstocks, and what we have done is identified that the nation could produce one billion tons of sustainable biomass feedstock pretty much without interrupting the existing markets for food feed, fiber, and any other possible uses of that biomass,” Dillard said. “So this would be the additional biomass that could be produced, simply for energy production.” However, these feedstocks will not be enough to sustain the amount of SAF the aviation industry will need to meet its goals while following sustainable practices. This is why the Department of Energy and private industry are researching other pathways to develop SAF. SkyNRG Americas is creating SAF from garbage, John Plaza, CEO of SkyNRG told Aviation Today. Plaza said that they take municipal solid waste in landfills and capture the methane that is emitted to create SAF. “SkyNRG America's focus is really on garbage and the related sort of components of garbage,” Plaza said. “So we focus on municipal solid waste that ends up in a landfill...a near term opportunity we think is most interesting is to take the landfill gas, the methane that is emitted, collected, and either flared or used for making electricity or other things, to convert that into sustainable aviation fuel.” Plaza said that using methane in this way could result in five billion gallons of SAF. That type of potential lead Boeing to partner with SkyNRG in an effort to accelerate SAF development globally. Alaska Airlines is a partner as well. “The analysis from the Department of Energy, the EPA, and others who analyze this biogenic methane [says] if we were to capture 20 percent of what's being emitted today, we could produce about five billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel,” Plaza said. The problem is that to produce and distribute all of this SAF, there needs to be infrastructure. “Well, like any industrial fuel refining facility, there's the need to find the right location to build it, the feedstocks need to be secured, the engineering and permitting process can be arduous and lengthy,” Plaza said. “This isn't any different for any other facility if you think about the petroleum refinery industry, we face a lot less challenging than that industry, but it's still a new refinery so that that's a complex process.” Neste has been able to convert some of its conventional refineries to process SAF. Chris Cooper, VP of Renewable Aviation at Neste, said that the company has been able to accomplish this at refineries in Puerto Rico and Finland. “In the form of proof of concept, Neste has accomplished it...We're using a conventional refinery, we retooled the conventional refinery, we use common transportation and logistics such as pipelines, marine transportation, and even road transportation, where applicable,” Cooper said. “We also use infrastructure such as terminals or blending facilities that we need and common pipelines.” While policy support and investments are pushing along the development of SAF, there is no magic solution that can make SAF appear in the market. “We need to build capacity and that takes time,” Plaza said. “It's not something that happens quickly, it's a sophisticated process technology. There are long development cycles for these big industrial facilities.” The goal that the airline industry has set for itself is two billion gallons of SAF by 2030. There will be a lot of factors that go into meeting this timeline so it is hard to predict if its attainable, Dillard said. “We hope to bring more of these technologies closer to commercialization, which will accelerate the timeline,” Dillard said. “So I would say that we have a full approach looking between now, 2030 and 2050 when we really need to meet President Biden's aggressive decarbonization goals, and we believe we can fully decarbonize the aviation sector in that timeframe. Sustainable aviation fuel plays a very important role in that, it's not the only technology that's working to decarbonize aviation, but it is a critical technology.” https://www.aviationtoday.com/2021/08/05/sustainable-aviation-fuels-arent-sustainable-not-yet-least/ i6 Group Successfully Deploys Real-Time Fuel Management Technology for Boston Logan Consortium i6 Group, a global pioneer in fuel management technology, has completed the deployment of both hardware and software integrations for BOSFUEL, a consortium of airline operators at Boston Logan International Airport. The airport fuel supply chain is now connected in real-time through cloud-based software, secure technology, and i6-enabled fuel vehicles and carts. The solution provides BOSFUEL with the most accurate and advanced fuel management platform available - allowing for increased operational efficiencies. As a member of the BOSFUEL aviation fuel distribution system, JetBlue Airways has fully implemented i6’s offerings at Boston Logan, with plans to expand throughout the airline’s network. The company continues to invest in i6’s success through its venture capital subsidiary, JetBlue Technology Ventures. “We had a chance to see the i6 systems leveraged in our Boston operation, and we were all very happy to see how satisfied our frontline teams were with the product. The amount of time saved and reduced touchpoints from the automated processes has truly made i6 implementation an easy decision for both our operational and commercial stakeholders, and will ultimately aid in our emissions reporting,” said Michael Brocker, director assistant, treasurer and fuel, JetBlue Airways. The deployment features i6’s Reconcile6 technology, an IRS-compliant solution for inventory management, reconciliation, loss and gain calculations, and real-time tank insights. This ensures airlines greater visibility, control, and security over fuel stock levels and movements, and represents a crucial next step for the aviation industry in light of the recent disruption and volatility in fuel supply Reconcile6’s implementation complements the already-installed Fusion6 platform, which provides full remote visibility of ground fueling operations by connecting data from airports to airlines, as well as the existing eHandshake, technology that digitizes the aircraft refueling process. The complete solution now allows BOSFUEL to track the fuel supply chain process in real-time—setting a new standard for North American aviation. “We’re delighted to announce the successful launch in Boston. This is a huge milestone for us and we look forward to welcoming many other airlines and the U.S. airport consortiums onto our platform,” said Steve Uhrmacher, CEO, i6 Group These innovative solutions allow i6 Group to solidify its position as the preferred partner for digitization across airlines, airports, and into-plane operators. Their approach puts stakeholders at the heart of their growing product ecosystem, offering frictionless collaboration between separate organizations. As the aviation industry begins to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and fuel demand and costs increase, i6 offers new ways of using data to improve efficiency, transparency, and sustainability. https://www.aviationpros.com/gse/fueling-equipment-accessories/press-release/21233046/jetblue-airways-i6-group-successfully-deploys-realtime-fuel-management-technology-for-boston-logan-consortium Brazil’s Azul Adopts eVTOL Technology Brazilian domestic carrier Azul and electric aircraft manufacturer Lilium Air Mobility have announced a $1 billion deal to establish a network of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft across the country. The agreement would create a strategic alliance between the two companies, with Azul purchasing and operating 220 seven-seater Lilium Jets beginning in 2025. Azul would maintain the aircraft while Lilium would provide an aircraft health monitoring platform, replacement batteries and other custom spare parts. The deal is subject to both parties finalizing commercial terms, according to the announcement from Lilium. The Munich-based firm has previously announced plans to launch networks in Germany through partnerships with Munich, Nuremberg, Dusseldorf, and Cologne Bonn airports. Brazil “is currently one of the world’s leading civilian helicopter and business aviation markets,” with nearly 100 million domestic air passengers each year, according to Lilium. “Azul is the largest domestic airline in Brazil in terms of cities served and daily departures,” said John Rodgerson, CEO of Azul. “As we did in the Brazilian domestic market over the last 13 years, we look forward to again, now with the Lilium Jet, working to create a whole new market in the years to come.” In February United Airlines signed a deal with Archer Aviation, a manufacturer sustainable air mobility solutions, to accelerate the production of its own fleet of eVTOL aircraft. And in June, the carrier also announced an agreement to purchase 100 ES-19 electric aircraft manufactured by Gothenburg, Sweden-based startup Heart Aerospace. https://www.businesstravelerusa.com/business-traveler-usa-story/brazils-azul-adopts-evtol-technology/ The US Navy's New Solar Aircraft Will Fly For 90 Days Without Landing The US Navy is working on an uncrewed aircraft called Skydweller that is capable of staying in the air for 90 days without needing to land thanks to large strips of solar panels on both of its wings, a report by New Scientist explains. The company behind the aircraft, Skydweller Aero, is a U.S.-Spanish aerospace firm developing the technology to enable the U.S. Navy to keep a constant watchful eye over the areas surrounding its ships. In order to stay airborne for so long, the 236-foot wingspan aircraft houses 2,900 square feet (269.4188 meters) of photovoltaic cells, allowing it to generate up to 2 kilowatts of power. Skydweller Aero also plans to fit its aircraft with hydrogen fuel cells as a backup in case the solar energy harvesting plane goes through a prolonged spell of bad weather. The Skydweller is a new iteration on the Solar Impulse 2, a crewed solar aircraft that traversed the globe in 2015 and 2016. Skydweller Aero founders John Parkes and Robert Miller purchased the intellectual property and machinery of the Swiss Solar Impulse project before setting out to make their own aircraft. Solar aircraft will be a huge cost saver for the US Navy For Skydweller, the company removed the pilot, allowing for a longer range and more payload capacity. The new aircraft can hold approximately 800 lb (360 kg) of radar and camera equipment, according to Aviation Today. "For us, if you’re flying 90 days with one aircraft, that’s two takeoffs and landings versus… hundreds," John Parkes told Aviation Today in June. "Being able to fly thousands of miles, persist over an area for 30-60 days and fly back is a differentiator," Parkes continued. "It’s a huge cost savings to the U.S. government when you look at the whole cost of doing a lot of the national security missions that we have." Skydweller Aero aims to test autonomous flight, including autonomous take-off, landing, and fully autonomous flight tests over the coming months. Once those tests are complete, it will then start long-endurance testing, with the goal of operating for 90 days or more at a time. As is often the case with military and space technologies, the new technology, which constitutes a great leap for renewable energy-powered flight, will likely eventually find its way to powering civilian aircraft in one form or another. https://interestingengineering.com/the-us-navys-new-solar-aircraft-will-fly-for-90-days-without-landing Malaysia Airlines Partners with GE Digital to Modernize the Airline’s Fuel Analytics Platform SAN RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 4, 2021-- Malaysia Airlines and GE Digital are pleased to announce a collaboration to transform and modernize the airline’s fuel efficiency program by adopting GE Digital’s Fuel Insight and FlightPulse aviation software as part of the airline’s on-going initiative to meet its sustainability goals. Malaysia Airlines modernizes its fuel analytics platform with GE Digital's Fuel Insight and FlightPulse aviation software. Photo Courtesy of Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines has implemented various initiatives including efficiency measures, investments in sustainability solutions, and waste reduction across its operations to address sustainability goals. The fuel efficiency program has been running for more than a decade, contributing to a 15% fuel burn improvement recorded over the past eight years. Data analytics has been a cornerstone of the program with various improvements made in systems infrastructure and capabilities. As a part of this focus, the airline embraces technologies by GE Digital to facilitate efficient and digitally-connected operations. Fuel Insight is a cost and emissions monitoring solution that works by understanding data from the aircraft to uncover valuable intelligence that help increase fuel efficiency and reduce waste. The software uses GE Digital’s Event Measurement System (EMS) aviation data and analytics platform to merge flight data with flight plans, load sheets and fuel uplift data, identify the most attainable fuel savings opportunities, and track the incremental savings across the operation. Fuel Insight gives operators actionable intelligence at multiple levels allowing analysts to drill down macro trends to understand issues on a per-flight level. FlightPulse puts data directly into the hands of pilots, allowing them to visualize their savings over time. Pilots who understand their own performance can adjust their flight plans to maximize safety and fuel efficiency. Secure benchmarking and data sharing lets crew members see their contribution to projects and dramatically shortens the feedback loop. Group Operations Officer of Malaysia Airlines, Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi said, “Advocating sustainability in all of our operations has always been the primary goal for Malaysia Airlines. We look forward to such collaboration that contributes to the airline’s efforts to accelerate our sustainability goals. Digitalization is a core component of our Long Term Business Plan and we have seen how these efforts bring immediate value especially in the area of fuel efficiency. Through these solutions, we seek to play a greater part in building a legacy for future generations and enhancing our own airline’s sustainability efforts.” Malaysia Airlines evaluated the software with an extensive team of pilots, dispatchers, and analysts who endorsed the software solution, which is hosted on GE Digital’s EMS Platform. EMS is built on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform providing compute, data, and security services. Additionally, GE Digital provides the tools for Malaysia Airlines to build their own big data analytics and leverage modern tools for data analysis including AI/Machine Learning. These analytics can be leveraged by pilots to make informed fuel decisions and departure briefings before flight and secure access to data from the pilot’s personal flight history, allowing them to analyze their aircraft operation with their peers and discover areas to optimize operations and efficiency for future flights. “GE is committed to environmental excellence and that includes ensuring that our customers are empowered to reduce the impact of their technology and environmental footprint within their operations,” said Andrew Coleman, General Manager of GE Digital’s Aviation Software business. “These solutions will help Malaysia Airlines to leverage software to improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.” The solution, which is easily configured and deployed, will be implemented by the GE Digital Aviation Software teams in Austin, Texas and Shanghai, China. More information about GE Digital’s Aviation Software solutions can be found here. About Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines is the national carrier of Malaysia, offering the best way to fly to, from and around Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines carries up to 40,000 guests daily on memorable journeys inspired by Malaysia’s diverse richness. Malaysia Airlines embodies the incredible diversity of Malaysia, capturing its rich traditions, cultures and cuisines via its inimitable Malaysian Hospitality across all customer touch points. Since September 2015, the airline has been owned and operated by Malaysia Airlines Berhad. It is part of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), a global aviation organisation that comprises of different aviation business portfolios aimed at serving Malaysian air travel needs. Via our alliance with one world ®, Malaysia Airlines offers superior connectivity with seamless journeys to 1,000 destinations across 150 plus countries, and access to over 650 airport lounges worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.malaysiaairlines.com About GE Digital GE Digital transforms how our customers solve their toughest challenges by putting industrial data to work. Our mission is to bring simplicity, speed, and scale to digital transformation activities, with industrial software that delivers breakthrough business outcomes. GE Digital’s product portfolio – including grid optimization and analytics, asset and operations performance management, and manufacturing operations and automation – helps industrial companies in the utility, power generation, oil & gas, aviation, and manufacturing sectors change the way industry works. For more information, visit www.ge.com/digital. https://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/business/malaysia-airlines-partners-with-ge-digital-to-modernize-the-airline-s-fuel-analytics-platform/article_43456114-8e06-5deb-9e86-69fc983afe86.html Civil Aviation Authority becomes UK space regulator and launches licencing regime The UK Civil Aviation Authority has become the UK’s space regulator. The regulator is open for business to any UK or international company that wants to operate under a UK space licence. As part of its new responsibilities, the CAA is launching a fully tested digital application system that has been developed to allow space companies in all forms – commercial spaceflight technologies, satellite construction and operations, traditional vertically launched vehicles, air-launched vehicles, and balloons as well as spaceports, and range service providers – to start their licence application. The estimated time for the delivery of a launch licence is between 9-18 months depending on complexity and the quality of preparations by licence applicants. The CAA expects the first launch licence will be granted next year to meet the UK Government’s ambition of the first orbital rocket launch for satellites in Europe in 2022. Industry operators will be able to hold a licence that covers multiple launches. The regulator’s approach has been designed to help make the UK home to the world’s safest and most innovative space industries. Colin Macleod, head of UK space regulation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority said, “For the last 18 months we have been preparing to become the regulator. We have built an experienced team working across policy, engineering and licensing, in the space sector. We have developed and tested the processes and systems we need to ensure the licensing regime works. And we have been working with the wider space industry to explain what the regulations mean, how the new framework will work, and how they apply. This means space companies can apply for a licence as soon as they are ready. “We will act in a safe, secure and sustainable manner to protect the people and property involved, other airspace users and enable a growing and active space industry.” Richard Moriarty, chief executive at the UK Civil Aviation Authority said, “The UK already has a leading satellite industry and can capitalise on further growth within the space sector. The regulatory framework that the Government is putting in place allows for innovation and new technology underpinned by high standards of safety and security. Space will be embedded within the CAA’s wider ecosystem, drawing on, and contributing to, wider experience and expertise across the organisation. We will be an open, effective and proportionate regulator.” The UK is well-placed to capitalise on the growth of the space sector, with the right geography, business environment and a thriving industry all underpinned by a safety regulatory regime that has the highest standards of public protection, while being proportionate and enabling innovation and technology to thrive. Working with the Department for Transport, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the UK Space Agency, the CAA recognises its important role in the development of the UK space industry. The licensing process will require applicants to provide a detailed assessment of safety and security considerations, including, a comprehensive safety case, an environmental assessment, financial resources, security and cyber risk mitigation. The CAA will only regulate where it has to and will tailor its approach to meet the specific needs of each and every space mission. In doing this, the benefits of the regulation will outweigh any burden or cost imposed. This has been the case with aviation innovators and is a principle that the regulator will apply to the space industry. A full assessment of the application, including seeking independent assurance, will then follow, before finally seeking the Secretary of State’s consent for the licence to be issued. The CAA will also carry out monitoring and oversight as operations are conducted. As the UK’s airspace regulator, the CAA will also handle any temporary or airspace changes required to enable space activities from UK soil to take place. https://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com/news/civil-aviation-authority-becomes-uk-space-regulator-and-launches-licencing-regime.html Autonomous cargo drone startup Elroy Air lands $40M Series A Elroy Air has raised a $40 million Series A, including financing from Lockheed Martin’s venture capital arm, to ramp up the building, testing and validation of its inaugural autonomous cargo drone. The funding round saw participation from Marlinspike Capital and Prosperity7, as well as existing investors Catapult Ventures, DiamondStream Partners, Side X Side Management, Shield Capital Partners and Precursor Ventures. This latest round brings Elroy’s total raised to $48 million to date. The four-and-a-half-year-old company was founded by David Merrill and Clint Cope. “We started the company with this dual insight that the enabling technology was within reach, was here to build larger drones […] and that there would be a lot of useful things that larger systems can support,” Merrill said in a recent interview with TechCrunch. Elroy is focused on building what Kofi Asante, Elroy’s VP of strategy and business development, called “a dual-use system,” fit for both the defense industry and the commercial market. Elroy’s flagship autonomous cargo aircraft, Chaparral, is designed to fly at a 300-mile range, carry 300-500 pounds of cargo and have automated flying and cargo handling capabilities. The idea is to minimize the need for humans not only in the pilot seat, but on the ground, manually loading and unloading payload. Unlike other competitors in the space, Chaparral is hybrid electric, equipped with all-electric propulsors, a generator and a turboshaft jet engine. The generator is used mostly during take-off and landing, both of which are energy-intensive, as a way to boost power to the rotors. Its propulsion system is a key differentiator between Elroy Air’s product and companies that are building eVTOL air taxis, like Joby Aviation. “What we heard from our customers was that they needed longer routes, longer-range missions than what today’s battery technology can actually support,” Elroy Air CEO David Merrill said. “It became pretty clear to us that we needed an alternative supply-side power plan on a vehicle.” Another differentiator from other VTOLs is that Elroy has decoupled the cargo pod from the drone via the automated cargo handling function. Through a combination of GPS and sensing technology, the drone can pick up and drop off cargo automatically. The design is meant to maximize efficiency and free up humans for packing and staging the cargo pods. This functionality could be especially useful in defense settings, as missions like resupply for soldiers can sometimes pose risks to pilot, crew and cargo handlers. “More generally, there’s this interest across the national security community of having logistics be more nimble and automated, and this shift from big expensive aircraft that you don’t have very many of to smaller, lower-cost aircraft that you can have more of,” Merrill said. The company has a handful of next steps it needs to take before it starts flying for either defense or commercial customers. On the defense side, Elroy will begin flight validation with the U.S. Air Force and the Navy next year. The company has a Phase 3 Small Business Innovation Research contract with the Air Force via Agility Prime, part of which is doing flight operations with these next systems. The company would likely be able to start commercial operations abroad, in places that have different regulatory standards, before going through the full certification process here in the U.S. with the Federal Aviation Administration. It will need to achieve both a Type Certificate and a Part 135 certificate before it can start building out its business domestically. They’re staying flexible about potentially selling Chaparral systems to companies that want to operate the network themselves, and operating Chaparral systems itself as a full-service cargo airline. “The space of drone delivery has risen up quickly with small last-mile drones […] and now this new chapter is opening for middle-mile [cargo delivery],” Merrill said. “We’re excited that the technology is ready to support this, customers want it, and we’ve built a team and assembled the funds to go after it.” https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/04/autonomous-cargo-drone-startup-elroy-air-lands-40m-series-a/ SpaceX lifts huge Super Heavy rocket onto launch stand Super Heavy is on the launch stand. On Tuesday (Aug. 3), SpaceX rolled its first true Super Heavy booster from its assembly facility in South Texas a few kilometers down the road to its launch site. And on Wednesday (Aug. 4), the company hoisted the 230-foot-tall (70 meters) rocket onto the launch stand using a giant crane. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk was on hand to watch the action, and he tweeted out some photos to give the rest of us a taste. On Wednesday, for example, he posted three pictures of the Super Heavy crane lift, including one providing an up-close look at the rocket's 29 Raptor engines. Super Heavy is the first stage of SpaceX's two-stage, fully reusable Starship system, which the company is developing to send people and cargo to Mars and other distant destinations. The upper stage is a 165-foot-tall (50 m) spacecraft known as Starship. Starship spacecraft prototypes have flown before. This past May, for instance, a vehicle known as SN15 aced a 6.2-mile-high (10 kilometers) test flight into the South Texas sky. Super Heavy has yet to fly, but SpaceX aims to change that soon. The recently moved Super Heavy, known as Booster 4, is being prepped for an orbital test flight, which will also feature the SN20 Starship prototype. (On Tuesday, Musk tweeted a photo of SN20's six Raptor engines, which technicians had just installed.) Booster 4 will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico a few minutes after liftoff, whereas SN20 will power itself to orbit, make one lap around Earth, and then come down in the Pacific Ocean, near the Hawaiian island of Kauai. SpaceX wants to launch that mission in the next few months, but it's unclear exactly when it will get off the ground. The company still needs to perform a variety of checkouts and tests on Booster 4 and SN20, and there are some logistical boxes to tick as well. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is currently conducting an environmental review of Starship's launch operations, for example, and its end date is unknown. https://www.space.com/spacex-super-heavy-lifted-launch-stand-photos Curt Lewis