Starship and the Super Heavy booster finally made it back to Earth following the spacecraft’s fourth integrated flight test (IFT-4), which was the main goal of the mission that launched from Boca Chica, Texas. As SpaceX put it, “the payload for this test was the data.”

Super Heavy splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico after jettisoning from Starship about four minutes into the flight. Starship, meanwhile, flew nearly halfway around the world over the course of about 40 minutes before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

External cameras and on board Starlink satellites gave viewers a rare live look at Starship’s reentry into Earth’s atmosphere from its suborbital flight path. The video feed appeared to show the loss of several heat shield tiles and damage to one of the flaps—which control the vehicle as it decelerates from hypersonic speeds—as plasma built up around the spacecraft.

Live footage cut in and out several times, prompting cheers from the SpaceX team each time the feed was restored. Crews toasted marshmallows in celebration of Starship’s inaugural landing burn, which slowed it down for a “soft” ocean landing. Then, finally, after much anticipation, the gargantuan spacecraft splashed down for the first time at T-plus 1 hour and 6 minutes.

“Despite loss of many tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made it all the way to a soft landing in the ocean!” said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in a post on X, the social media platform he acquired in 2022. “Congratulations @SpaceX team on an epic achievement!!”

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who is betting on Starship to complete the necessary test flights in time for SpaceX to prepare a Starship Human Landing System (HLS) for the Artemis III mission—NASA’s first lunar landing attempt since the Apollo missions—also sang the praises of IFT-4.

After successfully making it to suborbit and back, the arrow is pointing up for Starship.

Each of the spacecraft’s first two integrated test flights ended in explosions, and its third was cut short just after reentering the atmosphere. All three attempts resulted in the spacecraft’s grounding by the FAA.

But SpaceX painted these as successes. According to the company, Starship’s development falls under its philosophy of rapid design iteration. Essentially, the firm is okay with blowing up a few rockets if it can collect data that helps it hone the design, increasing the chances of success on future launches.

A reentry and soft landing was the primary objective of Thursday’s flight test, validating that Starship and Super Heavy—which are designed to be reusable—could survive the extreme conditions during approach and landing.

At present, it’s unclear whether the extent of the damage will prevent the rocket from flying again. But with both stages back on Earth, it seems unlikely that the FAA would move to ground Starship for a fourth time.

“The fourth flight of Starship made major strides to bring us closer to a rapidly reusable future,” SpaceX said in an update on its website. “Its accomplishments will provide data to drive improvements as we continue rapidly developing Starship into a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, Mars, and beyond.”

That would mean Musk and SpaceX can turn to the next step in Artemis preparations: an in-orbit propellant transfer demonstration. Following that, Starship will need to complete an uncrewed lunar landing, which could require multiple launches.

The final phase will be a crewed flight test, in which the spacecraft will land billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman on the moon. Isaacman is the driving force behind the Polaris Program, which in 2022 purchased three flights from SpaceX in an effort to advance human spaceflight. The program’s first mission, Polaris Dawn, is expected to launch this summer on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. It will culminate in the crewed flight of Starship.

It’s difficult to gauge exactly how many Starship launches SpaceX will need to complete before the rocket is certified for routine missions. But the company is under a time crunch.

Already, Artemis III has been pushed back from 2025 to September 2026. And NASA, facing competition from Russia, China, and others to expand the envelope for human spaceflight, will likely want to stick to that timeline.

If that’s the case, SpaceX will need to see continued positive results from rapid design interaction. The good news is that Starship appears to be on the right trajectory.

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post SpaceX Starship’s Fourth Test Flight Is Rocket’s Most Successful Yet appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

On Wednesday morning, the autonomous, semireusable space capsule—intended for 10 service missions to the International Space Station (ISS) under a multibillion contract between the aerospace manufacturer and NASA—finally lifted off with humans for the first time.

The long-delayed mission, called the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT), will take NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the orbital laboratory, where they will conduct an array of tests and evaluations of the spacecraft, its systems, and equipment.

The CFT is expected to be Starliner’s final flight test, demonstrating its capabilities with astronauts on board before NASA moves to certify it for Commercial Crew rotation missions to the ISS. The first of these, Starliner-1, could take place as early as next year.

An initial CFT launch attempt on May 6 was scrubbed, and the mission was postponed several times before finally taking flight. But Wilmore and Williams are now well on their way to the space station, where they are expected to dock Thursday at 12:15 p.m. EDT.

We Have Liftoff

Starliner lifted off from the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday at 10:52 a.m. EDT as teams had planned.

Carrying the capsule into orbit was United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket, which is making its 100th flight. Atlas V, when stacked together with Starliner, stands over 170 feet tall and generated some 1.6 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.

The liftoff represented the first time humans have hitched a ride on either Starliner or Atlas V. Williams became the first woman to fly on the maiden voyage of a crewed spacecraft.

After achieving Max Q—the moment the rocket faces the greatest amount of pressure as it climbs through the atmosphere—Starliner successfully separated from Atlas V at suborbit, just under 15 minutes into the mission. From this point on, the astronauts will be on their own.

About half an hour into the mission, Starliner executed a successful insertion burn to place it in stable orbit, from which the capsule will embark on an approximately 24-hour journey to the ISS. The spacecraft will dock with the orbital laboratory’s Harmony module Thursday afternoon, and Williams and Wilmore will disembark to join the crew of NASA’s Expedition 71 for a weeklong stay.

Setting the Stage

Throughout the CFT, the astronauts will work to prepare Starliner for certification.

The performance of equipment such as suits and seats was assessed during prelaunch and ascent. As Starliner rendezvous with the space station, the crew will conduct further testing of life support equipment, manual and automated navigation systems, and thruster performance in the scenario of a manual abort. While capable of flying on its own, the capsule can be commanded manually, and crews have failsafes at their disposal at different points in the flight path.

After assessing Starliner’s autonomous docking capabilities and the opening and closing of its hatch, the astronauts will configure the spacecraft for its stay and move emergency equipment into the ISS. Once they are settled, teams will perform checks of displays, cargo systems, and the vehicle itself.

Williams and Wilmore will also try to prove that the capsule could serve as a “safe haven” in the event of depressurization, fire, or collision with debris impacting the orbital laboratory.

On their return trip, the astronauts will briefly test out Starliner’s manual piloting capabilities. As it approaches Earth’s atmosphere, the capsule will slow from its orbital velocity of 17,500 mph and touch down in one of four locations in the Western U.S., using a combination of parachutes and airbags.

A Calculated Risk

If all goes according to plan, Starliner could launch on its first Commercial Crew rotation mission for NASA in the first half of next year. However, the space agency, Boeing, and ULA are taking a calculated risk with the mission.

A helium leak traced to one of the 28 reaction control system thrusters on Starliner’s service module—which helps maneuver the capsule while in orbit—is responsible for a few of the spacecraft’s recent setbacks. NASA describes the leak as small and stable.

But in a scenario Steve Stich, who manages the Commercial Crew program, described as “a pretty diabolical case, where you would lose two helium manifolds in two separate [thrusters]” that are next to one another, Starliner could be unable to perform a deorbit burn. That’s the maneuver that allows it to slow down from orbital speeds as it reenters the atmosphere.

NASA estimated the likelihood of this occurring at 0.77 percent. As a contingency, it and Boeing developed a modified deorbit burn procedure which they say has been tested in a simulator by Williams and Wilmore.

What It Means

There’s a lot riding on the Starliner CFT’s success.

For Boeing, which rakes in billions every quarter, the more important impact may be reputational rather than financial. The company has come under fire in recent months for its internal safety processes, and successfully flying two humans to the ISS and back could help ease the pressure.

For NASA, Starliner may be instrumental in achieving the agency’s goals.

To date, all eight Commercial Crew rotation missions have been flown by SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which like Starliner is a reusable capsule for up to seven passengers. SpaceX signed its own multibillion-dollar contract with the space agency at the same time as Boeing and has since extended it multiple times, without failing to complete a mission.

But NASA wants an alternative to Dragon in the case of a contingency, such as the one that stranded astronaut Frank Rubio on the ISS for nearly a year—and helped him set a U.S. spaceflight record in the process. The space agency made sure to commemorate Rubio’s achievement, but it wants to avoid a similar situation recurring. By keeping two reusable spacecraft in its fleet, it could have one ready to retrieve a crew in case the other fails.

Should Starliner enter NASA’s Commercial Crew rotation, it will alternate six-month missions to the ISS with Dragon.

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post Boeing’s Spacecraft Lifts Off With Astronauts appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The mission, which has faced a series of setbacks since an initial launch attempt was scrubbed on May 6, is now targeted for 10:52 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, with a backup launch window available Thursday.

The Starliner CFT is intended to be the spacecraft’s final test flight before NASA moves to certify it for service missions to the ISS, the first of which could take place next year. To date, all eight Commercial Crew rotation missions to the orbital laboratory have been flown by SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. 

The company signed its own multibillion-dollar contract with the space agency at the same time as Boeing but has already cemented itself as an invaluable partner. The same cannot be said for the aerospace giant, which has flown Starliner to the ISS just once.

CFT launch attempts have been delayed or scrubbed due to a litany of issues. First, it was a faulty pressure regulation valve on United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V launch vehicle, which will carry Starliner into orbit. Then, crews discovered a small helium leak on Starliner itself, involving one of the 28 reaction control system thrusters on its service module. These small engines use helium to make minor maneuvers and keep Starliner in orbit.

NASA and Boeing have since described the leak as stable but have opted not to repair it, which would require Starliner to be unstacked from Atlas V and could take months. However, in investigating the root cause of the leak, crews discovered what the space agency described as a “design vulnerability” in the capsule’s propulsion system.

In a scenario NASA estimates has a likelihood of about 0.77 percent, the original leak could combine with an adjacent leak to prevent Starliner from performing a deorbit burn. That’s the maneuver that returns a spacecraft to Earth’s atmosphere following its mission.

All of this work identifying and assessing risk pushed the CFT back to Saturday. But yet another problem forced a cancellation of the launch just a few minutes before takeoff—and made a second go-around on Sunday infeasible.

According to the Starliner team, the issue is again on ULA’s side of things.

During the countdown, ground support equipment on the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida experienced issues, which crews traced to a power supply unit on one of three chassis on Atlas V’s Centaur upper stage. The power supply unit indirectly powers Centaur’s topping valves during the launch sequence, and all three chassis must be running in order for the countdown to be completed.

According to Tory Bruno, CEO of ULA, the chassis with the faulty power unit was quickly replaced. The new equipment has been retested and was functioning normally as of Sunday. NASA and Boeing added that they did not observe any physical damage to Starliner or Atlas V, and crews will perform a “full failure analysis” to determine what went wrong.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, Starliner’s first human passengers, remain in quarantine at Kennedy Space Center. If all goes according to plan, Wilmore and Williams will dock with the ISS later this week. There, they will spend about one week performing tests of Starliner’s systems as NASA prepares for the program’s next step: certification.

After that, Starliner would begin alternating six-month Commercial Crew rotation missions with SpaceX’s Dragon.

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post New Starliner Launch Target Identified After Setback appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The company’s massive rocket and Super Heavy booster, which when stacked together stand nearly 400 feet tall, have been grounded since March as the FAA conducts a mishap investigation into Starship’s third uncrewed orbital test flight.

However, Musk on Saturday posted an image to social media platform X—which he acquired in October 2022—of Starship and Super Heavy being moved back to the company’s Starbase launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas, which hosted the rocket’s first three test flights.

In response to a query about the date of the fourth flight, called Integrated Flight Test 4 or IFT-4, Musk gave a timeline of three to five weeks. That would place the next launch sometime in June.

SpaceX has a hit-or-miss track record when it comes to predicting Starship launches. Gwynne Shotwell, the company’s chief operating officer, said in March for example that IFT-4 could launch as soon as early May.

During the lead-up to Starship’s second test flight, which ultimately launched in November, Musk gave a timeline of six to eight weeks in April and again in June. In September, he said the rocket was “ready to launch” and was swiftly rebuffed by the FAA. However, on November 3, SpaceX correctly predicted that Starship would launch again by the middle of the month.

Starship’s three test flights have improved on each attempt but resulted in groundings of varying lengths by the FAA. The agency’s initial investigation spanned from April to November. The second took half as long, wrapping up between November and February.

Given the improvements made to Starship and Starbase before the rocket’s second flight test—such as the installation of a water-cooled steel plate beneath the launch pad to contain debris—and the relative success of its third flight test, SpaceX could be looking at a similar timeline of around three months for the current investigation. That would put it in line to close in June, making Musk’s prediction appear feasible.

Musk and SpaceX have already set ambitious goals for Starship’s fourth flight. The biggest will be to survive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, which is where the previous mission failed. Both Starship and the Super Heavy booster are designed to be reusable.

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post SpaceX Starship Will Fly Again in 3-5 Weeks, Elon Musk Predicts appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

ValveTech, a manufacturer previously hired by Boeing supplier Aerojet Rocketdyne to build valves for Starliner’s propulsion system, is warning NASA to “immediately halt” the spacecraft’s first crewed launch, which may come as early as Friday.

The company—which sued Aerojet in 2017 alleging a violation of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and misuse of trade secrets—urged the space agency to “redouble safety checks and re-examine safety protocols” before the mission, which was scrubbed on May 6 due to a valve issue.

The faulty valve was located on United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket, which will launch Starliner into orbit. Tory Bruno, president and CEO of ULA, addressed ValveTech president Erin Faville’s comments directly in a post on social media platform X.

“Not sure what to say about this one,” Bruno wrote. “Close to none of it is correct: Not urgent. Not leaking. Etc. Remarkable that the particular person quoted doesn’t seem to know how this type of valve works…”

ValveTech says it supplies 14 valve components to Starliner vendors, but ULA tells FLYING it is not one of them. ValveTech did not immediately respond to FLYING’s request for comment.

Starliner has been described by NASA as a redundant alternative to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, which so far has flown eight Commercial Crew astronaut rotation missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Starliner, similarly, was designed as a reusable spacecraft to ferry astronauts to low-Earth orbit destinations.

The Starliner CFT, which had already been delayed several times, was scrubbed earlier this month due to an oscillating pressure regulation valve on the Atlas V rocket, forcing NASA to push back the launch to no earlier than Friday at 6:16 p.m. EDT.

Although NASA and ULA have already investigated and decided to remove and replace the valve, Faville warned against catastrophe should they attempt another launch.

“As a valued NASA partner and as valve experts, we strongly urge them not to attempt a second launch due to the risk of a disaster occurring on the launchpad,” said Faville. “According to media reports, a buzzing sound indicating the leaking valve was noticed by someone walking by the Starliner minutes before launch. This sound could indicate that the valve has passed its life cycle.”

NASA and ULA made no mention of a leaking valve in their assessments of the incident, saying only that the valve was oscillating abnormally.

“After evaluating the valve history, data signatures from the launch attempt, and assessing the risks relative to continued use, the ULA team determined the valve exceeded its qualification and mission managers agreed to remove and replace the valve,” NASA wrote in a blog post.

Faville later clarified that she is not calling for a permanent end to the Starliner program but rather a more thorough assessment of safety concerns.

“What I said was that NASA needs to redouble safety checks and re-examine safety protocols to make sure the Starliner is safe before trying to launch the Starliner again,” said Faville. “As a valued NASA partner, it would make no sense and not be in my company’s interest to end this mission.”

Since parting ways in 2017, ValveTech and Aerojet, a division of defense contractor L3Harris, have been tangled in a prolonged legal dispute. That year, ValveTech filed suit alleging that Aerojet breached NDAs and misused trade secrets in developing the flight valve for Starliner’s service module propulsion system.

In November, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York ruled that Aerojet had indeed breached two NDAs—awarding ValveTech $850,000 in damages—but had not misappropriated trade secrets.

According to Payload Space, the company sought further restrictions on Aerojet, but a judge closed the case on May 6.

In its statement regarding the May 6 launch scrub, ValveTech raised concerns about an earlier issue with one of Starliner’s valves. But the events appear to be unrelated.

In August 2021, Boeing scrubbed Starliner’s first uncrewed flight test due to a problem with the spacecraft’s service module propulsion system—the same system ValveTech alleges Aerojet built using trade secrets.

ValveTech alleges that “NASA, Boeing, and Aerojet…qualified this valve for [Starliner CFT] without proper supporting data or previous history or legacy information,” citing witness testimony from its November trial.

However, according to NASA and ULA, the incident on May 6 involved a pressure regulation valve on ULA’s Atlas V rocket—not the service module, which is on the Starliner capsule itself.

“The concerns raised by ValveTech in relation to the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission are not applicable to the pressure regulation valve with off nominal performance during the first launch attempt,” a ULA spokesperson told FLYING.

ValveTech and Faville’s comments appear unlikely to deter NASA and Boeing from attempting a second Starliner CFT launch as early as Friday.

The companies have a $4.2 billion contract that includes six Commercial Crew rotation missions to the ISS on an unspecified timeline. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon already fills that role for the space agency. But NASA hopes to put a second spacecraft in the rotation for redundancy in the case of a contingency.

Safety, of course, remains a priority for the space agency. But with the program now several years behind schedule and an estimated $1.5 billion over budget, stakeholders will be eager to see Starliner fly with a crew as soon as possible.

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post ULA Pushes Back on Warning to NASA to Halt Boeing Starliner Launch appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Initially scheduled for early 2023, the flight, called Boeing Crewed Flight Test-1 (CFT-1), has since been delayed multiple times. The most recent setback occurred before a planned launch on Monday, which was called off just two hours before takeoff due to a valve issue on the upper stage of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V launch vehicle that will send Starliner into orbit. ULA is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

ULA crews identified the issue after noticing a buzzing noise created by an oscillating pressure regulation valve located on a liquid oxygen tank on the Atlas V’s upper stage. Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams safely exited the spacecraft, which was parked at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Teams were quickly able to repair the oscillating valve. But according to NASA, the issue resurfaced twice during fuel removal. After evaluating the valve and completing a thorough review on Tuesday, ULA decided to remove and replace it.

As a result, NASA announced that the next launch attempt will take place no earlier than 6:16 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 17.

ULA on Wednesday rolled Atlas V and Starliner, still stacked together, back to NASA’s Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41. There, teams are working to replace the faulty part and perform leak checks and functional checkouts before the next launch attempt.

The Starliner program has contended with nearly a decade of delays since Boeing first announced it in 2011, including an uncrewed orbital test flight that failed to reach the ISS as planned.

CFT-1 is expected to be the spacecraft’s final flight before being deployed for NASA’s Commercial Crew program, which rotates astronaut crews at the orbital laboratory.

All eight Commercial Crew rotation missions to date have been flown using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, an alternative to Starliner also under contract with NASA. Boeing and NASA’s contract includes a total of six service missions using Starliner.

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post NASA, Boeing Set New Timeline for Scrubbed Starliner Launch appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Last week, Kendall got in the cockpit of a self-flying fighter plane during a historic flight at Edwards Air Force Base (KEDW) in California. The aircraft—called the X-62A Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft, or VISTA for short—is a modified F-16 testbed and represents the Air Force’s first foray into aircraft flown entirely by machine learning AI models.

As Kendall and a safety pilot observed, the X-62A completed “a variety of tactical maneuvers utilizing live agents” during a series of test runs. Incredibly, the aircraft was able to simulate aerial dogfighting in real time, without Kendall or the safety pilot ever touching the controls. According to the Associated Press, VISTA flew at more than 550 mph and within 1,000 feet of its opponent—a crewed F-16—during the hourlong simulated battle.

“Before the flight, there was no shortage of questions from teammates and family about flying in this aircraft,” Kendall said. “For me, there was no apprehension, even as the X-62 began to maneuver aggressively against the hostile fighter aircraft.”

It wasn’t VISTA’s first rodeo. In September, the Air Force for the first time flew the uncrewed aircraft in a simulated dogfight versus a piloted F-16 at the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards. The department said autonomous demonstrations are continuing at the base through 2024. But Kendall’s decision to get into the cockpit himself represents a new vote of confidence from Air Force leadership.

“The potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream up until now,” said Kendall. “In 2023, the X-62A broke one of the most significant barriers in combat aviation. This is a transformational moment, all made possible by breakthrough accomplishments of the ACE team.”

ACE stands for Air Combat Evolution, a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program that seeks to team human pilots with AI and machine-learning systems. The Air Force, an ACE participant, believes the technology could complement or supplement pilots even in complex and potentially dangerous scenarios—such as close-quarters dogfighting.

“AI is really taking the most capable technology you have, putting it together, and using it on problems that previously had to be solved through human decision-making,” said Kendall. “It’s automation of those decisions and it’s very specific.”

ACE developed VISTA in 2020, imbuing it with the unique ability to simulate another aircraft’s flying characteristics. The aircraft received an upgrade in 2022, turning it into a test vehicle for the Air Force’s AI experiments. 

VISTA uses machine learning-based AI agents to test maneuvers and capabilities in real time. These contrast with the heuristic or rules-based AI systems seen on many commercial and military aircraft, which are designed to be predictable and repeatable. Machine learning AI systems, despite being less predictable, are more adept at analyzing complex scenarios on the fly.

“Think of a simulator laboratory that you would have at a research facility,” said Bill Gray, chief test pilot at the Test Pilot School, which leads program management for VISTA. “We have taken that entire simulator laboratory and crammed it into an F-16, and that is VISTA.”

Using machine learning, VISTA picks up on maneuvers in a simulator before applying them to the real world, repeating the process to train itself. DARPA called the aircraft’s first human-AI dogfight in September “a fundamental paradigm shift,” likening it to the inception of AI computers that can defeat human opponents in a game of chess.

Since that maiden voyage, VISTA has completed a few dozen similar demonstrations, advancing to the point that it can actually defeat human pilots in air combat. The technology is not quite ready for actual battle. But the Air Force-led Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and Next Generation Air Dominance programs are developing thousands of uncrewed aircraft for that purpose, the first of which may be operational by 2028.

The goal of these initiatives is to reduce costs and take humans out of situations where AI could perform equally as well. Some aircraft may even be commanded by crewed fighter jets. The self-flying systems could serve hundreds of different purposes, according to Kendall.

Even within ACE, dogfighting is viewed as only one use case. The idea is that if AI can successfully operate in one of the most dangerous settings in combat, human pilots could trust it to handle other, less dangerous maneuvers. Related U.S. military projects, such as the recently announced Replicator initiative, are exploring AI applications in other aircraft, like drones.

However, autonomous weapons, such as AI-controlled combat aircraft, have raised concerns from various nations, scientists, and humanitarian groups. Even the U.S. Army itself acknowledged the risks of the technology in a 2017 report published in the Army University Press.

“Autonomous weapons systems will find it very hard to determine who is a civilian and who is a combatant, which is difficult even for humans,” researchers wrote. “Allowing AI to make decisions about targeting will most likely result in civilian casualties and unacceptable collateral damage.”

The report further raised concerns about accountability for AI-determined strikes, pointing out that it would be difficult for observers to assign blame to a single human.

The Air Force has countered that AI-controlled aircraft will always have at least some level of human oversight. It also argues that developing the technology is necessary to keep pace with rival militaries designing similar systems, which could be devastating to U.S. airmen.

Notably, China too is developing AI-controlled fighter jets. In March 2023, Chinese military researchers reportedly conducted their own human-AI dogfight, but the human-controlled aircraft was piloted remotely from the ground.

Leading U.S. defense officials in recent years have sounded the alarm on China’s People’s Liberation Army’s growing capabilities, characterizing it as the U.S. military’s biggest “pacing challenge.” The country’s AI flight capabilities are thought to be behind those of the U.S. But fears persist that it may soon catch up.

“In the not too distant future, there will be two types of Air Forces—those who incorporate this technology into their aircraft and those who do not and fall victim to those who do,” said Kendall. “We are in a race—we must keep running, and I am confident we will do so.”

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post Air Force Secretary Gets in Cockpit of Self-Flying Fighter Plane appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The company on Tuesday said it completed a crewed, full transition flight of its Alia-250 (A250) eVTOL, shifting from vertical lift to forward cruise on fixed wings during the same flight. The model is one of two aircraft the firm is looking to commercialize in the coming years, along with a conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) Alia variant. Over four years of flight testing, Beta says its aircraft together have now logged more than 40,000 nautical miles.

Beta competitor Joby Aviation has also completed a crewed transition flight, putting a U.S. Air Force pilot at the helm in 2023. It claims to be the first to achieve the milestone. However, Beta’s flight is believed to be the first to include an out and back. Another competitor, Archer Aviation, said in January it is progressing toward a full wing-borne transition flight after it completed the first phase of its own flight campaign with the Air Force.

Like all of Beta’s test flights to date, the transition flight at the company’s flight test facility in Plattsburgh, New York, was crewed. Alia was piloted by Nate Moyer, a former Air Force experimental test pilot. The transition took place a few feet above the runway, with the aircraft relying solely on its fixed wings for cruise. Vertical propellers got the aircraft off the ground but remained stationary during forward flight.

According to Beta, the transition flight will provide key data the manufacturer will use to validate its design choices, as it works to type certify its eVTOL with the FAA. The eCTOL variant of Alia is expected to be given the all-clear about one year before then. But the company intends to conduct more crewed eVTOL transitions in the coming months.

The runway-independent aircraft will first be deployed by the U.S. military. Beta in January wrapped up its first eCTOL deployment for the Air Force and has delivered both aircraft and electric chargers to Eglin Air Force Base (KVPS) in Florida for Air Force testing.

The manufacturer also continues to collaborate with AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Air Force with which it has worked since 2020. Together, Beta and AFWERX in 2022 conducted the first airman flight of an electric aircraft.

Beyond the military, Beta expects its eVTOL to be used by cargo carriers and passenger-carrying operators. It has electrification partnerships with U.S. FBOs Atlantic Aviation and Shoreline Aviation to install charging stations for eVTOL and eCTOL service at FBO terminals from coast to coast.

As of March, the company has installed chargers at 19 locations, with a further 50 in the permitting or construction process. The systems are designed to accommodate both of Beta’s flagship models, but also those of its competitors.

Beta’s eVTOL customers include the United Postal Service, LCI, Blade Air Mobility, and Canada’s Helijet. Air New Zealand, meanwhile, has opted for the eCTOL Alia variant. Customers United Therapeutics and Bristow Group are looking to introduce both aircraft.

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post Beta Makes First Crewed eVTOL Transition Flight appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Daher’s position demonstrates well the state of the global aerospace market.

“We are in a paradox situation—some are happy; some are not happy,” said Patrick Daher, board chair for the Daher group, in kicking off the company’s performance review for 2023 in Paris on February 7. “We are feeling the impact of the international situation, and then we are still recovering from COVID, but the COVID crisis is over for us…But some international threats—for example the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, the future elections, the situation in China—all these events have created a political instability that is really worrying for the future.”

Yet industry events such as the 2023 Paris Air Show indicate where the future lies—with caution as to the expense of making change. “As chairman [of] the Salon de Bourget in 2023 and chairman of Daher…I have the chance to see that energy transition is coming with a really high price,” said Daher. “Speaking about industry, we have really good news in terms of an increase in production.”

In 2023, Daher recorded strong deliveries of both its TBM and Kodiak series turboprops, with a total of 56 TBMs and 18 Kodiaks, for a total of 76 units. In addition, it counts more than 100 turboprops in its order book, taking it well into 2025.

READ MORE: Daher Delivers 100th TBM 960

An Industry Overview

At the same time, major Daher client and partner Airbus has never manufactured so many aircraft—a record number went out the door in December, as Daher noted in the report. That is in spite of the constant pressures brought on by inflation, provisioning difficulties, recruitment challenges, rise in wages, and lowering margins. Collectively these have led to soft pricing models that have persisted through the past couple of years.

“We have forgotten how to deal with such problems of inflation that we experienced 20 years ago,” said Daher. “It was really hard to find raw materials, and this was linked to geopolitical problems, [such] as the war in Ukraine. We were missing material. This lack of raw materials is linked to the mismanagement of the supply chain—the suppliers failed to ship what we needed to manufacture our aircraft—and to produce what our clients asked us to do.”

Another problem Daher noted has been the lack of employee candidates. “It is not easy to recruit the right profiles…The COVID crisis changed behaviors in terms of wages and employees, so it is really hard for us to hire and find talents.” This has driven companies like Daher to invest heavily in training—because like never before they have had to recruit from outside the aviation industry.

“All these factors in 2023—after COVID, we were expecting 2021 and 2022 to be difficult—but these problems arrived in 2023,” Daher said. “All of these factors resulted in our weakened profitability. We need to consider the energy transition and the decrease in carbon intensity…2023 highlighted the emergency but also the [convergence], vis-à-vis the problem of decarbonization.”

The Daher group considers government support crucial—specifically CORAC, the French council for civil aviation research—and 300 million euros per year have been earmarked by CORAC to help fund the energy transition. “Aviation industry, all research efforts, have converged, because in the past each company focused on a specific research field, but right now there is a really clear target: low-carbon, low-emission aircraft,” Daher said.

Eco-Pulse Update

For the French OEM, the convergence flies today via its hybrid-electric Eco-Pulse technology demonstrator, which uses a TBM airframe, electric motors and powertrain components form Saran, and electric power storage by Airbus in a distributed lift model (simply put) to test various components and how they interact in actual flight operations. The Eco-Pulse retains a Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop engine, but in December made its first flight segments completely powered by the six electric motors.

“It is a major step towards decarbonization,” said Daher. “Because high voltage electricity can be a good solution…we are continuing with some hybrid tests. This is the first step…People thought I was crazy [last year] when I spoke about this target [to have a marketable product by 2027], but we are headed in that direction.” It will be a TBM or Kodiak because those are the models Daher has in its portfolio, but the company has yet to determine which will be chosen and exactly what that will look like.

FLYING asked if the OEM could share any feedback—including any performance data, if possible—from those first flights. Christophe Robin, vice president of engineering for Daher’s aircraft division, provided this insight: “EcoPulse is a technology demonstrator, therefore, aircraft performance is not the goal. The EcoPulse configuration has been chosen with the strategy of increasing the level of complexity in hybridization to develop a ‘maturity picture’ for all of the technologies involved—including examining side effects such as weight penalties, as well as issues induced by HIRF (high-intensity radiated field) and lightning.”

READ MORE: We Fly: Daher TBM 960

Log’in, Shap’in, Fly’in

To support innovation efforts, Daher launched its second tech center, Log’in, in Toulouse, also geared toward decarbonization. “Out of 7 million tonnes [of carbon emissions] we realized that a big quantity is related to our clients, and we want to work on these figures [as well] in order to work on decarbonization,” said Daher.

Fly’in will be the third tech center Daher launches, in Tarbes, focused on aircraft development, “stepping up” in both technology and the drive towards net-zero emissions.

FLYING also asked Daher to expand on the current projects that have already been realized from the new technology centers and Eco-Pulse. Robin shared a portion of what the group has learned thus far, and what it expects to benefit from. 

“In addition to the aspects of EcoPulse that are linked to aircraft hybridization, another important focus is demonstrating the application of advanced composites on aircraft,” said Robin. “Under the guidance of Daher’s research and technology teams, EcoPulse is using composites for the aircraft’s winglets, engine pylons, Karman and battery fairings, as well as the air inlet—which were produced primarily with an infusion-based carbon/cork micro-sandwich. A goal of EcoPulse is to make it possible to evolve the performance and feasibility of integrating these technologies on secondary parts/components of Daher-built aircraft, while developing rapid prototyping skills used within the aviation framework.”

This is complementary to other developments underway at Daher—including projects in cooperation with partners such as CORAC (the French Council for Civil Aeronautical Research).

Pascal Laguerre, chief technology officer for Daher, provided significant insight beyond the Eco-Pulse demonstrator. “Taking a wider view for activities outside the framework of EcoPulse, Daher devotes a significant part of its overall R&D budget to thermoplastics,” said Laguerre. “This material is particularly promising in the world of aerostructures for future applications on production aircraft. It lends itself more easily to the automation of production (issue of throughput), and it is recyclable, repairable and weldable. Its mechanical properties make it possible to use less material and, overall, make structures lighter—all of which are key qualities with a view toward reducing carbon emissions. This is focused on accelerating the development of real applications in the future for the benefit of its customers, including [several more widely focused] projects.”

For example, as part of CORAC, Daher leads the largest French research project on thermoplastics in current execution, called TRAMPOLINE 2 (TheRmoplAstic coMPosites for hOrizontaL tail plaNE), as well as utilizing induction welding instead of riveting—with a weight savings of 15 percent.

Also, the investment has already borne fruit in components that will be found on the company’s current TBM product lines.

“After more than three years of R&D work, Daher succeeded in manufacturing rudder pedals in recycled high-performance thermoplastic composites from production scraps to equip the TBM, which have been certified for flight on production TBMs,” said Laguerre. “In addition to being lightweight, thermoplastics have low thermal conduction, as well as equal or better physicochemical and mechanical properties: It’s a win-win for Daher customers. And beyond the environmental benefits, the cost of these parts is significantly reduced compared to metal machining.

“In addition, Daher has obtained the first results of an R&D project called CARAC TP, carried out in collaboration with a set of academic laboratories competent in composite materials. The objective [is] to identify and characterize the thermoplastic composites best suited to aeronautical applications and compare them to thermoset materials. The project makes it possible to study materials in depth through multiple tests that go beyond the scope of qualification programs carried out in the industry: impact resistance, fire resistance, environmental aging (ozone, UV, fluids), impact of manufacturing processes on physicochemical properties, material performance, etc.”

Daher looks also outside its walls to new small businesses to help drive this innovation charge. Encouragingly, more than 300 aerospace-relevant startups took part in the Paris Air Show.

“We had 25 of these startups at the Daher stand at Le Bourget,” said Daher, noting that the company looks forward to engaging with these innovators, perhaps through acquisition or collaboration, on various projects.

WATCH: We Fly the Kodiak 900, Ready for Grand Adventures

The Takeoff 2027 Strategy

Daher reported a strengthening bottom line but noted there is room for improvement. At the press conference, Daher CEO Didier Kayat indicated the belief that Daher would become profitable based on its strategic realignment to better serve four sectors: aircraft, industry, industrial services, and logistics. The company also plans a transformation of the organizational structure by 2025, to help align and draw down any existing silos between the business functions.

To this end, Daher made a quartet of additions to its executive committee in the later part of 2023. On October 1, Alain-Jory Barthe joined Daher’s Industry division as senior vice president. Then, on January 1, Cédric Eloy became the head of the Industrial Services division as senior vice president of manufacturing services, and Julie de Cevins became the group’s chief sustainability officer—a key appointment, given the group’s charge to attain net-zero goals by 2050. Finally, on February 1, Aymeric Daher became senior vice president of the Logistics division.

Daher is adapting its organization to support the four business units, with the following actions:

• To create a managerial culture that is based in what it calls the “Daher Leadership Model”—effectively empowering a cadre of 1,500 leaders within the company to act with an entrepreneurial spirit
• To anticipate challenges and innovate toward decarbonisation solutions, with Eco-Pulse among other projects
• To support the acquisitions needed for growth across the four sectors.

Acquisitions have already borne fruit for the company, including the Stuart, Florida, facility.

“The acquisition of AAA strengthened the Industrial Services division, for example,” Daher said. “We are now the leader of industrial services…We can support aircraft manufacturers in peak periods.”

If Daher can make its way through the concurrent challenges of acquisition-driven growth, corporate restructuring, price pressures, and order fulfillment, its plan for the years ahead puts it on track to form part of the global solution to decarbonization—as well as providing the aircraft the customer demands for the future.

The post Daher’s Decarbonization Plans Drive Towards Hybrid-Electric Aircraft, Composites appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The company announced Wednesday that Midnight completed Phase 1 of its flight test campaign and is “on track” to begin for-credit testing with the FAA later this year. Those evaluations represent a critical step in type certification of the novel design.

Midnight wrapped up Phase 1 just three months after its maiden voyage in October, completing the process significantly faster than the company’s preproduction prototype, Maker. Archer said it is making “rapid progress” toward Phase 2, which will include a full wing-borne transition flight.

The company also upgraded Midnight’s battery system with some of the first high-voltage battery packs off its San Jose, California, production line as it readies for production. These milestones, Archer said, keep the aircraft’s certification schedule on time.

Archer is one of many U.S. eVTOL manufacturers targeting type certification, alongside Joby Aviation, Beta Technologies, Boeing’s Wisk Aero, and Overair. But so far, only one firm in the world—China’s EHang—has obtained its civil aviation authority’s approval.

“Midnight is progressing efficiently through our flight test program,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer. “Over the last four years of flight testing, our team has been able to gather a tremendous amount of data and learnings that enable us to advance Midnight rapidly towards certification.”

Midnight is designed to fly a pilot plus four passengers on rapid, back-to-back flights, with only 10 to 12 minutes of charge time in between. The tiltrotor design features six fixed propellers for vertical flight and half a dozen more that rotate forward to support the wings in cruise.

Archer intends for Midnight to replace 60-to-90-minute commutes by car with 10-to-20-minute electric flights. The company claims these will be safe, low emission, and low noise while remaining cost-competitive with ground-based rideshare services like Uber or Lyft.

Midnight Milestones

During Phase 1 of its flight test campaign, the air taxi covered increasingly complex flight maneuvers and data-gathering missions. The next phase will introduce an incremental approach to speed testing, in which the aircraft flies faster and faster until achieving full wing-borne transition. The maneuver would represent a major milestone in its eVTOL design, demonstrating both vertical lift and winged cruise in a single flight.

Once that’s achieved, Phase 3 will introduce simulated commercial routes, which will help demonstrate Midnight’s operational readiness. Then, it’s on to for-credit testing with the FAA. The regulator will have the final say on whether the air taxi is fit to fly.

Like other air taxi manufacturers, Archer is concurrently working AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, under a $142 million contract, which calls for the delivery of up to six aircraft. These will be deployed for personnel transport, logistics support, rescue operations, and more. Beyond the Air Force, other military branches will be able to leverage the contracts for different projects.

Archer has already begun construction on a scaled manufacturing plant, where it plans to produce up to 650 aircraft per year in partnership with automaker Stellantis. In October, Archer secured funding that it said will cover the “substantial majority” of construction costs.

Simultaneously, the manufacturer is building out electric infrastructure for Midnight’s eventual debut. Last year, it partnered with eVTOL competitor Beta Technologies to acquire charging systems and create a nationwide network. Both companies recently partnered with Atlantic Aviation to electrify FBOs across the U.S. Earlier this month, Archer signed on to a battery cell testing partnership with NASA.

Once Midnight is certified, Archer is charting routes in the U.S. in partnership with United Airlines in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and other cities with United hub airports. Air taxis would connect passengers in the Chicago suburbs to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (KORD) and those in downtown Manhattan to Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR), for example. United also has hub locations in Denver, Houston, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

United was Archer’s first commercial customer, but the firm announced its second and third buyers in November. Indian travel conglomerate InterGlobe will order 200 Midnight air taxis for an undisclosed fee, while Emirati heliport operator Air Chateau agreed to acquire 100 aircraft for about $500 million.

Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.

The post Midnight Electric Air Taxi Completes First Phase of Flight Test Campaign appeared first on FLYING Magazine.