Spacecraft’s First Mission Faced Tech Issues that Stranded Astronauts for Months

NASA and Boeing have agreed to rethink the Starliner spacecraft’s future role in the commercial program after its debut crewed mission in June 2024 went sideways, leaving astronauts on the ISS for 278 days longer than planned. Starliner’s next mission is now slated for April 2026, this time with no one on board. The decision follows the flight that stranded NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams on the International Space Station for around nine months due to a mishmash of propulsion issues, including helium leaks and multiple thruster failures. With confidence in the vehicle’s ability to get them home safely plummeting, Starliner flew home uncrewed and handed the crew off to a SpaceX Crew Dragon from another mission.

Aerospace Giant Continues Sprint Towards Starship V3’s Next Test Flight

SpaceX is quickly moving on from the Booster 18 mishap, insisting it can still meet an already ambitious target for Starship V3. The ship’s twelfth flight remains scheduled for early 2026 despite its Super Heavy booster coming out of its first day of testing looking a little like a crushed soda can before the sun even rose. The booster test campaign began with gas-system pressure testing on November 21 at SpaceX's Massey facility in Starbase, Texas. Within hours, Booster 18 was significantly damaged.

MK30 Drone Clipped an Internet Cable Two Months After Two Others Struck a Crane

Amazon’s Prime Air drones are back in the spotlight after one of its newest MK30 delivery drones struck an overhead internet cable in Waco, Texas. The incident serves as an unnerving replay of safety concerns that surfaced just two months ago involving back-to-back collisions with a crane in Arizona. The more recent event occurred on November 18. The drone, registered N139PA, had just wrapped up a delivery when it “clipped a thin, overhead internet cable,” according to Amazon. The company says the impact triggered a built-in failsafe meant to bring the aircraft down immediately in unexpected situations. The drone descended slowly and touched down without injuries or service outages.

Pair Was Part of a Four-Person Formation Flight Over Napper Field

A formation flight of four Van’s RV-7 aircraft over Sydney’s Wedderburn Airport (Napper Field) on November 30 met an early end when two planes collided mid-air, tragically taking one pilot’s life. The other aircraft involved was, fortunately, able to return for a safe landing. Emergency services were called just before noon after witnesses reported a crash in nearby bushland. The aircraft, registered VH-EWS, barely missed the airport’s hangars before impacting wooded terrain, fatally injuring 48-year-old seasoned aerobatic pilot and kit builder Eddie Seve.

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An inflight incident that took place on a JetBlue flight from Cancun, MX, to Newark, NJ, on October 30 has resulted in serious cautions for the 11,300 aircraft in the Airbus A320 series. The scheduled flight, Flight 1230, required an emergency landing at Tampa, FL, with several people requiring hospitalization after a flight control issue and a sudden uncommanded pitch change. Cleveland officials are again attempting to close a beloved community airport, this time by exploiting a federal loophole. Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne have asked Congress to help them bypass years of FAA red tape (that they agreed to in order to get OUR tax dollars) and waive more than $9 million in federal grant obligations that legally bind the city to operate the airport until 2036. The successful launch of three crew members to

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EHang has logged a major milestone in the development of its pilotless air taxi, logging its first human-carrying flight in the urban Middle East. Working alongside Qatar’s Ministry of Transport, the company flew its EH216-S autonomously between the Port of Doha and Katara Cultural Village in a series of trials designed to validate real-world air taxi operations. The Army’s 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade is running with the service’s push to boost drone integration by pairing Apaches, Black Hawks, and Chinooks with small unmanned aircraft to handle reconnaissance, route surveillance, and other jobs that used to rely on pilots squinting out the window. One of the bigger shifts is happening in the field workshops. The debut of SpaceX’s Starship Version 3 booster didn’t exactly go as planned, with its test campaign starting an

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Textron Aviation has confirmed it will be ending production of the Beechcraft Bonanza G36 and Baron G58, after nearly 80 years of continuous manufacturing. The company is moving toward  new products such as the Beechcraft Denali, but promises to support the thousands of Barons and Bonanzas currently flying worldwide. The announcement brings to an end one of the longest production runs in the history of aviation. The first flight of the Bonanza was in December 1945 and production began in 1947. Archer Aviation’s plan to turn Hawthorne Airport into the heart of its Los Angeles air-taxi network earned it a big “WELCOME” from the mayor… and exactly the opposite from local NIMBYs. Members of the community started the predictable “Hawthorne Quiet Skies” group to express both confusion and disappointment with the

Flares Deployed To Draw Pilot’s Attention, Escorted From Airspace

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced that U.S. military F-16 fighter aircraft intercepted a civilian aircraft on Saturday November 29 after it violated a temporary flight restriction airspace over Palm Beach, Florida. The aircraft entered the restricted airspace at 4:20 pm EST and the F-16s deployed flares to get the pilot’s attention and alert him to the violation, after which he was safely escorted from the airspace.

Long-Time Provider Of Voltage Regulators, Alternator Controls, Other Power Products

Hartzell Engine Tech, a unit of Signia Aerospace, announced the expansion of its “firewall forward” line of products to now include Lamar Technologies brand of advanced aviation electrical components and power systems.

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Like most of the industry, kit manufacturer Sonex has been hit by the ever-increasing costs of parts and materials, and is being forced to pass some of the burden off to customers beginning December 15. Still, Sonex’s prices remain well under par, with many of its complete airframe kits available for under $40,000. The company detailed the price shifts for Complete Airframe Kits, Quick Build Kits, and AeroVee engine packages. Produced jointly by the Aero-News Network and SUN ’n FUN—in addition to the pre-show SNF Innovation Preview, the all-week SUN ’n FUN Digital Daily, Saturday Flight Live coverage, and our extensive daily news and video output—we are introducing something significant. MOSAIC Day Debuts Thursday at SUN ’n FUN and will designate Thursday as MOSAIC Day, featuring a full day of f