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April 03, 2022

Virgin Galactic Promotes Test, Line Pilot to Director of Flight Testing

Kelly Latimer to Oversee Development of Next-Gen Motherships, Delta Class Spacecraft

Virgin Galactic has announced the selection of Lieutenant Colonel Kelly Latimer for a promotion to director of flight testing. The veteran pilot and retired USAF officer joined Virgin as its first female test pilot, and has been serving in recent years on the VMS Eve mothership. She was pilot in command for the Unity 21 mission, and second in command for Unity 22. Despite her newfound responsibilities, she will continue to serve as a Virgin Galactic line pilot and fly the company spacecraft on any test and commercial missions that need her.

As a New Era Dawns, Leadership Looks Back for Inspiration to Move Forward

The British Civil Aviation Authority has begun celebrating its 50th anniversary since its inception as a standalone government agency in 1971. Until the formation of the Civil Aviation Authority, aerospace matters were left to the Board of Trade and Air Registration Board. The expansion of commercial aviation throughout the postwar era made it clear that keeping the reins on the industry would require far greater resources than the Boards could muster. Sir Stephen Hillier, chair of the CAA, looked back at the journey and promised the best is yet to come.

D-Orbit's Package Includes Plant Growth Experiments, USAF Research Sats, and Personal Tchotchkes

D-Orbit's Spacelust has made its way into space aboard the SpaceX Transporter-4 mission, taking its spot as the 5th mission using their proprietary ION Satellite Carrier. The ION system is designed to be a versatile and cost-effective orbital transfer vehicle designed both to precisely deploy satellites and perform technology demonstrations for third-party payloads in orbit. Spacelust saw the ION successfully deployed at a 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit. D-Orbit chief commercial officer, Renato Panesi, said the 5th ION in its orbital fleet is a sign of their rapid growth.