Seeks Industry Assistance in Design & Development of Moon Patrolling Satellite
The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate released a draft Request for Proposals this month seeking partners to set the initial parameters of a theorized lunar surveillance platform. The lab is casting a wide net in looking for additional brainstorming in their efforts to refine a conceptual spacecraft conceived by the Directorate, the Cislunar Highway Patrol System (CHPS) satellite. As imagined now, CHPS would "provide space domain awareness beyond Geosynchronous orbit, in the region of the moon that is experiencing increasing activity."
Airbus has chosen the Avio Aero Catalyst engine for use in their upcoming Eurodrone UAS, equipping a pair of the propeller and engine combination on the future aircraft. If the nomenclature sounds familiar, the Avio product is the same as GE's Catalyst, the advanced turboprop engine. The Catalyst program is a solid choice for the Eurodrone program, being developed and manufactured through an association of European manufacturers, freeing it up from overly restrictive ITAR issues from the outset.
VSR700 Autonomous Take-Off and Landing Tests Show Promising Results in French Armament Program
Airbus Helicopters has begun trials on its autonomous takeoff and landing capabilities for the VSR700, an uncrewed system currently in development with the French Armament Directorate. The trials took place using a modified Giumbal Cabri G2 with a custom-made autonomous takeoff and landing system (which Airbus designates as an ATOL, an uncommon acronym). The helicopter operated from a civilian vessel equipped with a landing pad on the tail off the coast of Brest, France, doing a series of tests on the approach procedures required prior to landing in the vicinity of a vessel.
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