June’s top news stories

Nasa selects three commercial Moon landing service providers

Nasa selected Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, and Orbit Beyond to deliver its scientific instruments to the Moon’s surface as part of the Artemis programme.

The companies will deliver up to 23 total payloads to the Moon on three commercial lunar lander missions between September 2020 and July 2021.

The payloads provided by Nasa will be used to carry out science investigations and demonstrate advanced technologies on the lunar surface.

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SpaceX set for third Falcon Heavy flight launch

SpaceX is preparing for its third Falcon Heavy mega-rocket launch, which is set to be undertaken at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US.

Carrying 24 satellites into orbit, the Falcon Heavy rocket is set to launch from Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX said that the launch will be its most challenging ever as the satellites are to be released into three different orbits.

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IndiGo receives $20bn jet engines deal from CFM International JV

India’s largest passenger airline IndiGo ordered more than $20bn of LEAP-1A engines from CFM International, a joint venture of GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines.

The contract includes spare engines and an overhaul support agreement and is reportedly the largest ever single engine order in history.

IndiGo also signed a long-term service agreement to support its new LEAP-1A fleet.

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Lockheed Martin automates satellite image analysis

Lockheed Martin developed a satellite imagery recognition system using open-source deep learning libraries for the identification and classification of objects or targets in large areas.

Manual categorisation and labelling of items within a satellite image is a time-consuming process. However, the new deep learning model speeds up and automates satellite image analysis, saving substantial time.

Running in the Cloud, the Global Automated Target Recognition (GATR) artificial intelligence model uses Maxar’s Geospatial Big Data platform (GBDX) to access a 100 petabyte (PB) satellite imagery library and curated data labels that speed up the training of deep learning algorithms.

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US firm Air Lease to purchase 100 aircraft from Airbus

American aircraft leasing company Air Lease (ALC) signed a letter of intent (LoI) for 100 Airbus aircraft, which includes 50 A220-300s, 27 A321XLRs and an additional 23 A321neos.

The latest purchase takes the company’s total orders to 387 aircraft from the European manufacturer, making it the third-largest lessor customer of Airbus.

According to the European manufacturer, the 100-plane contract from Air Lease is worth $11bn at list prices. The list price of the baseline A321 is $129.5m and the A220 is $91.5m.

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IAG plans to buy 200 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes

Iberia, Aer Lingus and British Airways parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) announced its intention to buy 200 Boeing 737 MAX jets.

The letter of intent (LoI) signed by IAG and Boeing is subject to a formal agreement. The value of the deal exceeds $24bn at list prices.

Boeing would deliver the combination of 737-8 and 737-10 aircraft, powered by CFM Leap engines, between 2023 and 2027.

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Aerospace giant United Technologies and Raytheon to merge in mega-deal

American aircraft manufacturing company United Technologies (UTC) and defence contractor and industrial corporation Raytheon agreed to combine their aerospace and defence capabilities in one of the largest corporate mergers this year.

The all-stock deal merger is expected to create a new $121bn company that can provide advanced technologies to address rapidly growing segments within the aerospace and defence sectors.

To be called Raytheon Technologies Corporation, the new company is expected to have annual revenues of $74bn and will be headquartered in the greater Boston metro area.

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Kaman to sell distribution unit to Littlejohn for $700m

US-based aerospace company Kaman Corporation agreed to sell its distribution unit to affiliates of private equity firm Littlejohn for $700m in cash.

Under the definitive agreement signed between the parties, Kaman will receive $600m in net proceeds from the transaction.

Kaman will continue to design and develop critical components, structures, and systems for commercial and military customers after closing of the deal.

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Boeing reports several 737 Max aircraft may have faulty parts on wings

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KLM partners with TU Delft for Flying-V aircraft concept

Dutch airline KLM agreed to contribute to the development of Delft University of Technology’s (TU Delft) new flight concept known as the ‘Flying-V’.

Both companies signed a new cooperative agreement in order to work together on making aviation more sustainable.

The agreement was signed at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul by KLM president and CEO Pieter Elbers and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering professor Henri Werij.