Aerospace and Defense Review : News

Leaf Space, a leading provider of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) solutions, has established successful communications with all 13 satellites from five different customers, including D-Orbit, Kepler Communications, NanoAvionics, Sen, and Fossa Systems, that the company supported on SpaceX's latest Transporter-3 rideshare mission. Customers were capable of interacting and communicating with their assets in just a couple of hours from deployment, following the launch on Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 13. This successful deployment demonstrates Leaf Space's broad range of capabilities in supporting customers with diverse mission requirements and specifications. This launch includes a testbed for bringing space-to-ground and space-to-space connectivity (Kepler), improving the maintenance and planning of water and electricity networks (NanoAvionics), space logistics technology and transportation solutions (D-Orbit), and more. We were able to move through our LEOP and commissioning very quickly and Leaf Space was a key part of that," stated Jake Urbanek, Director of Service Operations at Kepler Communications. "We were not only able to communicate with our satellites within days of the launch, but we were also able to complete a whole batch of critical operations within those first days as well." Leaf Space's customer base and capabilities continue to expand, as does its distributed global ground station network. ...Read more

Disruption to U.S.-bound air travel caused by the rollout of 5G services in the United States eased as authorities approved more flights. The interruption in the air travel to the United States reduced as authorities approved more flights, but a prominent airline warned that "irresponsible" regulatory disarray is likely to be felt internationally for days. Airlines and telecommunications companies have been at odds over the implementation of 5G mobile services, with concerns that the powerful signals could interfere with flight systems. Airline Carriers across Asia, Middle East, and Europe cancelled or rescheduled flights to the United States at the last minute, delaying travel for thousands of passengers due to safety concerns raised by the 5G deployment. However, when Japanese airlines remarked that they would reinstate cancelled flights, the US airlines declared that thousands of planes were functioning normally after two telecom carriers agreed to delay the rollout of the flights at important airports. Emirates, the world's largest international passenger airline and the largest boeing 777 operator, slammed "mixed messages'' as it halted nine flights to the United States. The airline’s longtime president remarked that the company was unaware of the severity of the safety concerns. However, as the message came at a very last stage, some 32,000 Emirates customers were "totally inconvenienced". United Airlines, on the other hand, stated the remaining 5G limits would cause only "minimal inconveniences." Experts believe international airlines are particularly vulnerable because of the time it takes to plan flights and pre-position staff to fly transcontinental jets home. European long-haul carriers' shares dropped 3-4 percent, lagging slightly lower U.S. airline stocks. The Federal Aviation Administration and US airlines have cautioned that the 5G frequencies and transmission power being deployed in the US may interfere with radio altimeter readings required for bad-weather landings on some planes. To facilitate automated landings and to verify that a jet has landed before releasing reverse thrust, radio altimeters must provide clear data on the height above the ground on approach. ...Read more

The aerospace robotics market is backed by an increase in global aircraft and manufacturing, high use of robotics to handle aircraft and the increasing labour cost. The development of the aerospace robotics market is marked by an escalation in the demand for global aircraft manufacturing and increased use of robots for efficient aircraft production processes. Additionally, an increase in usage of robotics to manage aircraft orders backlog and the growing manual labour cost contribute to the expansion of the aerospace robotics industry.  At a CAGR of 11.4 percent, the aerospace robotics market is expected to make USD 4.9 billion by 2026. Based on the component- controllers, arm processors, sensors, drive and end effectors, the end effector segment is likely to showcase the highest growth from 2021 to 2026. The mechanical and electrical devices installed on robots that assist in aircraft manufacturing are known as end effector often referred to as End of Arm Tooling. The effector tool usually comprises grippers, force-torque sensors, material removal tools, welding torches, collision sensors, and tool changers. Each tool has various purposes respectively. Most of the aerospace robotics manufacturers are located in the Asia Pacific region and hence, based on region, it is likely to showcase the highest growth from 2021 to 2026. China, Japan and India are the countries in the Asia Pacific region that are inclined to contribute the most in acquisitions of robotic systems and also invest in research and development in aerospace manufacturing. Additionally, the above-mentioned regions are also investing in automated solutions to reinforce their manufacturing capabilities. To improve the efficiency of their facilities, companies in China and India are importing robotic technologies from Western nations. Yaskawa Electric Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd and FANUC Corporation are some of the key manufacturers. Besides, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd is a state-owned organization from China. In a nutshell, the report looks into market penetration, product development or information, market development, market diversification, and competitive assessment. The market faces some challenges like an increased cost of implanting robotics and Possible and anticipated hazards at the Workplace with the Implementation of Robotics.   ...Read more