Aerospace and Defense Review : News

Maverick Helicopters was founded by an entrepreneurial couple in 1995 and today, it is one of the largest aviation-based tourism companies in the world. With just a helicopter, they had a vision to create a company that would provide a true VIP-level experience not previously offered in the helicopter industry. Maverick Helicopter, one of the largest aviation-based tourism companies worldwide, received a $2.1 million investment from Advantage Capital. The investment will help the company weather the economic downturn attributed to COVID-19 and retain nearly 300 Nevada employees. Maverick Helicopters was founded by veteran Gregg Rochna in 1995 with one helicopter and has since grown to one of the largest aviation-based tourism companies in the world with 47 helicopters and five airplanes. [vendor_logo_first] "There is a lot of uncertainty in the economy right now, but this investment has provided the stability we needed to get over this hurdle, keep our people working, and position our company for continued growth," said Gregg Rochna. "We have hit our stride over the past five years in terms of growth and I'm excited to keep the momentum going." The funding for this investment was made in connection with the Nevada New Markets Jobs Act, which was passed by the state legislature in 2013 and renewed in 2019 to help businesses in low-income areas across the state gain access to investment capital and create good jobs for Nevada residents. "I am so glad to see the Nevada NMTC program at work, doing exactly what it is intended to do-supporting businesses in distressed areas and helping to retain good, quality jobs here in Nevada. The economy has really taken a hit in recent times, and these are the kinds of programs that will help small businesses get the financing they need to get us on the path to recovery," said Assemblywoman, Dina Neal. This financing is part of a more substantial $7.5 million investment made as part of a new initiative, the Silver State Growth Capital Initiative, which backs growth-focused Nevada-based entrepreneurs and operators. See Also:  Top Aviation Technology Solution Companies ...Read more

The Crew Dragon spacecraft built by SpaceX is the first American made spacecraft to complete a space mission in over a decade. During an August 4 press conference, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley stated that they were pleased with the Crew Dragon Spacecraft's performance. The two astronauts praised SpaceX and NASA's commercial crew program for their work in the development of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The Crew Dragon spacecraft built by SpaceX is the first American made spacecraft to complete a space mission in over a decade. The Crew Dragon spacecraft completed a mission carrying the two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and back, which lasted a little over two months. "I personally expected there to be more, certainly not issues with the vehicle, but some challenges or some things that were maybe not quite what we expected," Hurley [vendor_logo_first] said, based on his experience flying on space shuttle missions. "The mission went just like the simulators. Honestly, from start to finish, all the way, there were no surprises." Hurley stated an example during reentry when he expected the spacecraft's altitude control to deviate from the plan due to the denser lower atmosphere shortly before parachute deployment. "I fully expected that to happen, and it did not," he said. "The vehicle was rock solid." Behnken was more descriptive of the reentry into the atmosphere and painted a more vivid picture. "Once we descended a little bit into the atmosphere, Dragon really came alive," he said, firing thrusters to maintain the proper attitude during reentry. The initial plan for the Demo-2 mission was for a short test flight, wherein the astronauts would spend a few days at the ISS. However, for two months, NASA extended the mission so that Hurley and Behnken could help support station operations at the ISS as there were only three astronauts present on board. According to Hurley, the extended mission had an added benefit of testing the spacecraft thoroughly. "As we descended through the atmosphere, the thrusters were firing almost  See also:  Top Aerospace Manufacturing Companies ...Read more

The operational architecture consists of three essential parts, space superiority, strategic efforts, and theater effects. Space superiority is meant to be the eyes and ears in space to understand better what is going on up there The majority of the satellites, ground infrastructure, and information systems to be purchased by the U.S. Space Force will be developed in the private sector. According to Col. Russell Teehan, portfolio architect of the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles, the developed technologies will be part of the future capabilities of the U.S. Space Force. He described a notional operational architecture for the systems and technologies that the U.S. Space Force believes it will need. Established as the sixth branch of the U.S. military in December, the Space Force is responsible for protecting the U.S. space assets and providing space-based capabilities in the U.S. and allied military forces. The operational architecture consists of three essential parts, space superiority, strategic efforts, and theater effects. Space superiority is meant to be the eyes and ears in space to understand better what is going on up there. This will help the agency to protect the nation’s assets better ion space. This requires advanced sensors and surveillance systems that provide what is known as space domain awareness. [vendor_logo_first] Strategic effects refer to capabilities like space-based early-warning sensors that can detect missile launches, nuclear command, and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT). According to Teehan, a strategic architecture ensures that the layers are resilient and can last through all phases of a conflict. Theater effects Services provided by satellites such as communications, regional missile defense, surveillance, and weather fall under theater effects. This sector has seen a significant rise in commercial, allied assets, and smallsats. Teehan stated that there is a lot of commercial activity within the low Earth orbits, a lot of satcom, positioning, navigation, and timing. Theater effects provide a significant opportunity for smallsat innovations. Commercial services are becoming increasingly available for weather data. The Space and Missile Systems Center is currently testing some of these services before deciding if it should invest in government-owned sensors. There are also significant opportunities for commercial players to participate in the deep space architecture segment, which is not spoken about much. There is a continued effort within the Space Force looking at the capability of pushing to cislunar space. This is mainly due to NASA’s accelerated efforts to return to the moon and then to Mars in the future. See Also:  Top Aerospace Tech Solution Companies ...Read more