Aviation, Defense and Space Industry News by Hype

space China Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation Commercial Space

Ars Technica • Stephen Clark

Chinese Company Lands Reusable Rocket Booster, Plans Another Flight

A Chinese company has successfully landed a reusable rocket booster and says it will return the vehicle to service for another flight as soon as possible. The milestone points to an active effort to demonstrate booster reuse and accelerate commercial launch operations.

Spaceflight Now • Will Robinson-Smith

LandSpace becomes first commercial Chinese company to land an orbital-class booster

Scientific American • Claire Cameron

China successfully lands its Zhuque-3 rocket, rivaling Blue Origin and SpaceX

5 Sources

2026-08-19T11:49:53.544687-07:00

aviation Airline Industry & Market Trends Airlines Delta Air Lines

NEW

Skift • Meghna Maharishi

Delta's Texas Ambitions: Is Austin Its Next Hub?

By Skift: Delta Air Lines is upping its ambitions in Texas, a longtime stronghold of American Airlines and Southwest.

1 Source

2026-08-19T13:32:45.560627-07:00

defense Helicopter Sikorsky Military Aircraft Procurement Defense Industry & Major Contractors

AINonline

Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider Points to a New Level of Performance For Future Helicopters

By AINonline: Originally developed for the U.S. Military, X2 technology is in search of a new customer.

1 Source

2026-08-19T11:35:48.040984-07:00

space Satellite Space Exploration & Science Missions NASA

SpaceNews.com • Jeff Foust

Katalyst Space and NASA abandon plans for Swift reboost

By SpaceNews.com: Katalyst Space and NASA have called off plans to use the company’s Link spacecraft to raise the orbit of the agency’s Swift gamma-ray observatory.

Space.com

Private mission to save NASA's Swift space telescope fails

Reuters

Rescue mission for aging NASA space telescope fails

Also: Space Policy Online, The Independent and Bloomberg

6 Sources

2026-08-19T12:40:44.639330-07:00

space Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation Commercial Space

European Spaceflight • Andrew Parsonson

ATMOS Moves Forward with Phoenix 3 as Phoenix 2 Launch Slips

By European Spaceflight: ATMOS Space Cargo has completed an initial study into the development of its Phoenix 3 spacecraft as the inaugural flight of Phoenix 2 slips to 2027.

1 Source

2026-08-19T12:35:06.281894-07:00

space Satellite Space Exploration & Science Missions NASA

Axios • Alex Fitzpatrick

NASA aborts attempt to save dying space telescope

By Axios: It'll burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

1 Source

2026-08-19T12:53:28.557708-07:00

space AI M&A Commercial Space

Bloomberg • Edward Ludlow, Natasha Mascarenhas, Rebecca Torrence

SpaceX Attempted to Acquire AI Coding Startup Cognition

By Bloomberg: SpaceX approached artificial intelligence coding startup Cognition AI Inc. about a potential acquisition, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would have been its second large takeover in recent months to gain ground in the AI race.

2 Sources

2026-08-19T12:21:16.436963-07:00

aviation North America Airports Airport Infrastructure & Air Traffic Management

CNBC

Board approves $19.9 billion plan to overhaul Washington Dulles airport

By CNBC: The $6.2 billion reconstruction of the main terminal at the primary international airport serving the D.C. region is set to begin in late 2027.

The Points Guy

Hold your lounges! Dulles’ love-them-or-hate-them people movers aren’t going anywhere until the mid-2030s

2 Sources

2026-08-19T09:35:59.147686-07:00

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