INDUSTRY NEWS

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Boeing Delivers First F/A-18 Service Life Modification Jet to U.S. Navy — The first Service Life Modification (SLM) F/A-18E/F Super Hornet rolled off the production line in St. Louis, marking a major milestone for the U.S. Navy. After undergoing Department of Defense operational readiness review inspections, the jet was released to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 on January 21, fully mission capable, and successfully completed a functional flight check within just three business days of arrival. The first SLM jet underwent various inspections, modifications, and repairs before being restored to mission capable status. These modifications extended the service life for this jet to 7,500 flight hours. Currently, 15 aircraft have been inducted into SLM with another two inductions scheduled in the month of February. Prior to undergoing SLM, Super Hornets’ service life is 6,000 flight hours. As SLM ramps up over the next two years, the mission capable rates will hold steady with delivery on new Block III aircraft from the production line. In March 2019, the Navy awarded Boeing a multi-year contract to build 78 new F/A-18E/F Block III Super Hornets fit to fly for 10,000 service hours, which provides the fleet with the latest advances while SLM continues to mature.
NASA Funds Demonstration of Assembly and Manufacturing in Space — NASA has awarded a $142 million contract to Maxar Technologies of Westminster, Colorado, to robotically assemble a communications antenna and manufacture a spacecraft beam in orbit. The technology demonstration is slated to take place on NASA’s Restore-L spacecraft, designed to service and refuel a satellite in low-Earth orbit. The Restore-L spacecraft will be modified to accommodate a payload called Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot (SPIDER). The payload includes a lightweight 16-foot robotic arm. Previously known as Dragonfly during the ground demonstration phase of the NASA Tipping Point partnership, SPIDER will assemble seven elements to form a functional 9-foot (3-meter) communications antenna. The robotically assembled antenna will demonstrate Ka-band transmission with a ground station. The payload also will manufacture a 32-foot lightweight composite beam using technology developed by Tethers Unlimited of Bothell, Washington. The manufacturing element of the demonstration will verify the capability to construct large spacecraft structures in orbit. The SPIDER payload team includes Maxar, Tethers Unlimited, West Virginia Robotic Technology Center in Morgantown, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
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