World's biggest drone debuts

[TruthSeeker]

The world's biggest drone debuts, and it weighs nearly 28 tons
The company, Aevum, has been awarded more than $1 billion in government contracts.
By
Joseph Guzman | Dec. 3, 2020

credit: Aevum
Story at a glance

• The 80-foot aircraft has a wingspan of 60 feet, stands 18 feet tall and is the world’s largest Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) by mass, weighing 55,000 pounds.
• The aircraft is designed to drop a rocket in midair that launches small satellites into space.
• the aircraft is designed to put satellites into orbit as fast as every 180 minutes.

A private rocket-launch startup unveiled its fully autonomous drone designed to drop a rocket in midair that shoots small satellites into orbit without a launchpad.
Alabama-based company Aevum rolled out its Ravn X Autonomous Launch Vehicle at the Cecil SpacePort launch facility in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday.

The 80-foot aircraft has a wingspan of 60 feet, stands 18 feet tall and is the world’s largest Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) by mass, weighing 55,000 pounds.
The completely autonomous aircraft is 70 percent reusable with plans to be up to 95 percent reusable in the future. The craft flies just like a typical plane and can launch from any one-mile runway, doing away with the costly infrastructure that comes with a launchpad.

Once the Ravn X reaches the proper location and altitude, it drops a rocket that launches a payload of about 220 pounds into low-Earth orbit. After delivering the payload, the aircraft lands and parks itself in a hanger.
The company says the aircraft is designed to put satellites into space as fast as every 180 minutes.
“U.S. leadership has identified the critical need for extremely fast access to low Earth orbit,” Jay Skylus, founder and CEO of Aevum, said in a statement.

“Through our autonomous technologies, Aevum will shorten the lead time of launches from years to months, and when our customers demand it, minutes. This is necessary to improve lives on Earth. This is necessary to save lives,” he said.
The company has been awarded more than $1 billion in government contracts. The Space Force contracted Aevum to carry out its first small satellite mission, ASLON-45. The mission will improve “real-time threat warnings,” according to the agency.

The world’s biggest drone debuts, and it weighs nearly 28 tons

The company, Aevum, has been awarded more than $1 billion in government contracts.

thehill.com

Sounds good to put emergency satellites into orbit for warfare and natural disasters.

 

[achhu]

The world's biggest drone debuts, and it weighs nearly 28 tons
The company, Aevum, has been awarded more than $1 billion in government contracts.
By
Joseph Guzman | Dec. 3, 2020

credit: Aevum
Story at a glance

• The 80-foot aircraft has a wingspan of 60 feet, stands 18 feet tall and is the world’s largest Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) by mass, weighing 55,000 pounds.
• The aircraft is designed to drop a rocket in midair that launches small satellites into space.
• the aircraft is designed to put satellites into orbit as fast as every 180 minutes.

A private rocket-launch startup unveiled its fully autonomous drone designed to drop a rocket in midair that shoots small satellites into orbit without a launchpad.
Alabama-based company Aevum rolled out its Ravn X Autonomous Launch Vehicle at the Cecil SpacePort launch facility in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday.

The 80-foot aircraft has a wingspan of 60 feet, stands 18 feet tall and is the world’s largest Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) by mass, weighing 55,000 pounds.
The completely autonomous aircraft is 70 percent reusable with plans to be up to 95 percent reusable in the future. The craft flies just like a typical plane and can launch from any one-mile runway, doing away with the costly infrastructure that comes with a launchpad.

Once the Ravn X reaches the proper location and altitude, it drops a rocket that launches a payload of about 220 pounds into low-Earth orbit. After delivering the payload, the aircraft lands and parks itself in a hanger.
The company says the aircraft is designed to put satellites into space as fast as every 180 minutes.
“U.S. leadership has identified the critical need for extremely fast access to low Earth orbit,” Jay Skylus, founder and CEO of Aevum, said in a statement.

“Through our autonomous technologies, Aevum will shorten the lead time of launches from years to months, and when our customers demand it, minutes. This is necessary to improve lives on Earth. This is necessary to save lives,” he said.
The company has been awarded more than $1 billion in government contracts. The Space Force contracted Aevum to carry out its first small satellite mission, ASLON-45. The mission will improve “real-time threat warnings,” according to the agency.

The world’s biggest drone debuts, and it weighs nearly 28 tons

The company, Aevum, has been awarded more than $1 billion in government contracts.

thehill.com

Sounds good to put emergency satellites into orbit for warfare and natural disasters.

awesome.

 

[Hassan Guy]

in other words just 1/50th the weight of yo mama

 

[Beefeatergin]

New Indian drone
Latest Indian drone

 

[TruthSeeker]

Aevum unveils smallsat-launching drone aircraft
by Sandra Erwin — December 3, 2020

Aevum help a virtual rollout event Dec. 3 for Ravn X which the company described as the largest drone ever built. Ravn X will serve as the launch platform for a two-stage rocket capable of placing up to several hundred kilograms into low Earth orbit. Credit: Aevum
Aevum CEO Jay Skylus said Ravn X will be ready for operations within the next 18 months after it clears regulatory reviews.

WASHINGTON — Air-launch startup Aevum on Dec. 3 unveiled Ravn X, the drone aircraft that will serve as the first stage of its smallsat launch system.
Aevum, a four-year-old company based in Huntsville, Alabama, is positioning Ravn X to compete in the increasingly crowded small launch market, promising fast-response service enabled by an autonomous aircraft that can take off from any mile-long runway.

“This is the first time we’re showing the full vehicle, all three stages,” Aevum founder and CEO Jay Skylus told SpaceNews.

“Now we will start doing vehicle level testing that’s required for air-worthiness certification and launch licensing,” Skylus said.

The 55,000-pound unpiloted aircraft is 80 feet long with a 60-foot wingspan. While in flight it will release a two-stage rocket that can launch 100 kilograms to 500 kilograms of payload to low orbits. Skylus said Ravn X will be ready for operations within the next 18 months after it clears regulatory hurdles.
The next step will be to seek air-worthiness certification for the drone from the Federal Aviation Administration. The vehicle later will go to Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, Florida, for orbital launch testing.

“This is when we start putting our design through the wringer,” said Skylus. “It only gets harder from here,” he added. “The hardest part is always in the last 10 percent of any program.”
Getting through the regulatory challenges to fly an unmanned air vehicle that launches rockets will be tough, said Skylus. “But it’s necessary for the market we’re after.” The goal is to provide reliable service with minimal logistics footprint, he said. The vehicle uses jet fuel and the same equipment as airplanes.
“There’s no aircraft out there perfectly designed for small launch,” he said. “We needed a first stage. We chose a drone. Why risk a pilot?”

Aevum CEO Jay Skylus poses in front of Ravn X at an undisclosed location. A two-stage rocket attached to the aircraft’s belly will be capable of placing up to several hundred kilograms into low Earth orbit, according to the company. Credit: Aevum.

The aircraft’s long and lean shape was designed for speed, he said. “Our first stage is actually a first stage, not a carrier aircraft. Because we don’t have to worry about human pilot, we ignite half a second to 1 second on separation. This minimizes energy bleed.”
Skylus said autonomy and software-driven processes will help shorten the lead time of launches from years to months. “U.S. leadership has identified the critical need for extremely fast access to low Earth orbit,” he said.

The company has not disclosed how much private funding it has raised. Skylus said some revenues already are being generated from government contracts.

Ravn X’s first launch will be a U.S. Space Force mission called Agile Small Launch Operational Normalizer, or ASLON-45. The $4.9 million contract the company got in September 2019 had been originally awarded to Vector Launch but Vector withdrew in the wake of financial difficulties so the job was reassigned to Aevum. The mission will fly from Cecil Spaceport.

Aevum is one of eight companies the Space Force selected to compete for launch contracts in the Orbital Services Program-4 — a $986 million procurement of launch services over nine years. In addition, Skylus said, the company has received a Small Business Innovation Research contract from the U.S. Air Force and a classified Pentagon contract.

The goal long term is to have about 85 percent of Aevum’s business come from commercial customers and 15 percent from defense and research agencies, Skylus said.

The business plan is based on conducting about eight to 10 launches a year at prices ranging from $5 million to $7 million a launch, he said. “We are offering reliability and schedule and for that we’re charging a premium, we’re not the cheapest.”

Aevum unveils smallsat-launching drone aircraft

Aevum unveils smallsat-launching drone aircraft

spacenews.com

 

[aryobarzan]

The world's biggest drone debuts, and it weighs nearly 28 tons
The company, Aevum, has been awarded more than $1 billion in government contracts.
By
Joseph Guzman | Dec. 3, 2020

credit: Aevum
Story at a glance

• The 80-foot aircraft has a wingspan of 60 feet, stands 18 feet tall and is the world’s largest Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) by mass, weighing 55,000 pounds.
• The aircraft is designed to drop a rocket in midair that launches small satellites into space.
• the aircraft is designed to put satellites into orbit as fast as every 180 minutes.

A private rocket-launch startup unveiled its fully autonomous drone designed to drop a rocket in midair that shoots small satellites into orbit without a launchpad.
Alabama-based company Aevum rolled out its Ravn X Autonomous Launch Vehicle at the Cecil SpacePort launch facility in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday.

The 80-foot aircraft has a wingspan of 60 feet, stands 18 feet tall and is the world’s largest Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) by mass, weighing 55,000 pounds.
The completely autonomous aircraft is 70 percent reusable with plans to be up to 95 percent reusable in the future. The craft flies just like a typical plane and can launch from any one-mile runway, doing away with the costly infrastructure that comes with a launchpad.

Once the Ravn X reaches the proper location and altitude, it drops a rocket that launches a payload of about 220 pounds into low-Earth orbit. After delivering the payload, the aircraft lands and parks itself in a hanger.
The company says the aircraft is designed to put satellites into space as fast as every 180 minutes.
“U.S. leadership has identified the critical need for extremely fast access to low Earth orbit,” Jay Skylus, founder and CEO of Aevum, said in a statement.

“Through our autonomous technologies, Aevum will shorten the lead time of launches from years to months, and when our customers demand it, minutes. This is necessary to improve lives on Earth. This is necessary to save lives,” he said.
The company has been awarded more than $1 billion in government contracts. The Space Force contracted Aevum to carry out its first small satellite mission, ASLON-45. The mission will improve “real-time threat warnings,” according to the agency.

The world’s biggest drone debuts, and it weighs nearly 28 tons

The company, Aevum, has been awarded more than $1 billion in government contracts.

thehill.com

Sounds good to put emergency satellites into orbit for warfare and natural disasters.

I hope they send a copy over Iran so that Iranians can copy this one too.. They must be tired of Copying the RQ_170

 

[j20611]

New Indian drone
Latest Indian drone

Nice drone indians

 

[Get Ya Wig Split]

I hope they send a copy over Iran so that Iranians can copy this one too.. They must be tired of Copying the RQ_170

Can Iran copy Solemani? I don't think so

 

[aryobarzan]

Can Iran copy Solemani? I don't think so

Can Iran copy Solemani? I don't think so

Your Orange baboon has been good for Iran..he even sent his 200 million dollar global hawk drone for the Iranian target practice...with gifts like that Iran can significantly reduce her military R&D. Oh by the way...your Iraq base was also great spot for the Iranians to test and adjust their ballistic missile CEP.. I must say your MAGA chief has been good for Iran. May be he should call himself MIGA (Make Iran Great Again)...lol

 

[ARMalik]

New Indian drone
Latest Indian drone

IT LOOKS LIKE INDIANS ARE BECOMING A PROTECTED SPECIES ON THIS FORUM. I would like to know which Mod decided to ban this gentleman? Surely, there are much more idiotic posts on this forum. Just look around and you will find some very inflammatory posts by the indians here openly making fun of Kashmiris being killed. This is a VERY WORRYING trend on a Pakistani Forum that it appears that there is some specific Mod who is going out of his way to ban people on some very minor stuff being posted against the Indians. I wonder why?