Aerospace Designs (current)

In one of the largest successful demonstrations of swarming micro-drones, over 100 Perdix UAVs screamed over the US Naval Air Systems Command’s testing grounds at China Lake, California last October.

Three F/A-18 Super Hornets launched 103 Perdix UAVs which demonstrated collective decision-making, self healing and adaptive formation flying, according to a 9 January public release from the US Defense Department. Perdix are not pre-programmed and rather share a distributed brain which allows them to adapt their formation, according to the DOD. The UAVs transmit information within the swarms and to command stations.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/secretive-dod-office-reveals-swarming-perdix-uavs-432993/

FALCON 9

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. As the first rocket completely developed in the 21st century, Falcon 9 was designed from the ground up for maximum reliability. Falcon 9’s simple two-stage configuration minimizes the number of separation events -- and with nine first-stage engines, it can safely complete its mission even in the event of an engine shutdown.

Falcon 9 made history in 2012 when it delivered Dragon into the correct orbit for rendezvous with the International Space Station, making SpaceX the first commercial company ever to visit the station. Since then SpaceX has made multiple flights to the space station, both delivering and returning cargo for NASA. Falcon 9, along with the Dragon spacecraft, was designed from the outset to deliver humans into space and under an agreement with NASA, SpaceX is actively working toward that goal.

Facebook tests solar-powered Aquila UAV

Online networking service Facebook is now an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) operator, having achieved first flight of the first full-scale, solar-powered, ultra-long-endurance Aquila on 28 June in Yuma, Arizona.

Google UAV 1

Alphabet's Project Wing UAVs, first revealed in 2014, aren't like Amazon's drones -- they take off vertically then fly like a fixed-wing plane. While not as maneuverable as standard UAVs, they can fly much farther and carry more weight (see the video, below). Though the FAA released its final rules for drone operations in June, deliveries still aren't allowed. However, Alphabet has reportedly been testing them in the US anyway, skirting the regulations via a NASA waiver. It plans to launch the service commercially in 2017.

Google UAV 2

Google is to continue with development of a solar-powered stratospheric unmanned aircraft for Internet delivery, despite confirming the prototype crashed on its first flight in New Mexico on May 1. With a wingspan of 164 ft., but weighing only 350 lb., the Solara 50 UAV developed by Google company Titan Aerospace crashed soon after takeoff. The aircraft came down in farmland, causing no injuries or damage. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash

GOOGLE PROJECT LOON

FLIGHT

We aim to launch and maintain a fleet of balloons to provide Internet coverage to users on the ground, with our Autolaunchers capable of safely and consistently launching a new balloon every 30 minutes. We have flown over 17 million km of test flights to date since the project began - with one of our record-breaking balloons surviving for 187 days aloft in the stratosphere.

CONNECTION

High speed internet is transmitted up to the nearest balloon from our telecommunications partner on the ground, relayed across the balloon network, and then back down to users on the ground. We have demonstrated data transmission between balloons over 100 km apart in the stratosphere and back down to people on the ground with connection speeds of up to 10 Mbps, directly to their LTE phones.

Amazon Prime Air

We're excited about Prime Air — a delivery system from Amazon designed to safely get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using unmanned aerial vehicles, also called drones. Prime Air has great potential to enhance the services we already provide to millions of customers by providing rapid parcel delivery that will also increase the overall safety and efficiency of the transportation system.

Amazon BLUE ORIGIN MAKES HISTORIC ROCKET LANDING

Van Horn, Texas - November 24, 2015 - Blue Origin today announced that its New Shepard space vehicle successfully flew to space, reaching its planned test altitude of 329,839 feet (100.5 kilometers) before executing a historic landing back at the launch site in West Texas. To receive updates on Blue Origin’s continuing progress and early access to ticketing information, sign up at www.blueorigin.com/interested.

SpaceShip Two

The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.

SpaceShipTwo is carried to its launch altitude by a Scaled Composites White Knight Two, before being released to fly on into the upper atmosphere powered by its rocket engine. It then glides back to Earth and performs a conventional runway landing The spaceship was officially unveiled to the public on 7 December 2009 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. On 29 April 2013, after nearly three years of unpowered testing, the first one constructed successfully performed its first powered test flight.