Aerospace

Rising fuel costs, environmental regulations and an increase in airline traffic have helped drive the increasing use of composite materials in the aerospace industry. Composites are used in military, business and commercial aircraft of all sizes, including spacecraft.

VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic’s Second SpaceShipTwo, Completes First Flight

On September 8, Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo, known as VSS Unity, took off for the first time. The VSS Unity is an all-carbon composite rocket plane designed by Scaled Composites. Back in February,...

Hakuto Unveils Moon Rover Design for Google XPRIZE Competition

Japanese space race team Hakuto recently unveiled its lunar rover design for Google sponsored Lunar XPRIZE, an unprecedented competition to challenge engineers, entrepreneurs and innovators from around the...

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ORNL Tool for Boeing 777X Sets World Record for Largest 3-D Printed Item

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed 3-D printed trim-and-drill tool that has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the largest solid...

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Solvay Doubles Carbon Fiber Manufacturing Capacity for Aircraft Structures

Last week, Solvay opened a new carbon fiber production line at its U.S. Piedmont, South Carolina, facility doubling production capacity of raw materials to make carbon fiber reinforced composite materials. The...

World’s Largest Aircraft, the Airlander 10, Completes First Flight

On August 17, the world's largest aircraft – the Airlander 10, took off for its first flight over the U.K. Composites Manufacturing has covered the Airlander 10 extensively since its revitalization in...

Solar Impulse 2 Historic World Flight Supported by Composites Industry

Pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg have completed the world’s first round-the-world solar powered flight. Their highly-publicized single-seater aircraft, the Solar Impulse 2, arrived in Ahu Dhabi...