The Shuttle Era Ends

Sept. 1, 2011
Thirty years of US space shuttle operations came to an end

Related Content

Brown Tours Pacific as U.S. and China Hold Dueling Exercises

Aug. 15, 2022
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. had hardly left the Indo-Pacific theater before China flew a joint bomber and fighter mission with U.S. partner Thailand. In nearby Indonesia, the U.S. concluded exercise Garuda Shield alongside Australia, Japan, and Singapore. At each stop, Brown held an all-call…

Air Force F-35 Stand Down Ends After Ejection Seat Inspections

Aug. 15, 2022
Two weeks after standing down its fleet of F-35s to check for potentially faulty parts in the fighters’ ejection seats, the Air Force has mostly completed its inspections and the aircraft has been cleared to resume normal operations, Air Combat Command announced.

Austin Tests Positive for COVID-19 Again—Second Time in Eight Months

Aug. 15, 2022
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has COVID-19 for the second time in 2022. Austin said in a statement Aug. 15 that he’d tested positive that morning. He was “experiencing mild symptoms” and planned to quarantine at home for five days in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Austin…

F-35 Lot 15 Will Include Up to 129 Fighters, Cost $7.6 Billion

Aug. 15, 2022
Lot 15 of the F-35 fighter will include up to 129 aircraft, including 49 F-35As for the Air Force, and cost up to $7.6 billion. The final contract award came less than a month after the F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin announced a “handshake” deal for Lots 15-17…

Requirements for KC-Y Likely in Fall; Analysis of Alternatives for KC-Z Set for 2024

Aug. 12, 2022
The Air Force’s nascent KC-Z program, aimed at developing a next-generation family of systems for aerial refueling, will look to launch its analysis-of-alternatives study in 2024, years earlier than originally planned. Originally, the analysis of alternatives for the KC-Z was set for “maybe in the 2030s,” Paul Waugh, program executive…

Air Force Contemplates Reorganizing Software Factories; Kessel Run Looks to Expand

Aug. 12, 2022
The Air Force's network of software development teams has grown prodigiously in recent years, with 17 software factories, three software engineering groups, and two enterprise services spread across the U.S. Now, however, USAF is reconsidering how it wants to organize those teams—having them work more closely together or possibly even…

New Cost Estimate to Upgrade and Operate Boneyard-Bound F-22s Due in September

Aug. 12, 2022
The Air Force will have an estimate of what it would cost to upgrade 33 Block 20 training F-22s to operational configuration by mid-September, and it will likely be “a tremendous number,” Brig. Gen. Dale White, program executive officer for fighters and advanced aircraft, told reporters at an industry conference.…