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By registering for this event, attendees agree to share their contact information with the event organizers (Boeing) and ADAC (Aerospace and Defense Alliance of California).

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As one of the most cost-effective aircraft in the U.S. tactical aviation fleet, the Super Hornet is taxpayer-friendly. It’s also a job creator. Approximately 800 small and medium sized businesses across the country manufacture the Super Hornet, creating thousands of jobs. This naval aircraft also spurs an estimated annual economic impact of $3 billion for the nation’s economy.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet is a cost effective job creator that spurs economic activity from sea to shining sea – a true win, win, win for the nation.

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This most recent X-37B mission will be the first ever to use a service module to host experiments. This not only is providing the Air Force and its mission partners with invaluable data that furthers research efforts, but it represents a significant milestone in how we build, test, and deploy space capability quickly and safely in an ever-changing environment.

Upon successful completion of its sixth mission, there is no doubt that the X-37B program continues to push the realm of possibility for reusable space systems and will be an essential tool in future space exploration.

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Boeing’s Starliner is moving closer to a scheduled uncrewed launch to the International Space Station (ISS). With the stacking of the vehicle and the preflight checks underway, it’s an exciting milestone for space exploration and research.

The Starliner team’s next mission will be an Orbital Flight Test, slated for later in December, where the spacecraft will dock with ISS carrying a test dummy named Rose, an homage to Rosie the Riveter. In the near future, NASA Astronauts Chris Ferguson, Mike Fincke, and Nicole Mann will blast-off to the ISS to work on important scientific research projects aboard the station.

The Starliner will sit at the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, which will carry Starliner to space on its inaugural mission from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Stay tuned for more details on the launch and where you can watch this historic event live.

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The Blue Angels are the Navy and Marine Corps’ elite flight demonstration squadron. With pilots drawn from active-duty Navy and Marine flight squadrons, the Blue Angels demonstrate the incredible skills of America’s Naval and Marine pilots. The F/A-18 Hornets they fly are combat-ready aircraft that are constantly updated to meet the latest demands on the battlefield.

One of the most proven, versatile and affordable fighter jets used by the Navy and international allies, the F/A-18 has a reputation of being the Navy’s only strike fighter that lets it dominate both the skies and land, and has surpassed more than 10 million flight hours.

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The Blue Angels surprised employees at the Boeing St. Louis F/A-18 factory last month by making a special visit to the plant.

While visiting the St. Louis factory, the pilots met face-to-face with the Boeing employees responsible for the production and maintenance of the F/A-18s.

Captain Eric Doyle, Blue Angel Flight Leader and Commanding Officer, said, “We’ve been flying these jets since we all grew up. We started in F/A 18s, and it’s really special to us to come back and see where they’re created, and where they’re maintained.”

The Boeing employees got the chance to tell their own stories about manufacturing the fighter jets to the pilots.

Commander Andre Web reflected on his experience, saying “That’s the cool part, to come back here and get to meet the employees who say they’ve been here for 30, 40, or 50 years, proud Americans working on the beautiful F/A 18s.

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ICBM stands for Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. ICBMs are guided missiles that typically launch from the ground and can travel vast distances – sometimes more than 6,000 miles! They also play an important role in deterring threats from nuclear states and keeping Americans and our allies safe.

Recently, the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command tested an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California. The silo-launched Minuteman III is always on alert 24/7. In fact, the Minuteman ICBM system hasn’t had a day off since 1962.

Boeing has designed and delivered all three generations of the ground-based, silo-launched Minuteman ICBMs — first partnering with the Air Force to develop the ICBM in 1958.

The Minuteman III is safe, secure, and effective — exactly what America needs to keep its citizens and allies safe from global threats.

Developing a new ICBM weapon system to thwart evolving global threats is crucial for continued security. America’s ICBM systems must be transformed from a Cold War-era arsenal to a simple but powerful force that can adapt to the complex security environment of the 21st century.

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International Space Station Telescope Makes Amazing Observation of Black Hole Eating Stuff

Jan. 9, 2019

“A telescope on the International Space Station made an incredible high-resolution measurement of the x-rays resulting from a black hole sucking up matter that could have important implications for astronomers’ understanding of these mysterious objects.”

2018 Showcased the International Space Station Program’s Elasticity

December 31, 2018

“The 20th year of International Space Station operations continued to show hundreds of of science experiments can be performed while managing a dozen different visiting vehicles and multiple spacewalks throughout the year. Moreover, it showcased the international partner space agencies’ ability to handle and recover from large unexpected events.”

The International Space Station Just Turned 20- Here’s What Astronauts Say about Living in the $150 Billion Orbiting Laboratory

Nov. 23, 2019

“The International Space Station (ISS) celebrated its 20th anniversary on Tuesday, marking two decades since the station’s first component launched into orbit on a Russian rocket. Since November 2000, when NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko became the first humans to stay long-term on the ISS, more than 230 people have visited the $150 billion laboratory in space. Today, the ISS is voluminous enough to fill a six-bedroom house. It’s the largest space vehicle ever built, and scientists have conducted more than 2,500 investigations there.”

An Entirely New Way of Thinking: The ISS Celebrates 20 Years in Space

Nov. 20, 2018

“The International Space Station, or ISS, pushed NASA into “an entirely new way of thinking,” Gary Oleson, a station engineer, told Space.com. Oleson worked as a member of NASA’s Space Station Program Office from 1988 to 1993; at first doing the cost side of systems engineering, and then as a principal systems engineer liaison, where he focused on the project’s logistics and maintenance.”

International Space Station: Twenty Facts about the ISS as it Celebrates its 20th Birthday

Nov. 19, 2018

“The ISS was also a landmark act of co-operation between the United States and Russia, the old Cold War foes definitively laying to rest decades of nuclear tensions to share the expertise both sides had accumulated during and after the Space Race of the 1960s to further the common good. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this extraordinary project, intended to last another 10 years at least, here are 20 facts you might not know about the ISS”

The “Awesomeness” of the International Space Station

Nov. 4, 2018

“American 18-year-olds voting for the first time on Nov. 6 will not have spent a day in their life without humans orbiting the Earth in space.”

Make Space Great Again: Why the International Space Station Still Matters

Sept. 3, 2018

“Shuttling astronauts to and fro, hasn’t garnered much fanfare from the populace. Aside from a few novel experiments like Scott Kelly’s recent year-long session in space, ISS expeditions have gotten minimal coverage. The ISS has produced an incredible amount of scientific output and many discoveries that will pave the way for the future of space exploration and human colonization. NASA’s research page lists thousands of different experiments conducted over the past twenty years.”

International Space Station Orbiting Earth. 3D Illustration.

Continued U.S. Support of International Space Station is Critical for Future Space Exploration

June 11, 2018

“Continuously manned since the year 2000 with financial support from 15 countries, the ISS is a marvel of human engineering, international cooperation and scientific achievement. Research conducted aboard the ISS has helped us better understand the long-term effects of space travel,which is criticalfor future manned travel to the moon and beyond. Funding for the ISS is set to continue through at least 2024, with potential extension through 2028 or beyond currently being discussed among partners.”

When Did we Stop Thinking Big? Save the International Space Station

May 31, 2018

“Our human spaceflight laboratory is now reaching its peak scientific capabilities, and it would be a policy failure to schedule an end to consistent government funding of ISS. NASA’s FY 2019 budget proposal includes plans to end funding for the International Space Station by 2025 or transferring our valuable taxpayer investment to a private U.S. or international company or consortium. Conservatives, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have opposed this plan.”

Senators to Push NASA to Extend ISS through 2028

May 16, 2018

“A bi-partisan pair of U.S. senators said in a hearing that the report from NASA Inspector General provided a closing argument against the Trump administration’s proposal to privatize or abandon the orbiting laboratory so soon, saying NASA should extend its life until at least 2028. “We’ve got this platform up there (worth) north of $100 billion, and it’s there,” said Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, ranking member on the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. “Abandoning this incredible orbiting laboratory where they are doing research, when we are on the cusp of a new era of space exploration, would be irresponsible at best and probably disastrous.” “The defense rests,” quipped Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness.”

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Boeing: The Leader Of The Commercial Space Race

Sep. 25, 2018

Boeing and SpaceX are the two trailblazing companies that are paving the way towards making space flight a normality. Currently, the two companies are involved in a new space race, a race to be the first commercial company to put people in space.

Astronaut Inspired by ‘The Right Stuff’ gets set for second act he never expected

Sep. 9, 2018

“I was positive I was not going to fly again. I didn’t foresee this coming about at all. I started talking to some of the senior leaders from Boeing — we started talking about maybe needing an astronaut’s touch on the new vehicle that they were building back in 2011. Not many people knew about it, myself included. When they started talking about having me join the team, I thought, “Wow, I actually get to leverage some of my experience.” To be able to put all of your experience to use and help put together the next generation of spacecraft, who would not jump at that opportunity?”

Boeing crew sees Starliner on Space Coast as company prepares for 2019 launch from U.S.

Aug. 9, 2018

“KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — Nicole Mann does not think her young son quite yet understands that his mother will head into space soon. But at the very least he got to see his mother stand alongside Vice President Mike Pence when he announced assignments for astronauts in Houston last week. That moment will stand out to the 41-year-old NASA astronaut as she prepares to help the United States return to launching humans into space soon. On Thursday, Mann got one of her first up-close looks at the Boeing Starliner, the capsule she will fly into space in alongside veteran astronauts Eric Boe and Chris Ferguson.”

NASA trained and Boeing employed: Chris Ferguson hopes to make history as a company astronaut

Aug. 9, 2018

In its corner, Boeing has Ferguson, a secret weapon of sorts, a polite and polished pilot with an unblemished résumé. On the final shuttle mission, he left an American flag on board the International Space Station, with “the goal that the next crew that launches from American soil gets to bring it home.” The race is like a “sort of grown-up capture the flag,” Ferguson said. “It probably has a lot more significance to me than it does to, say, somebody from our competition.” Being among the last to launch from U.S. soil “doesn’t entitle me to get it,” he said. “But we’re in a pretty good position.”

Humans are Going to Infinity and Beyond [or at least the moon] with Boeing’s Starliner

Apr. 10, 2018

“This wonder capsule will soon be sending the ISS experiments meant to improve long-term stays beyond Earth’s atmosphere, including 3D-printing tests for tools and equipment parts and methods of growing vegetables from our planet on another planet. After it’s successfully proven it can shuttle payloads back and forth to the ISS, Starliner’s next destination will be the moon—once the proposedLunar Orbital Platform Gateway (LOPG)actually becomes a reality—before launching research missions and (eventually) nascent colonies to Mars.”

Look Inside Boeing’s Race to Launch the Next Generation of Human Spaceflight

Mar. 15, 2018

“As a company with three multibillion-dollar divisions, Boeing is known for its work as an airplane manufacturer and a defense contractor before its space businesses. But the company says Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg is trying to change that with his “One Boeing” initiative, so the company shares resources and talent from within. One example of Boeing applying Muilenberg’s principle is when the company brought in engineers from the commercial airplanes division to teach those in the Starliner program how to use a “shimming tool.” In essence, the specialized tool was capable of drilling and installing the black seams (seen below) in a few hours. When done by hand, each seam would have taken about a month to install.”

Boeing Starliner Astronauts Are Going to Have the Most Space Punk Boots

Jul. 24, 2017

“Astronauts are golden retrievers of human beings. The rest of us have to live vicariously through their resplendent existences while we sit back and watch hours of cats reacting to fidget spinners. Now, Reebok has decided to make our astronaut envy even worse—it’s finally revealed the space boots for Boeing Starliner astronauts and goddamn are they fly.”

Examining Boeing’s New Starliner Spacesuit

Mar. 9, 2017

Boeing recently unveiled the suit that astronauts will be wearing when they ride their upcoming Starliner capsule to the International Space Station (ISS). Officially called the Starliner Ascent and Entry Suit, it also answers to “Starliner spacesuit”. Aside from its bold “Boeing blue” color, the Starliner spacesuit has numerous features worth noting. It is quite different in several ways from any suit that astronauts have ever worn before. These differences reflect an emphasis on mobility and comfort, efforts to blend the suit with its host spacecraft, and the specific emergency scenarios that the suit is designed for.

Touchscreen gloves? Zippered helmets? Boeing reboots the spacesuit for Starliner

Jan. 25, 2017

The spacesuit designed for astronauts riding Boeing’s Starliner space taxi makes a fashion statement for the 21st century, from its touchscreen-sensitive gloves to its color-coordinated shoes. And all of it in Boeing blue. The spacesuit made its public debut today during a media extravaganza at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with former NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson as one of the emcees. “I was essentially the model for this as they built the suit around me,” said Ferguson, who commanded the final space shuttle mission in 2011 and now serves as Boeing’s director of crew and mission systems.

Additional Reading

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner: A 21st Century Space Capsule in Photos

August 3, 2018

How Boeing’s Commercial CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft Works

August 3, 2018

Boeing CST-100 Starliner: Next-Generation Spaceship

August 2, 2018

Social Media

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