SSI News
KSLV-II (NURI) rocket reaches target altitude but its dummy satellite did not achieve orbit
The maiden orbital launch of the KSLV-II (NURI) rocket, South Korea’s first domestically built launch vehicle, took place at 0800 GMT on 21 October. The three-stage vehicle carried a 1.5 metric ton dummy satellite payload. The 200 metric ton KSLV-II (NURI) rocket was...
Nanoracks-Lockheed Martin team plots Starlab space station…then Blue Origin-Boeing-Sierra Space team announces Orbital Reef design
Nanoracks, in collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin, has formed a team to develop the first free-flying commercial space station. The space station, known as Starlab, will be a continuously crewed commercial platform, dedicated to conducting critical...
NASA selects gamma-ray telescope COSI as its next SMEX mission
NASA has selected the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) spacecraft as its next Small Explorer (SMEX) class mission. The selection confirmed COSI as the contest winner on 18 October, heading out three other finalists who were also selected in March 2020....
Atlas V launches Trojan asteroid surveyor Lucy on mission for NASA…then has trouble locking out one of her solar arrays
An Atlas V 401 rocket from ULA (United Launch Alliance) has launched a Lockheed Martin-built, NASA Discovery-class spacecraft into orbit. Lift-off took place at 0934 GMT on 16 October from Cape Canaveral, USA, and utilised the “401” Atlas V configuration with no...
US DoD vexed by Chinese hypersonic missile test and North Korea’s submarine launch of Polaris-equivalent Pukguksong 3 missile into the Sea of Japan
While the US Department of Defense (DoD) has been reportedly alarmed by the recent apparent single very low orbital test of a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS)-style hypersonic Glide missile by China during July, there was a worse surprise: during October...
OneWeb crosses constellation halfway mark with another launch
LEO constellation contender OneWeb passed the satellite deployment, halfway mark with another 36-unit launch from Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia. The mission took place at 0940 GMT on 14 October and lasted for 3 hours 52 minutes. The Soyuz 2-1B rocket utilised a...
China launches new crew to its space station on board its Shenzhou 13 spacecraft
China successfully launched the human crewed Shenzhou 13 spacecraft on a Long March 2F (CZ-2F) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, China, at 1623 GMT on 15 October. The crew headed for the Tiangong space station for a six-month stay consisted of Zhai Zhigang...
International Space Station destablised as Soyuz MS-18 engine burn lasts too long but cosmonaut, actress & director returned to Earth OK
After a delay, the NASA mission control centre in Houston reported that the recently docked Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft had a longer than expected burn on 15 October during a test firing of its engines, which was only shut down when a propellant limit was reached. The...
China launches Long March 2D rocket carrying 11 small satellites
China successfully launched a Long March 2D (CZ-2D) vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, China, at 1051 GMT on 14 October into a sun-synchronous orbit. The vehicle was carrying the 508 kg CHASE - the Chinese H alpha Solar Explorer, and the SSS2A...
OHB set to receive contract to build four optical data-relay sats for SpaceLink
American company SpaceLink looks set to select European manufacturer OHB System to build its four satellite data-relay constellation, according to an announcement on 13 October. In the announcement SpaceLink states that the contract is "expected to exceed US$300...
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