SSI News
SpaceX launches resupply mission to the ISS carrying first batch of new solar arrays (Updated)
SpaceX successfully launched the Dragon CRS 22 resupply mission to the ISS at 1729 GMT on 3 June from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA. The mission in service to NASA is carrying 3,328 kg of cargo, supplies, and hardware. Of this an important part are the first...
Axiom Space orders a further three private Crew Dragon missions to the ISS
Axiom Space has purchased three further private, human spaceflight missions to the ISS. This order, made on 2 June, follows on from one signed in March 2020 for its first AX-1 mission - planned for January 2022. With this new order Axiom has returned to SpaceX for use...
China launches second next-gen weather satellite towards GEO
A new meteorological satellite for China was launched at 1617 GMT on 2 June. The mission utilised a Long March 3B-G2 (CZ-3B-G2) rocket and lifted-off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China. The satellite Fengyun-4B (FY-4B) was placed in to a Geostationary...
NASA has selected two new Discovery-class missions both to study Venus
NASA selected two new missions to form part of its Discovery programme on 2 June. These missions lie on the smaller end of the scale for NASA, but will still be funded to the tune of US$500 million each. The winning candidates have been in competition since 2019 when...
China launches autonomous resupply freighter to its space station
China launched the Tianzhou-2 resupply freighter to the Chinese Space Station (CSS) at 1255 GMT, on 29 May. The mission lifted-off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, Southern China, and utilised a Long March 7 (CZ-7) rocket. Following its launch the freighter...
Third OneWeb launch of the year takes constellation count to over 200
Following a brief one-day delay a Soyuz 2-1B (with Fregat upper-stage) rocket lifted-off from Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia, at 1738 GMT, on 28 May. The mission was the third of the year servicing the OneWeb constellation, and carried 36 of its satellites to LEO. The...
SpaceX completes 100th straight Falcon 9 mission and completes the first Starlink “shell”
At 1859 GMT on 26 May 2021 SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Space Forces Station, Florida, USA. The rocket was carrying 60 Starlink satellites intended to complete the first "shell" - 1,584 units, at 550km, inclined at 53...
CesiumAstro reveals plans for its first technology validation mission in September
CesiumAstro announced on 25 May that it would be launching its first mission, dubbed "Cesium Mission 1", to LEO alongside the NASA Landsat 9 satellite in September this year. Cesium Mission 1 will consist of two 6U-CubeSats, built in-house, and are intended to...
Gallagher Snaps Up Willis Specialty and Willis Re
Insurance broker Arthur J Gallagher & Co is once again set to be a beneficiary of another firm’s mega takeover. In a re-run of its successful 2019 acquisition of part of JLT speciality – with the main deal going to Marsh – Gallagher has struck a US$3.57 billion...
UKSA funds OneWeb-led consortium to develop satellite to showcase “beam-hopping” and other technologies
On 24 May the UKSA (UK Space Agency) awarded GBP£32 million (US$45 million) to a consortium led by LEO constellation operator OneWeb. This group of UK space industry companies has been tasked with developing a satellite - known as "Joey-Sat" - to demonstrate new...
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