SSI News
NASA books launches with three upcoming launch providers for smallsat missions
On 11 December 2020 NASA awarded Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS) contracts to three aspiring launch providers. The recipients of these contracts are: Astra Space; Relativity Space; and Firefly Aerospace (through a specialised sales subsidiary, Firefly Black). The...
Was it an abort or launch failure? SpaceShipTwo abandons launch one second after ignition
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity rocket plane was air-dropped on a suborbital test flight from its mother ship WhiteKnightTwo Eve (which lifted off from Spaceport America at 1524 GMT) from an altitude of 13km at 1615 GMT on 12 December. An attempted ignition was...
SXM-7 digital broadcasting sat is launched by Falcon 9 (Corrected)
At 1730 GMT on 13 December 2020, a SpaceX Falcon 9v1.2 Block 5 rocket launched the digital broadcasting satellite SXM-7 (Sirius XM-7) for Sirius XM from the Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida, USA. The reusable first stage B1051 on its seventh flight was landed...
NRO L-44 mission is launched successfully by upgraded Delta IV Heavy
The NRO L-44 (ORION 10) spacecraft of the US National Reconnaissance Office, was finally launched by an upgraded Delta IV Heavy rocket at 0109 GMT on 11 December 2020. The launch, operated by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) took place from Pad 37B at Cape Canaveral,...
Relatively Space’s Terran 1 rocket gets a launch order from TriSept
Relativity Space has signed a Launch Services Agreement (LSA) for a Dedicated Rideshare flight with Trisept Corp for a launch of the 3D printed Terran 1 rocket. The mission will carry a mix of large and small satellites for Trisept's clients. The flight will take...
NASA announces first tranche of Project Artemis lunar mission astronauts
NASA has formally announced the astronauts that will participate on the lunar missions as part of Project Artemis. The cadre of 18 is split evenly between men and women. Some have space experience and some do not: Joseph Acaba. Born 1967, Anaheim, California....
Vega C to launch four Airbus/CNES Earth imaging CO3D satellites
Arianespace has received the launch contract on 7 December for four CO3D Earth observation satellites. They are to be orbited by the upcoming delayed Vega C rocket - built by Avio, Italy. The launch is planned to take place in 2023, and will see the four satellites...
UK-based future launch provider Orbex secures a further round of financing
Orbex has announced the finalisation of a second round of funding. Orbex is a prospective launch provider based in Scotland, planning to build and launch a light launch vehicle from the region. The announcement on 10 December disclosed the US$24 million raised and...
On a sadder note: sound barrier breaker Chuck Yeager passes away…as does renowned golf commentator Peter Alliss, Carry On actress Barbara Windsor, & spy author John le Carré
Brigadier General Chuck Yeager has died at the age of 97. While some suggest that the British test pilot Geoffrey DeHavilland might have done it when his DH108 experimental swept wing tailless jet broke up during a transonic dive over the Thames Estuary, killing him...
Long March 11 launches pair of GECAM satellites to detect gravitational waves via X-ray and Gamma ray sources
A Long March 11 (CZ-11) rocket successfully launched a pair of GECAM (Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-Sky Monitor) satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO) from the Xichang Satellite Center, China, at 2015 GMT on 9 December 2020. The two...
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