SSI News
The UK Space Conference 2025: the health of the industry
The UK hosted its biennial Space Conference in Manchester in July. Once the industrial capital of the country, Manchester also happens to be the birthplace of radio astronomy after Sir Bernard Lovell established the science in 1945. Organisations and space industry...
Launches in July 2025
Graphene: the supermaterial and space
“Stronger than steel” “Stiffer than diamonds” “Capable of sitting on the surface on the sun” No, it’s not superman: It’s graphene. These were just some of the superlatives claimed to describe the “frontier material” in a workshop held during the UK Space Conference....
Satellite and Launch Orders – July 2025
Here are the latest launch and spacecraft orders which were announced or became revealed in July 2025: Construction Orders Boeing won a US$2.8 billion contract to build the first two key nuclear defence communications satellites under Evolved Strategic Satellite (ESS)...
Gilmour Space’s Eris rocket succumbs to the curse of maiden flights
Eris, a 25m tall rocket, slowly lifted itself into the air on its maiden flight from Bowen, Abbot Point, in Queensland Australia at 2035 GMT on 29 July. The rocket, built by Australian startup Gilmour space, cleared its launch pad but then its climb stopped abruptly....
Invictus hypersonic rocket plane rises from the ashes of defunct Reaction Engines plan
Frazer-Nash has announced that it is leading a new spaceplane programme called INVICTUS, with the help of the European Space Agency (ESA). Funded by €7 million from ESA, the plan is to use air-breathing rocket technology to build a test aircraft capable of Mach 5 by...
Space insurance: promising start to the year marred only by MethaneSAT claim
The year has started well for space insurers. Seradata has registered only two claims so far: the loss of the Odin (Brokkr) asteroid mission for US$3 million after contact was broken soon after launch, and MethaneSAT, for about US$40 million, when control was lost on...
Satellite and Launch Orders – June 2025
The following construction and launch orders for the space industry were announced in June 2025: Construction Orders: Despite a regulatory probe by the FCC into its spectrum licenses, EchoStar has ordered a new geostationary satellite, EchoStar XXVI, to provide...
Launches in June 2025
Test stand explosion disrupts SpaceX Starship timeline
A test stand at SpaceX’s Starbase facility was severely damaged in an explosion, marking a potentially major setback to the SpaceX Starship programme. A refuelled Starship upper stage (Ship 36) was awaiting the start of an engine test at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas...
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