Starting a small launch vehicle operation remains a risky business. US start-up small launch vehicle firm, Firefly, which laid off staff last year after a withdrawal of a major investor, is now having its assets sold off. While there were doubts about its first stage...
A SpaceX Falcon 9v1.2FT expendable rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, at 0600 GMT on 16 March. The launch marks the third launch of the year for SpaceX who are still trying to get back on track after their on-pad explosion in September...
On 14 March, SpaceX announced they had won a US$96.5 million contract, to use its Falcon 9 rocket for the launch of the third US Air Force GPS IIIA spacecraft in February 2019. These “Batch A” spacecraft are currently in development at Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft,...
While many have concerns over the Orwellian prospect of being spied on by our own appliances ranging from smart televisions to more bizarrely, sex aids, the “Internet of Things” was viewed as a positive development by the leaders of satellite operators at the...
Spanish government satellite operator, Hisdesat Strategic Services (Hisdesat), announced (8 March) that it has signed a launch contract with US company SpaceX, for a shared Falcon 9 launch near the end of 2017. Hisdesat originally had a contract – signed in 2010...
The SENTINEL-2B Earth-observation spacecraft was carried to low-Earth Orbit (LEO) by a Vega light launcher at 0149GMT on 7 March. The mission was conducted by Arianespace, under a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA), in service to the European...
