At the Heads of Space Agency online plenary at the International Astronautical Congress IAC 2020, Jim Bridenstine, NASA’s Administrator, started his presentation with the quote that “Competition is a driver, collaboration is an enabler.” By cooperating, nations would...
While still high relative to recent years, the space launch total for 2019 at 102 orbital attempted launches was more than 10 per cent down on last year’s figure of 114. China continued to dominate, again taking the number one spot with 34 launches. These included the...
The 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2019) was held in the US Capital Washington DC during October. One advantage of the event being held in a “mainline” capital city – rather than the much smaller city of Bremen last year and Adelaide the...
Controllers at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) were licking their wounds after its unmanned landing attempt on the Moon ended in failure – and with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, looking on. The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter/Vikram Lander/Pragram Rover...
An uprated version (using higher propellant loadings and a higher thrust) of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) GSLV Mk II rocket using the indigenously produced cryogenic upper stage was successfully launched from Sriharikota in India. The rocket...
The Ariane 5-ECA roared off its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana at 2037 GMT on 4 December 2018. The launch carried two satellites: GSAT 11 and GEO-KOMPSAT 2A. Installed as the Ariane 5 ECA’s upper passenger, GSAT-11 is an operational telecommunication satellite...
