In what most independent observers judged to be a successful test flight (well, for most of it), the Starship prototype SN8 upper stage was launched from Boca Chica in Texas on 9 December. The reusable craft lifted itself off the pad on its new raptor engines and then...
Momentus, a firm building a new concept in inter-orbital transportation, has signed a deal with Canadensys Aerospace Corporation to launch one of its payloads to low lunar orbit (LLO) using the Momentus “Ardoride” space delivery spacecraft. The...
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded the first of its “Scout” missions which aim to use small sats to prove scientific concepts for the benefit of its Earth Observation Programme. This mission is known as Earth System Processes Monitored in the...
On 26 November a team led by ClearSpace SA has been awarded an satellite development contract, valued at EUR€86m (US$102.4m). This follows winning the competition in December 2019 to prepare the final proposal for a debris removal mission. ESA is sponsoring this...
We note here a belated tribute to George P. Sutton, rocket scientist and textbook author, who passed away in October at the age of 100. No rocket scientist or engineer (or even space analyst or journalist) would be without at least one copy of his famous Rocket...
The European Space Agency (ESA) went ahead, on 13 November, with signing three, two-satellite construction contracts with European industry. Two have been awarded to Thales Alenia Space and one to Airbus Defence and Space. These contracts cover three of the six future...
