China conducts seventh launch this year to MEO in service of their Beidou satellite navigation system
At 0423 GMT, 15 October 2018, another Long March 3B rocket this year lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, PRC, carrying two BEIDOU-3 M satellites to MEO (Middle Earth Orbit) to bolster the “third phase” of their indigenous Beidou satellite...
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Swedish start-up Ovzon books launch on Falcon Heavy
Space News reports that Swedish start-up satellite operator Ovzon has made a launch booking of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy for an unnamed and yet-to-be ordered communications satellite set for geostationary orbit. The launch will take place in Q4 2020 at the earliest....
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Arianespace gets Vega order from OHB Italia for launch of Luxemberg’s military satellite
OHB Italia, the Italian offshoot of the German OHB Systeme firm, has awarded a launch order for a Vega launch for the National Advanced Optical System (NAOS) under the term of a turnkey contract between OHB Italia and the Luxembourg’s Directorate of Defence. The...
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Eric Beranger leaves OneWeb following Board changes
Following a change of position from CEO to President and COO (Chief Operating Officer) at OneWeb in early September 2018, it has been revealed that Eric Beranger has left the company. Mr Beranger assumed the CEO role in July 2016. His replacement in the position of...
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Marsh capture of JLT adds to job worries in a weak space insurance market
The September announcement of the acquisition of insurance broker JLT (Jardine Lloyd Thompson) by industry giant Marsh & McClennan in a deal valued at US$5.7 billion – a near 30 times multiple of its earnings – has led many to ask what this will mean...
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Review: Dr Who changes sex because she can
The Doctor character in the BBC’s Doctor Who has successfully changed sex. Well you can do these things as a Time Lord (but not if you are an Earth-bound spy called James Bond as some too pro-diversity types are also advocating). And pretty good Jodie...
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IAC 2018 Bremen: SLS Block I future is assured as ICPS and later EUS improvements planned
While the future of SLS seems assured for now, new heavy-lift rockets on the block threaten to usurp later variants of this huge US$20 billion Heavy Lift launch vehicle (HLV) project. Nevertheless, during the Heads of Agencies’ press conference, NASA’s new...
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US Air Force to part fund three companies’ new rocket development…but SpaceX is left out for now
A bit like the NASA commercial crew effort, the US Air Force has announced that it is to part fund three companies’ development of their new launch vehicles, with a view to signing two of them (or an outsider) for a full series of launch contracts. The three...
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Review: “First Man” will bore superhero movie generation but its early spaceflight hazards, hopes and heartbreaks are worth exploring
Directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Ryan Gosling as the lead, First Man (2018) shows that Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong was a thoughtful, intelligent, cool-under-fire hero – but one who was also racked by personal sadness as well. The film was written...
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On a sadder note: Astronaut and test pilot Rick Searfoss has passed away
Former NASA astronaut,Rick Searfoss who flew three Space Shuttle missions STS-58, STS-76 and STS-90 during the 1990s has died at the age of only 62. Searfoss was a test pilot and, until recently, was test pilot for the XCOR Aerospace Company, which, until its...
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