First Ariane 5 launch of the year carries two GEO satellites to orbit
Following a gap of almost a year the European heavy-lift launcher Ariane 5 has launched from Kourou, French Guiana. The mission which lifted-off at 2100 GMT on 30 July, placed the Eutelsat Quantum and Star One D2 satellites into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO)....
20 ton Nauka module successfully docks with ISS but later causes scare with misfiring thrusters (Updated)
Following a troubled eight-day voyage the Nauka module has successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS), the first Russian module to do so in 11 years. Docking occurred at 1329 GMT on 29 July, according to on-board telemetry. The module approached...
China launches new cartography satellite to LEO
China successfully launched a Long March 2D/2 (CZ-2D/2) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, at 0401 GMT on 29 July. The mission carried the Tianhui 1-04 satellite, used for mapping/cartography purposes. Western sources believe this series of satellites...
Electron returns to flight as Rocket Lab launches payload for US military
Rocket Lab has successfully deployed a satellite for the US Space Force into low Earth orbit completing a return-to-flight after a launch failure suffered in May. This mission utilised a Electron rocket which lifted-off at 0600 GMT on 29 July, from the Rocket Lab...
Anuvu, formerly Global Eagle, orders first two small GEO sats from Astranis
Anuvu, which emerged from the Chapter 11 proceedings of Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE) in March, has contracted with newspace satellite manufacturer Astranis for two spacecraft. The deal announced on 27 July covers two ~400 kg satellites based on the Astranis...
Jeff Bezos attempts to restore competition to Human Landing System
Blue Origin CEO and recent addition to the ranks of ‘astronaut’, Jeff Bezos, has offered to restore competition to NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) programme in an open letter to the NASA Administrator. In return for an HLS contract, Bezos has offered to cover the...
ISS loses Pirs module but replacement on the way
It is a time of renewal at the International Space Station as one long-standing module is removed to be replaced by another. At 1055 GMT, on 26 July, the Progress MS-16 cargo spacecraft removed the Pirs airlock module from the station in preparation for a de-orbit...
Hubble returns to operations but is on borrowed time
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is back online after a month of downtime due to a malfunctioning payload computer. The veteran telescope, launched to low Earth orbit in 1990, was brought back into service on 17 July when controllers switched over to a backup...
US$178 million Europa Clipper launch is formally awarded to SpaceX Falcon Heavy saving NASA US$2 billion
While NASA's US$4.25 billion Europa Clipper unmanned exploration flyby mission to Jupiter's moon Europa was always mooted as going on the NASA Heavy lift launch vehicle (HLV) SLS, and, in fact, was at one stage Congressionally obliged to do so, in the end cost and...
New Shepard makes first crewed launch
As planned, Blue Origin’s New Shepard made its first crewed launch on 20 July, the 52nd anniversary of Apollo 11’s lunar landing. According to the company, Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen “officially became astronauts when they passed the Kármán...
