China’s maiden launch of the Kuaizhou 11 ends in failure
China attempted the maiden launch of the KUAIZHOU 11 solid fuelled launch vehicle at 0417 GMT on 10 July from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. The launch appears to have suffered a second stage failure. Its goal was to reach low Earth orbit (LEO) with its two...
China launches APSTAR 6D GEO satellite.
China successfully launched the APSTAR 6D satellite at 1210 GMT on 9 July on a Long March 3B launch vehicle from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. The satellite is owned by the APT Satellite Company Ltd and will be used for Ku/Ka band high-throughput...
What NASA wants is not what NASA gets: Lunar exploration plans likely to be curtailed by funding shortfall
The US Congress' House Appropriations Committee is set to disappoint NASA over its budget request. NASA originally requested US$25.3 billion for the Fiscal Year 2021. Instead, the committee has decided to award US$22.6 billion instead to the Administration, about the...
Epsilon-S rocket will be developed and operated by IHI
JAXA, Japan's equivalent of NASA, which is more formally known as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. has signed a deal with the Japanese firm IHI Aerospace to develop, build and operate the Epsilon-S solid fuel rocket. The idea is that IHI Aerospace will...
TSIS-2 construction contract awarded by NASA to General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems
NASA has awarded the Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2 (TSIS-2) spacecraft construction contract to General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems Group of San Diego, California. According to NASA, the award is a hybrid firm-fixed price, time and materials...
Europe plans six new Copernicus missions to expand its Earth Observation capabilities and awards €2.5 billion in contracts
On 3 July 2020, the European Space Agency (ESA), on-behalf of the European Commission (representing the EU), issued development contracts for six missions that will compliment and enhance their Copernicus Earth observation programme. These initial contracts are valued...
On a sadder note: Film score maestro Ennio Morricone dies at 91
We are sad to report the death of Ennio Morricone, 91, who died in hospital after complications following a fall. For aficionados of the Italian made "spaghetti" westerns, there was only one composer: Ennio Morricone. His scores for A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a...
Shavit rocket launches Israeli Ofeq 16 reconnaissance satellite
Israel has launched a military reconnaissance satellite called Ofeq 16 (Ofek 16) at 0100 GMT on 6 July 2020 from its Palmachim launch site using its Shavit solid rocket launch vehicle. The spacecraft is reported to be capable of 0.5 m resolution imagery and is based...
Rocket Lab Electron has launch failure…but Long March 2D launches Shiyan 6 (02) ok
While Rocket Lab had been enjoying recent success, both in terms of launches and sales, the wheels have suddenly come off with the failure of its Electron rocket on 4th July. The launch vehicle took off from the Mahia Peninsula launch site in New Zealand at 2116 GMT....
UK Govt teams with India’s Bharti Global telecoms company to get stake in OneWeb (Updated)
OneWeb, the partially completed low Earth orbit (LEO) communications satellite constellation, currently moribund in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has at least for now been rescued. For having already raised (and used) US$3.4 billion to build and launch 74...
