EU turns from OHB in favour of Airbus and Thales for second-generation Galileo sats
The European Commission has selected its providers for the second-generation of its Galileo satellite navigation system. The announcement was released on 20 January identifying European industry stalwarts Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space as the...
Initial Starlink launch of 2021 sees 60 more sats added and first eight-time booster landing
Lifting-off at 1302 GMT on 20 January, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral carrying 60 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). The mission lasted for one hour five minutes until the satellites were deployed en masse. This marks the first...
Electron KS launches LEO comsat from Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand
A Rocket Lab Electron KS rocket was launched into orbit from the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand at 0726 GMT on 20 January 2021 on its launch dubbed "Another one leaves the crust". On board was a low Earth Orbit (LEO) communications satellite built by the Germany-based...
Long March 3B rocket launch starts China’s 2021 account with launch of Tiantong 1-03 comsat
A Chinese Long March 3B/G3 (CZ-3B/G3) rocket lifted off from the Xichang launch site in China at 1625 GMT on 19 January 2021. The launch carried the Tiantong 1-03 (aka Tiantong-1 03) communications satellite which is designed to operate from geostationary Earth orbit...
Satellogic signs new Multi-Launch Agreement with SpaceX, first launch planned for mid-2021
On 19 January Argentinian newspace operator/manufacturer, Satellogic announced its signing of a Multiple Launch Services Agreement (MLA) with American launch company SpaceX. The agreement also establishes SpaceX as Satellogic's "preferred vendor for rideshare...
NASA loses its admired administrator Jim Bridenstine…as UK Space Agency’s loses CEO Graham Turnock & ESA Head Jan Woerner leaves early
For very different reasons, two major space agencies confirmed in January that they were losing their leaders with another declaring that he was about to leave early. First up was the departure of Jim Bridenstine, current Administrator of NASA. Despite popular demand...
On a sadder note: Satellite tracker Phil Clark passes away at 70…as does murdering music producer Phil Spector, film director Michael Apted & horror actress Barbara Shelley
We are sad to report the death of Phillip S. Clark, a noted spaceflight watcher at the age of 70. Phil was a noted expert on the Soviet/Russian and Chinese space programmes and was a regular participant at the British Interplanetary Society's (BIS) space symposiums on...
NASA paints a brave face on SLS engine test failure (Updated)
NASA might have said that it wanted a minimum of 250 seconds' worth of engine firing plus gimbal movements to attain whether the SLS core stage was safe to launch, but it did not get it at the test firing at the Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, USA. In the end, the...
Lockheed Martin given a US$4.9 billion go ahead for next-gen OPIR sats
On 4 January American aerospace/defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin received a US$4.9 billion contract from the US Space Force. This follows-on from an initial US$2.9 billion "development" contract it received in 2018. The first was to begin work on the Next-Gen OPIR...
Virgin Orbit bounces back from maiden failure as its LauncherOne reaches orbit
While it suffered several technical delays and a maiden launch failure, and cost a lot of money to develop (reportedly US$1 billion), Virgin Orbit finally achieved the first successful flight of its air-launched LauncherOne launch vehicle. The procedure began with the...
