Airbus, France selected by ESA to build orbiter for European component of Mars Sample Return mission
Airbus DS, France, has been selected to build the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO), part of the, NASA/ESA, Mars Sample Return project. The ERO will transport recovered Martian rock samples - some of which will be prepared by the recently launched Perseverance rover - back...
NASA Mars 2020 mission with Perseverance rover launched by ULA Atlas V
Lifting-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, a ULA Atlas V 541 rocket has carried the Mars 2020 mission into orbit. The launch occurred at 1150 GMT, 30 July 2020. The payload was placed into a "parking" low Earth orbit before the rocket's Centaur upper-stage performed...
Russia launches two communications satellites
Russia successfully launched the EXPRESS 80 and EXPRESS 103 communications satellites into Geostationary Transfer Orbit an a Proton M/Briz M vehicle. The mission lifted-off at 2125 GMT on 30 July from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The two satellites will be used...
Open Cosmos receives MoU to build first part of 100-unit CubeSat constellation for Sateliot
UK-based Open Cosmos, a newspace, turnkey CubeSat mission provider, announced on 29 July 2020 that it is working on two demonstration units for Spanish, start-up, Sateliot. Sateliot is developing a CubeSat constellation to provide continuous global IoT connectivity...
EchoStar Hughes reinvests in OneWeb project with second US$50 million
The Hughes Network Systems portion of satellite operator EchoStar Corp., announced on 27 July 2020 that it would be investing a second US$50 million into OneWeb. This follows the auction win by a consortium lead by the UK Government and Bharti Global (an Indian...
China completes launch of three payloads to LEO
Lifting off at 0313 GMT on 25 July 2020, a Chinese Long March 4B rocket has carried three payloads to Sun-synchronous, Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The rocket blasted-off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Northern China. The primary payload on-board was the Ziyuan...
US Space Command protests about test of anti-satellite missile released from Cosmos 2543
US Space Command has formally protested about the Russian "inspection satellite" Cosmos 2543 releasing a high-velocity space object – believed to be a missile projectile. It notes that the suspected missile, object Sat Cat No 45915, was released on 15 July. UK...
Russia launches Progress MS-15 to ISS on Soyuz 2-1A rocket…and after a slightly dodgy approach it docks OK
Russia successfully launched the Progress MS-15 cargo spacecraft on a Soyuz 2-1A launch vehicle at 1426 GMT on 23 July from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft is on a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The approach of the...
Ruptured propellant line doomed maiden flight of LauncherOne
The cause of failure of the maiden flight of Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket has been revealed. The air-launched rocket was dropped from its Cosmic Girl Boeing 747 carrier aircraft at 1950 GMT on 25 May. After a four-second drop, ignition of the first stage...
China finally gets to go to Mars as Long March 5B successfully launches Tianwen-1 probe/rover
China successfully launched the Tianwen-1 mission on a Long March 5B launch vehicle at 0441 GMT on 23 July. The rocket was launched from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island, China. Tianwen-1 consists of an orbiter and a rover to study the planet...
