SSI News
SS-520 (Two Stage version) makes suborbital plasma science flight from Svalbard
A suborbital/sounding rocket launch of the Japanese SS-520 (Two Stage Suborbital) rocket was launched from the Svalbard Rocket Range in Norway at 1009 GMT on 4 November 2021. It flew to an altitude of 956 km before re-entering and falling into the ocean downrange,...
Bezos and Blue Origin bow out of legal battle to get lunar lander contract after court goes against them
“Not the decision we wanted, but we respect the court’s judgment, and wish full success for NASA and SpaceX on the contract.” This was the response of Blue Origin founder and leader Jeff Bezos, via Twitter, to a court judgement against the firm’s plea that NASA should...
Two suspected ELINT satellites launched by China
China successfully launched a Long March 2C with a YS-1 upper-stage (CZ-2C/YS-1) vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, Chine, at 0743 GMT on 3 November. The vehicle was carrying the Yaogan 32-02-A and Yaogan 32-02-B satellites which are believed to have an...
UK Ministry of Defence forgets its past loyalties and chooses SpaceX over Arianespace to launch its Skynet 6A comsat
The UK Ministry of Defence has surprised the pan-European launch provider Arianespace by selecting a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch for its urgently needed Skynet 6A military communications satellite. While the early Skynet satellites used US Delta and Titan rockets for their...
Thales Alenia Space selected to build a dual-band HTS GEO unit for Indonesia
Thales Alenia Space (TAS) has been awarded a contract to build a dual-band HTS GEO satellite for PT Telkom, Indonesia. The satellite will carry C- and Ku-band payloads and is due to be located at the 113 degrees East national slot, according to the 28 October...
Progress MS-18 resupply mission launched to the ISS
Russia successfully launched a Soyuz 2-1A from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, carrying the Progress MS-18 freighter at 0000:32 GMT on 28 October. Progress MS-18 is a resupply vessel going to the International Space Station (ISS) carrying 1490 kg of general...
SpaceX to launch Earth observation MBZ-SAT for UAE in 2023
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), United Arab Emirates (UAE), has selected American launch provider SpaceX to launch its next Earth Observation satellite. The spacecraft known as MBZ-SAT is planned as a follow-on to the KhalifaSat unit as a second...
ESA confirms selection of SSTL for second Scout mission, HydroGNSS
ESA selected the HydroGNSS satellite from British company SSTL as its second Scout mission in March. However, its was not until 11 October that the two parties completed negotiations and signed a production contract. The freshly signed contract has an initial value of...
EO satellite launched for Chinese company on Kuaizhou-1A
Launching from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Northern China, a Kuiazhou-1A rocket has orbited the Jilin-1 Gaofen 02F, Earth Observation satellite. The mission took place at 0619 GMT on 27 October and saw the satellite placed into a LEO sun-synchronous orbit at...
Investment in newspace for ABL Space Systems, recently renamed Hedron, and ispace of Japan
Prospective American launch provider ABL Space Systems announced the closure of an extension to its previously successful Series B funding round (which closed in March) on 25 October. The original Series B funding round raised US$170 million for the company. This...
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