As a last hurrah on 31 December 2020, SpaceX was awarded the launch contract for the 28 satellites the Space Development Agency (SDA) has in development. These are made up of the 20 Transport Layer data-relay units and eight Tracking Layer missile-warning satellites....
On its VS25 flight, a Soyuz ST-A (Fregat M) successfully launched from Sinnamary Launch Site near Kourou, French Guiana at 1642 GMT on 29 December 2020. The 3,562 kg payload carried was the Airbus Defence and Space-built CSO-2 Earth observation...
A Long March 4C (CZ-4C) rocket successfully launched the Yaogan 33R (aka Yaogan 33-02) radar/remote sensing satellite at 1544 GMT on 27 December 2020. The spacecraft was thought to be a replacement for the Yaogan 33 lost in a launch failure in 2019. However this is...
One of the giant American aerospace companies, Lockheed Martin, has announced its intention to buy US rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne. The transaction is valued at US$4.4 billion. A purchase of Aerojet by Lockheed will expand its offering in munitions,...
At 1400 GMT on 21 December 2020 a SpaceX Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 rocket launched the NRO L-108 mission for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) into a low Earth orbit. The launch used the former Space Shuttle pad LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) near...
The Italian arm of the satellite constructor, Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), and Telespazio, Joint Venture between Leonardo (67%) and Thales (33%), forming the Space Alliance, have signed the contracts with the Italian...
