Despite a seemingly smooth launch, three Yunyao-1 weather satellites (Yunyao-1 15, 16 and 17) did not reach orbit after the Hyperbola 1 (SQX-1) experienced a fourth stage failure, Chinese authorities have disclosed. An upgraded version of the Hyperbola 1 (SQX-1) four...
Ariane 6, Europe’s new rocket, has finally been launched from Kourou, French Guiana. The journey to this milestone has been far from smooth. The launch vehicle has been the target of much criticism aimed at its extended development time, its ‘out of date’ non-reusable...
There were a number of launch and spacecraft orders ranging from small to big this month. The story that grabbed headlines was NASA’s construction order to SpaceX for a craft to deorbit the ISS in 2030 or soon after. See our story here. Of the more mainstream...
We are cutting through the orbital debris for you. In other words, we’re keeping an eye on space news on the web so you don’t have to. Here is our round-up of the most important, and interesting, space news stories of June (space orders can be found in...
After the plethora of orders in April, May’s orders seemed paltry. Nevertheless, there were a few to note: The biggest order for a single mission was a €340 million (US$369 million) one to Airbus DS for the Vigil solar storm warning spacecraft. It is to operate...
On the ISS, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin boarded Crew Dragon – NASA Crew 8 (Endeavour) on 2 May. They undocked from the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module (IDA-2) on the...
