ESA has selected SSTL to build and operate a 40 kg spacecraft for its HydroGNSS mission under its Scout programme. The €30 million HydroGNSS mission uses GNSS Reflectometry for hydrological measurements. In effect it uses signals from GPS and Galileo, as radar...
At 0711 GMT on 10 March 2021, the retired NOAA 17 weather satellite broke up in orbit. So far 16 pieces of debris have been tracked. There is no indication that this break up was caused by a collision. Scientists are concerned that the debris may present a hazard to...
NASA has selected Astra Space Inc. to provide a launch service via its Astra Rocket 3 for the agency’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of SmallSats (TROPICS) mission. According to NASA the launch service...
Russia successfully launched a Soyuz 2-1b Fregat M vehicle carrying the Arktika-M 1 satellite into a highly inclined elongated Molniya orbit at 0655 GMT on 28 February 2021. The Arktika-M 1 satellite was built by NPO Lavotchkin for the Roshydromet (Russian Weather...
In what will both please and disappoint the leadership of NASA, US Congress has voted to give NASA US$23.3 billion in funding for the fiscal Year 2021 as part of its “Omnibus spending bill”. The budget deal represents an increase of US$642 million over...
On 9 December 2020 ESA (European Space Agency) placed an order with Italian suppliers for an reusable lifting body called Space Rider. The Space Rider has been championed by the Italian government and industry for many years as a way forward to a “space...
