Astra Space has released its investigation findings into the Astra Rocket 3.3 launch failure which lost a pair of NASA’s TROPICS-1 mission satellites. The TROPICS-1 mission launched on 12 June 2022 on Astra’s Rocket 3.3, serial number LV0010. The rocket...
SpaceX is transitioning to a new design of spacecraft as it takes its Starlink constellation forward. The Starlink Group 6-1 mission was launched on a Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 rocket at 2313 GMT on 27 February from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of the Starlink Gen 2...
Nuclear Thermal rocket propulsion has been mooted since the 1960s. The idea is to use nuclear power to heat rocket propellants so that the Specific Impulse – the efficiency measure of how much “push” you get per kilo of propellants – is more than doubled compared with...
Lithuanian smallsat manufacturer NanoAvionics – now known as Kongsberg NanoAvionics – has been awarded satellite contracts from two French companies. ONERA On 30 November 2022 ONERA ordered two CubeSats from Kongsberg NanoAvionics, the first 8U and the...
At 0617 GMT on 16 December a Long March 11 (CZ-11) rocket placed the Shiyan 21 test satellite into LEO. The mission took place from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China. “Shiyan” translates to English as “experiment” and these satellites are routinely described...
On 9 November Starfish Space an American newspace company contracted with Launcher a compatriot to carry its first demonstration satellite into orbit. Launcher will utilise its Orbiter OTV which has been manifested on a SpaceX Transporter mission planned for Summer...
