As STS 106 Atlantis is prepared for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on 8 September, the orbiter's next mission, STS 94 Discovery, due for launch on 5 October was moved to the Orbital Processing Building at the Kennedy Space Center. STS 94, the 100th Space Shuttle launch, could be delayed by a problem with the control moment gyro on the Zenith Z-1 truss payload which is to be attached to the ISS.
Source: Flight International
China’s AVIC has secured a contract from the China Manned Space Agency to develop a winged, reusable spacecraft called Haolong.
The UK Space Command’s first owned earth observation microsatellite has been launched, providing the inaugural element of a planned space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) constellation.
Orbital launch pioneer SpaceX is being contracted by the American space agency NASA to develop a so-called “US Deorbit Vehicle” that can safely return the International Space Station to Earth via controlled re-entry.
