The US Celestis organisation in Houston, which, in 1985, offered a service to place cremated human remains into space aboard the former Space Services Conestoga booster, has now approached Orbital Sciences with a view to use the Pegasus and Taurus boosters to provide a similar commercial service, starting in 1996. It will cost $4,800 per capsule of remains, 1,000 of which could be flown on a single mission.
Source: Flight International
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.
BAE Systems has completed its acquisition of Ball Aerospace, with the move further strengthening its US business presence.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has retired its Mars helicopter Ingenuity after the craft suffered damage upon landing.
