The Chinese Academy of Sciences' (CAS) next five-year space plan includes a series of lunar and planetary spacecraft, starting with a lunar orbiter to be launched in about 2000. The CAS intends to be "a leader in lunar exploration", says professor Jiang Jingshan, the director of the academy's space unit.
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.
