The European Space Agency has conducted the first automatically guided descent and landing of a parafoil test vehicle to support the Crew Transfer Vehicle programme for the International Space Station. The vehicle, carrying a 1,700kg payload and a global-positioning system, was dropped from an aircraft at 1,800m altitude.
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.
