NASA's Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST) satellite is to be air-launched by an Orbital Sciences' Pegasus XL booster over the Pacific Ocean on 16 August. The $45 million FAST satellite will be used to investigate how particles are accelerated in space to create auroras.
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.
