Space Dev of Colorado has received confirmation from NASA that proposals to provide experiments for its Near Earth Asteroid Prospector (NEAP) programme will be considered within the space agency's Discovery programme. The venture is the first by a commercial company to launch a privately financed interplanetary spacecraft. Space Dev has issued requests for launch vehicle information to begin launch procurement for the NEAP flight.
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.
