NASA has issued a speculative request for information on methods and technologies that could be used to extend the mission of the Hubble Space Telescope and safely dispose of the massive spacecraft at the end of its operational life by either deorbiting it or boosting it to a higher orbit. NASA has ruled out a Shuttle servicing mission.
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.
