The re-entry capsule of the Chinese FSW 1 remote-sensing satellite launched in October 1993 re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on 11 March. Any capsule remains, which survived re-entry landed in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The 900kg recoverable capsule was stranded in orbit, when its retro-rocket misfired. (Flight International, 10-16 November 1993).
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.
