Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences launched the first M5 solid-propellant three-stage satellite booster from Kagoshima on 12 February.
The 30m-high three-stage vehicle placed the 1,800kg Muses B radio-telescope satellite into orbit. The world's largest radio telescope will be created, combining radio waves detected by the Muses B with ground-based telescopes. It will have a resolution comparable to detecting a grain of rice in Tokyo from Sydney.
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.
