The first magnetic spectrometer to be sent into space, to capture elusive space particles such as anti-matter and dark matter, will be flown aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in May 1998. The Chinese/Russian/US spectrometer, based on a rare mineral called neodymium iron boron, may then be installed on the International Space Station.
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.
