The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter has returned the closest-ever view of the Red Planet's moon, Phobos, taken from a distance of 200km (125 miles) with a resolution of 7m (23ft) per pixel. The first images of Phobos and its sister moon, Deimos, were taken by NASA's Mariner 9 in 1971. Phobos measures 27 x 22 x 18km.
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.
