The European Space Agency's Smart 1 spacecraft, heading ultimately for lunar orbit, is now in its 176th ever-increasing orbit and has passed through the Earth's radiation belts. The Smart's ion propulsion system has clocked up 1,500h of burn-time, consuming 24kg (53lb) of xenon.
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.
