NASA's first Discovery programme spacecraft, the Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR), was launched successfully by a Delta 2 booster from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 17 February. The NEAR will become the first craft to orbit an asteroid, Eros, in 1999 (Flight International, 17-23 January).
Source: Flight International
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.
BAE Systems has completed its acquisition of Ball Aerospace, with the move further strengthening its US business presence.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has retired its Mars helicopter Ingenuity after the craft suffered damage upon landing.
