The final images of the Jovian moon, Io, taken by the Galileo orbiter, reveal 13 new "hot spots" on the volcanic sulphurous moon. Now 120 such hot spots have been found, of which 74 have been discovered by Galileo during its fly-bys. The final Galileo fly-by of a Jovian moon, the Amalthea, will be made on 5 November. Galileo will enter Jupiter's atmosphere next year.
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.
