The Space Shuttle Endeavour has been rolled out to launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in preparation for its flight to the International Space Station (ISS) on 30 May on mission STS 111. The seven-person crew will include four for the orbiter and three ISS Expedition Crew 5 members. Endeavour will carry the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module and the Mobile Base System for the Canadarm 2. STS 111 will return the Expedition Crew 4 from the ISS.
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.
