NASA and contractors are recommending changes to the design, inspection and processing of Space Shuttle orbiters. These include improved bonding of thermal protection system tiles and reviewing the way wing leading-edge access panels are bolted on. Sealing around landing-gear doors and design of panels near the flaperons will be reviewed.
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.
