The launch of NASA's Lunar Prospector orbiter aboard a Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle (LMLV) 2 has been delayed from 24 September until 23 November, to allow additional time to complete testing on the booster. It will be the LMLV2 maiden flight and the first launch from the Spaceport Florida's commercial launch pad 46 at Cape Canaveral. The LMLV 1 had its first successful flight on 23 August from Vandenberg AFB, California, after a maiden-launch failure in 1996.
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.
