NASA's Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer was launched into a 3,150 x 4,180km, 83¡, orbit by an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL booster on 21 August. It was the third successful flight (out of five attempts) of the air-launched XL booster. The original Pegasus booster had eight flights, with six fully successful missions.
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.
