Daimler-Benz Space and Russia's Khrunichev have formally established a joint venture to market the three-stage Rokot (the former SS-19 Stiletto missile) as a commercial launcher to be operated from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in 1997. The Rokot can place 1,000kg into low-Earth orbit. It was used to place a small satellite into orbit on a test flight in 1994.
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.
