Russia plans to launch 28 spacecraft this year including a first flight of the operational Proton M booster in March carrying an Ekran-M communications satellite. The Proton M is equipped with a Breeze M upper stage. This can place satellites weighing up to 2,920kg (6,430lb) into geostationary orbit (GEO) with up to four engine burns, compared with the Proton DM, which can place 1,880kg directly to GEO.
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.
