Sea Launch launched a Zenit 3SL booster from the Odyssey platform in the Pacific Ocean on 19 June, carrying the 24 C-band, 25 Ku-band, 4,640kg (10,200lb) Space Systems/Loral 1300 spacecraft-based Galaxy 16 communications satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit.
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.
