The first of eight planned Space Shuttle missions in 1996, the STS72/Endeavour was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 11 January on a planned nine-day flight. A six man crew, including, the first Japanese NASA mission specialist Kiochi Wakata, were scheduled to deploy a Spartan research satellite and retrieve it from 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.
