The USA has invited Israel to fly an astronaut aboard a Space Shuttle mission as part of a joint space agreement between the USA and Israel. Russia has also invited South Africa to fly an astronaut on a Soyuz TM visiting mission to the Mir 1 space station. South Korea plans to fly a journalist to the Mir and Germany has booked a third flight of a German astronaut to the orbital space base, in December 1996.
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.
