Space Adventures and XCOR plan to develop a reusable suborbital spacecraft for space tourism. The XCOR rocket-powered Xerus spacecraft would take off and land like an aircraft, carrying a pilot and one space tourist on a 100km (62 mile) altitude, hour-long flight. Tourist flights could begin between 2005 and 2006.
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.
