An Orbital Sciences' (OSC) Pegasus XL booster air launched from the company's Lockheed TriStar carrier aircraft over the Pacific Ocean on 2 April successfully placed NASA's Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) satellite into low Earth orbit. The 212kg TRACE will be used to investigate the connection between the sun's magnetic fields and the heating of its corona.
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.
