The first launch from Spaceport Florida's refurbished launch pad No 46 at Cape Canaveral is scheduled for September 1997, when a Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle (LMLV 1) will carry NASA's Lunar Prospector orbiter into space. After the failure of the maiden flight of the LMLV 1 in 1995, NASA had considered switching to another launch vehicle.
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.
