The first flight of Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) Falcon private-venture launch vehicle will carry the TacSat-1 satellite into low-Earth orbit for the US Department of Defense's Office of Force Transformation. The TacSat-1 data communications micro-satellite, being built by the US Naval Research Laboratory, will be launched from Vandenberg AFB, California, early next year.
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.
