Hughes Space and Communications has been awarded a contract from Orion Asia Pacific to build the ten C-band, 33 Ku-band transponder Orion 3 communications satellite, an HS-601HP model, which will be launched aboard a McDonnell Douglas Delta 3 booster into a 139í position in geostationary orbit in 1998 (Flight International, 1-7 January).
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.
