NASA's Cassini Saturn orbiter flew to within 1,200km (745 miles) of the moon Titan on 26 October, almost grazing the atmosphere at a speed of 6km/s, returning the closest-ever images and providing data for the European Space Agency, which will attempt to land its Huygens craft on the largest moon in the solar system in January. Titan is believed to have oceans of liquid methane and ethane and a nitrogen-rich atmosphere.
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.
