An insect-like robot designed to inspect and repair spacecraft exteriors is one of six concepts to be developed by Northrop Grumman with $137 million funding from NASA's space exploration programme. Others include a restowable heat-resistant skirt that deploys before re-entry to slow a spacecraft and reduce heat damage, and an engine for a lunar surface-to-orbit ferry than can be refuelled from materials mined on the Moon.
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.
