X Prize Foundation is organising a Personal Spaceflight chief executives summit from 19-20 October, ahead of its X Prize Cup event to be held at the Southwest Regional Spaceport in New Mexico. Guest speakers could include Burt Rutan and the chief executive of new suborbital tourism entrant Space Adventures. The foundation is inviting all the members of the Personal Spaceflight Federation, a nascent trade association for suborbital tourism operators, to the summit.
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.
