All Space news
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NewsBAE Systems completes $4.8bn acquisition of Ball Aerospace
BAE Systems has completed its acquisition of Ball Aerospace, with the move further strengthening its US business presence.
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NewsNASA retires Mars helicopter Ingenuity due to rotor damage
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has retired its Mars helicopter Ingenuity after the craft suffered damage upon landing.
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NewsSaab test pilot trades Gripen for scientific stint aboard International Space Station
Saab’s chief test pilot for the Gripen, Marcus Wandt, has traded the cockpit for a roughly two-week stint aboard the International Space Station.
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NewsScottish spaceport secures approval as UK’s first vertical-launch facility
UK regulators have granted a licence to a Scottish spaceport, located in the Shetland Islands, enabling it to conduct vertical launches from next year. The spaceport, SaxaVord, becomes the first in the country to be licensed for vertical launch capability. SaxaVord has been verified by the UK Civil Aviation Authority ...
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NewsStratolaunch prepares to introduce ex-Virgin Orbit 747-400 to aerospace test fleet
US air-launch specialist Stratolaunch has shown off the Boeing 747-400 it acquired after former operator Virgin Orbit was broken up earlier this year. Stratolaunch, based in Mojave, bid for the aircraft after Virgin Orbit entered US bankruptcy protection weeks after the 747’s first attempt to launch satellites from the UK ...
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NewsSecretive US ‘spaceplane’ will return to orbit on SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket
The Boeing X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle, operated by the US Space Force, will return to orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster for its seventh long-endurance flight mission.
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NewsNASA pursuing new space vehicle to return International Space Station to Earth
The US space agency is asking aerospace suppliers to design a new orbital craft that could be used to perform a controlled de-orbit of the multinational space station, which is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2030.
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InterviewWhat drew BAE Systems’ Elizabeth Seward to a career in space industry
Inspired by the science fiction books she read as a teenager, Elizabeth Seward has forged a stellar career in the space sector and is now head of space strategy and future business at BAE Systems.
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NewsBAE Systems to acquire $2bn-revenue Ball Aerospace
BAE Systems is to acquire US defence and space contractor Ball Aerospace for around $4.8 billion, pending regulatory approval.
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NewsNASA’s Mars helicopter resumes flight operations after emergency landing
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter successfully completed its 54th flight over the red planet, after NASA was able to re-establish control of the rotorcraft after it executed an emergency landing in July.
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NewsSpirit AeroSystems seeks to develop new materials for hypersonic flight
Aerostructures manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems will partner with the USA’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop advanced materials capable of withstanding the high temperatures of hypersonic flight for military, space and commercial applications.
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NewsLockheed to build nuclear-powered spacecraft for Pentagon
The defence aerospace manufacturer won a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and NASA to develop and demonstrate a reusable space flight vehicle propelled by a nuclear thermal rocket engine with substantially improved fuel efficiency over chemical rockets.
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NewsUS competition regulator clears L3Harris to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne
The proposal by L3Harris to purchase the strategically important maker of rocket motors was approved by the US Federal Trade Commissionon on 27July, after the agency previously opposed a similar bid from Lockheed Martin.
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NewsStratolaunch bids for rocket-drop 747 as Virgin Orbit assets are carved up
Three companies have successfully bid for assets of Virgin Orbit, with aerospace firm Stratolaunch picking up the modified Boeing 747-400 which was used to carry air-dropped satellite launch vehicles. Virgin Orbit entered US bankruptcy protection earlier this year, weeks after the 747’s first attempt to launch satellites from the UK ...
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NewsNASA selects Blue Origin to build second Artemis lunar lander
Private spaceflight company Blue Origin joins reusable rocket pioneer SpaceX on NASA’s Artemis programme to return humans to the lunar surface, with both companies under contract to develop spacecraft capable of landing astronauts on the moon.
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NewsSeveral prospective bidders for Virgin Orbit aim to maintain company’s operations
Over 30 expressions have interest have been submitted for troubled air-launch specialist Virgin Orbit, with several looking to continue the company’s operations. Virgin Orbit filed for US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection about a month ago, weeks after suffering a satellite launch failure during its inaugural sortie from the UK’s Spaceport ...
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NewsSpaceX Starship, largest rocket ever built, explodes minutes after take-off
SpaceX’s Starship system – a heavy-lift rocket and reusable flight vehicle designed to ferry crew and cargo beyond Earth’s orbit – exploded over the Gulf of Mexico 4min after a test launch on Thursday.
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NewsPentagon to fund expansion of rocket motor production at Aerojet Rocketdyne
The US Department of Defense (DoD) will provide rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne with some $215 million to modernise facilities and expand production at three sites across the USA.
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NewsVirgin Orbit files for bankruptcy 16 months after going public
Space-launch start-up Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court on 4 April, a move coming 16 months after the company became publicly traded amid wide fanfare.
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NewsIndia conducts runway landing test of reusable spacecraft
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted a runway test landing of a developmental reusable spacecraft.