London, UK (SPX) Sep 20, 2021
The satellite, named Lunar Pathfinder, will be vital for the planned return missions to the Moon. Built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) and supported by 11.6 million pounds in UK Space Agency funding via the European Space Agency (ESA), the satellite will also allow greater freedom for rovers operating on the far side of the Moon, allowing them to manoeuvre out of sight of their lander

Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Sep 17, 2021
Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana is performing the first combined test in preparation for the inaugural flight of Ariane 6, Europe's new generation launch vehicle. This test confirms the operations and electrical and mechanical equipment required for integration of the upper part of the launch vehicle. The procedures are carried out in conditions representative of a launch campaign. A m

Moscow (Sputnik) Sep 17, 2021
A new record for the maximum number of people present in low Earth orbit at the same time was set on 16 September, as 14 individuals were there. This breaks the previous record set in March 1995, when 13 astronauts were in space. Currently, there are seven people on the International Space Station (ISS): Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov, US astronauts Mark Wande Hai,

Moscow (Sputnik) Sep 17, 2021
The Russian government has allocated more than 4.4 billion rubles ($60.6 million) to space company Glavkosmos, a subsidiary of the Roscosmos state corporation, for the production of a rocket and spaceship for tourist flights by 2024. "To allocate in 2021 budget funds ... of 4,412,660 thousand rubles for the expenses of State Space Corporation Roscosmos", the government said in a decree, wh

Washington DC (UPI) Sep 17, 2021
The crew of the first all-civilian orbital space mission, Inspiration4, plans to splash down off the coast of Florida on Saturday evening. SpaceX plans a 7:06 p.m. EDT return to Earth, but hasn't announced the exact location. That will depend on weather and wave heights in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. "We're seeing the world every 90 minutes. That's how fast we're trave

Washington (AFP) Sept 17, 2021
Four space tourists orbiting the Earth in a SpaceX capsule at 17,500 miles per hour (28,162 kph) talked to movie star Tom Cruise on Friday and provided a live update about life aboard the spacecraft. The first space tourism mission by Elon Musk's SpaceX blasted off from Florida on Wednesday for a three-day voyage that is to end with a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean at 4:06 pm Pacific time

Washington (AFP) Sept 17, 2021
The first space tourism mission by Elon Musk's SpaceX blasted off from Florida on Wednesday and the four crew members - a billionaire and three other Americans - have already seen more than 25 sunsets and sunrises. SpaceX has released few details about their adventure since they reached an orbit which is more distant than that of the International Space Station. Here's what we know abo

El Segundo CA (SPX) Sep 16, 2021
ABL Space Systems announced that is has been selected as the launch provider for the NASA Cryogenic Demonstration Mission. Developed under a NASA Tipping Point contract awarded in 2020, the Cryogenic Demonstration Mission will launch in 2023 and demonstrate in-space transfer of cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2), the most challenging but highest-performing propellant for lunar and deep space explor

Seoul (Sputnik) Sep 17, 2021
South Korea's Institute for Defense Analyses managed to carry out successful firing tests of a solid-propellant engine for a new space launch vehicle already on 29 July, paving way for commercial launches of this type of rockets to start as early as in 2024, the defense ministry said on 16 September. The new engine will allow launching small satellites and groups of extra-small satellites

Maxwell AFB AL (SPX) Sep 17, 2021
Just after 8 p.m. EST on Sept. 15, 2021, the next batch of space tourists lifted off aboard a SpaceX rocket. Organized and funded by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, the Inspiration4 mission touts itself as "the first all-civilian mission to orbit" and represents a new type of space tourism. The four crew members are not the first space tourists this year. In the past few months, the world wit