It isn’t so very long ago that electrical propulsion for satellites was a very new kid on the block. Boeing’s Xenon-Ion Propulsion System (XIPS) was introduced on the (then) Hughes 702 versions its high-power versions of its popular HS-702 craft and used for final orbital insertion. December 1999 saw the launch of an HS-702 with […]
Prior to the Ukraine invasion by Russia and the destruction of the giant Antonov-225 aircraft in Kyiv many of the world’s largest satellites and rocket elements were flown from Europe to their North or South American launch sites by the Antonov. Arianespace has a new method of transportation. Ariane has just wrapped a test transatlantic […]
While much of the world’s press recently focused on Virgin Orbit’s failed ‘horizontal’ aircraft launch of a batch of 9 small satellites from Spaceport Cornwall, other rivals are gearing up to tap into the growing demand for satellite launches. Sweden has claimed the crown as “mainland Europe’s first orbital launch site”. Ursula von der Leyen, […]
China has used a mobile sea platform based in the Yellow Sea to launch 14 satellites into orbit. The rocket (named Jielong-3, or ‘Smart Dragon-3’) lifted off on December 9th from the Tai Rui modified barge in the Yellow Sea. The mission carried eight satellites built by Changguang Satellite Technology, which concentrates on remote sensing, […]
India’s Space Research Organisation (ISRO) says it has plans to design and build a new reusable rocket for the global market that would significantly cut the cost of launching satellites. “All of us want launches to be much cheaper than what we do today,” Chairman of ISRO Sreedhara Somanath said, speaking at the Bengaluru Space […]
French Space Agency CNES (Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales) has approved Munich-based Isar Aerospace to launch its rockets from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. Isar is already planning a late-2022 launch from Andøya in Norway of its Spectrum rocket, but has been in discussions CNES to utilise the Guyana spaceport. Isar says that the […]