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Rocket Lab USA announced it has been selected to launch NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System satellite, (ACS3), on an Electron rocket. The ACS3 technology relies on a combination of materials with different properties. Lightweight booms will deploy from a 12U CubeSat designed and built by NanoAvionics of Columbia, to support a solar sail.

Thomas Pesquet became commander of the ISS this week, taking over from JAXA astronaut and fellow Crew-2 member Akihiko Hoshide. Thomas will hold this role until before Crew-2 return to Earth in November. He is the fourth European and the first French commander of the ISS. Pesquet accepted his new position during a traditional ceremony of a key being handed over to him by Hoshide.

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is targeted to launch on 23rd November aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, NASA announced. The mission will be an evaluation of technologies for preventing a hazardous asteroid from impacting Earth. DART will be the first demonstration of the kinetic impact deflection technique.

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Orbital Gateway Consulting we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “Dongfang Hour China Aerospace News Roundup 27 September - 3 October 2021”. A special shout-out to our friends at SpaceWatch.Global

The British Government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Ministry of Defence, and the UK Space Agency announced the launch of a National Space Strategy. The plan is to make the UK a world class space nation by giving a boost to its space industry. Space is worth over £16 billion per year to the UK economy.

Prestwick Spaceport has secured a deal with launch partner Astraius yesterday, Prestwick Spaceport said. The Memorandum of Understanding will help boost Scotland’s space industry ambitions. The companies will work alongside Scottish and UK governments and other key partners to prepare for the launch of small satellites in 2023.

NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is planned to land near the western edge of the Nobile Crater at the Moon’s South Pole, NASA said. The mission, starting in 2023, will map and explore the region for water and other resources.

Three Chinese astronauts safely returned to Earth near Dongfeng in the Gobi Desert, Inner Mongolia, at around 1:34 am ET on 17th September. Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo touched down after completing the first crewed mission of Tianhe space station. The 1,200 square metre main parachute opened 10 kilometres above the surface, then after landing, search and rescue teams

The Italian Space Agency (ASI) cooperates with Quascom and NASA to launch project NEIL to experiment satellite-based positioning on the lunar surface, ASI reports. Project NEIL (Navigation Early Investigation on Lunar surface) is linked to NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Service mission.

For decades, space has been one of the critical assets for military operations. In fact, space technology is a product of defense industry that needed an upgrade in technological capabilities for various military operations since the early 1940s. The transition of Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) application from aerial photography to satellite imagery