Space Missions

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.

OneWeb is working with QuadSAT to verify its ground segment antennas before the global rollout of its LEO constellation, QuadSAT announced. As an initial stage, QuadSAT has implemented an antenna validation campaign at the Italian Telespazio port. The Danish company carried out in-situ measurement generating antenna radiation patterns

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

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 13 - 19 September 2021”. A special shout-out to our friends at SpaceWatch.Global

SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, Resilience, touched down in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday. The spacecraft carried the four members of the Inspiration4 mission safely back to Earth after spending three days in LEO. SpaceX loaded the capsule onto its recovery ship in less than an hour so that the crew could exit.

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.

In September 2021 the UN COPUOS Legal Subcommittee announced the creation of a working group on Space Resources. SpaceWatch.Global contributor Antonino Salmeri had the chance to talk with Ambassador Andrzej  Misztal and Professor Steven Freeland about this working group. 

Becoming an anchor customer: The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed up with Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) for communications services from Lunar Pathfinder, SSTL said. ESA will be the anchor customer for services from Lunar Pathfinder which will be "the first dedicated lunar communications relay spacecraft"

TiSPACE’s Hapith I rocket has failed to launch for the third time from Whalers Way site in Southern Australia. The rocket caught fire on the pad but was contained and extinguished by Country Fire Service crews on the scene, the company said. No one was injured during the incident.