News 2022
23-12-2022 - ISRO pulls first Gaganyaan launch forwards
A fairly unique situation in the space business is the news that ISRO has moved the launch date of Gaganyaan from mid-2024 to Q4 2023. This first launch, G1 is followed by a second uncrewed launch G2 in Q2 2024 with a first crewed flight in Q4 2024. Before this G1 launch, not one but two inflight abort tests will be performed.
11-12-2022 - Orion returns home
After launching on top of SLS the Artemis 1 mission has come to an end. The Orion capsule re-entered the atmosphere after which it skipped back up. The skipping entry has been performed before by Zond and Chang'e-5 but never by a crew-rated capsule.
11-12-2022 - Hakuto-R send on its way to the moon
The commercial Hakuto-R moon lander developed by ispace has launched on top of a Falcon 9 after several delays. Amongst other experiments, the lander carries a rover built by the UAE. This will mark the first Japanese commercial moon landing and the first UAE moon rover.
09-12-2022 - Jozef Kittinger passed away at the age of 94
Jozef Kittinger, famous for the Excelsior jumps passed away at the age of 94. Project Excelsior set the record for high altitude parachute jump only to be broken by Felix Baumgartner 53 years later.
23-11-2022 - Mini-IRENE launches on top of Suborbital Express 3
The Italian demonstrator mission called Mini-IRENE has been launched on top of a VSB-30 rocket from Esrange. The mission, called Suborbital express is the third rocket in SSC's series to make suborbital space more accessible. IRENE aims to return payloads from space without parachutes and solely deploy a deployable structure.
22-11-2022 - OMOTENASHI failed in lunar orbit
The Artemis 1 lunar lander called OMOTENASHI is stuck in lunar orbit. After the separation from the main vehicle, the team has not been able to establish communication with the 6U satellite. Even with the help of the EQUULEUS antennas the team has not been able to establish contact.
16-11-2022 - NASA launched SLS
After several years of delay, the largest rocket has finally flown. Not only will this rocket return humans to the moon but on the first test flight, it will test all of Orion's capabilities for this mission. The rocket carries six CubeSats with it including one moon lander called OMOTENASHI.
10-11-2022- LOFID takes flight
The deployable heat shield called LOFTID has taken flight on top of an Atlas V together with the primary payload, JPSS-2. LOFTID will be the first inflatable heat shield to fly from orbit since ESA's IRDT mission in 2000.
08-11-2022- Student experiment tests supersonic parachute
The SPEAR mission flown onboard REXUS 28 has, after several delays finally flown. The parachute deployed between Mach 2.5 and 3.0 and flew for about 20 seconds in supersonic conditions.
05-11-2022 - Mini-IRENE set to fly from Sweden
The suborbital demonstrator of CIRA's deployable heat shield called IRENE is set to fly on SSC's Suborbital express 3. This VSB-30 rocket will carry to experiment to about 270 km where it will demonstrate the feasibility of a European deployable heat shield
10-10-2022 - NASA selects landing site for DragonFly
Dragonfly is NASA's upcoming Titan mission. The mission consists of a quadcopter that will explore the moon of Saturn. Now NASA has announced a more specific landing location namely the Shangri-La dune field. This area of Titan is located on the equator and is fairly dry. When it rains tough it rains methane.
04-10-2022 - Airbus investigates the possibility of Mars rovers to go the moon
With the Mars sample return architecture change, the ESA fetch rovers are no longer needed. Airbus is investigating whether the rovers can be used for a future Moon mission.
16-09-2022 - Ariane space announces SUSIE
Arianespace announces a new reusable capsule to fly on Ariane 6. The new capsule called SUSIE can be flown both uncrewed and crewed.
15-09-2022 - Brian Binnie dies at the age of 69
SpaceshipOne pilot Brian Binnie died at the age of 69 years old. Brian was the pilot of spaceship one on the second flight of the X-prize thus completing the challenge. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.
23-09-2022 - ESA's LandCam-X to fly on Astrobotic's Griffen Mission One
The ESA Lunar landing cam called LandCam-X has been assigned to fly on the Astrobotics Griffin Mission One. This mission is the first commercial launch for their new moon lander.
18-09-2022 - DARE announces new launch date for SPEAR
The student-built supersonic parachute experiment, SPEAR, will be launched out of Esrange in the campaign between October 28th and November 9th. If successful the mission will be the first dedicated supersonic parachute experiment by students and only the second supersonic piggyback experiment worldwide.
04-09-2022 - Copenhagen Suborbitals completes drop tests
The Danish team Copenhagen Suborbitals has completed a new drop test campaign of their Hemisfo ribbon drogue parachute. If successful the parachute might be used as the drogue for recovering the Spica rocket's first stage.
03-09-2022 - ISRO launches inflatable heat shield demonstrator
ISRO launched their IAD experiment on top of an RH300MK-II rocket. The rocket flew to about 80 km where the experiment was separated from the vehicle starting its descent through the atmosphere.
04-08-2022 - China launches mysterious space plane
The mysterious Chinese space plane called Shenlong was launched for the second time on top of a Long March 2F rocket. The space plane somewhat resembles the X-37 space plane. Both spacecraft have an unknown mission.
30-07-2022 - Mars sample return architecture changed
The NASA/ESA cooperation with the objective to retrieve samples from Mars has been changed a bit. The architecture originally called for a single lander containing the sample fetch rover and the Mars Ascent Vehicle, this has now been changed into two separate landers to decrease the size of the EDL system. The new system can rely on the flight heritage of Curiosity and Perseverance.
27-07-2022 - In Orbit signs a launch deal with Hyimpulse
The German rocket start-up Hyimpulse has recently signed a deal with In Orbit Aerospace, a company from Los Angeles.
19-06-2022 - SpaceX lands three boosters in three days
SpaceX demonstrated the reliability and repeatability of landing the Falcon 9 booster in the past three days by landing three separate missions in a row.
17-06-2022 - SpaceX flies the same booster 13 times
Booster B1060 has completed its 13th flight marking a new record.
26-05-2022 - Starliner lands safely
After several days attached to the ISS, the Boeing Starliner capsule safely landed in the desert. This mission Orbital Test Flight 2 was the long-awaited sequel to OFT-1. After data analysis, NASA is expected to give the green light for the first crewed flight of Starliner later this year.
30-04-2022 - India announces extra uncrewed test flight
For the Gaganyaan crewed capsule, two flights will be done in the second half of 2022. one inflight abort test and one orbital validation test, G1. Both these flights will use an unpressurised variant of Gaganyaan. These launches are followed by a second uncrewed orbital test called G2. This second f=light will use a pressurised capsule. The third test flight will be the first crewed test and is referred to as H1.
16-04-2022 - Shenzhou 13 lands safely in inner Mongolia.
After a record-breaking flight, the crew of Shenzhou 13 landed safely
16-04-2022 - New date for Boeing Starliner
The new launch of the second uncrewed mission of the Boeing starliner is now scheduled for the 19th of May.
11-04-2022 - Perseverance found its parachute
After a long drive, the Mars rover Perseverance took a picture of its own parachute. The parachute was filmed by the descent stage and by another mission during the flight. Now the parachute was captured by the rover itself.
08-04-2022 - Luna 25 postponed
The Russian moon lander Luna 25 has been postponed.
07-04-2022 - Roscosmos reports tests complete for Orel
Roscosmios reports having completed the vacuum chamber testing or the Orel heat shield. The Orel capsule will deliver Cosmonautes to beyond LEO destinations.
06-04-2022 - Rocket lab announces new recovery date
The next flight, scheduled for no earlier than April 19th will be the first Electron mission that will be caught in mid-air.
03-02-2022 - ISRO announces flight dates for Chandrayaan-3
ISRO'smoon lander, Chandayaan, will launch on top of a GLSV mk3. The mission is set to launch in August 2022.
02-02-2022 - ISRO announces inflight abort test dates
In mid-2022 ISRO will launch and demonstrate the inflight abort capabilities of Gaganyaan. The capsule will be launched on top of a GSLV MK 2 side booster.
25-01-2022 - ISRO again announces new dates for Gaganyaan
Due to the ongoing covid pandemic, ISRO has moved the launch of Ganganyaan-1 to 2023.
24-01-2022 - Lead/lag observed during the CRS-24 landing
Similar to the lead-lag conditions observed during the Crew 2 landing in November 2021. The parachute inflated some time after the parachute deployment and the Dragon capsule landed safely with all four parachutes. NASA and SpaceX have started an investigation.
08-01-2022 - ISRO completes tow testing of the RLV-TD
india's small space shuttle, the RLV-TD, has completed tow testing in preparation for landing and drop testing.
04-01-2022 - ISRO announces new dates for Gaganyaan
ISRO announced new launch dates for the Ganganyaan capsule. The first orbital test, Ganganyaan-1, will be performed before independence dag 2022. This would be before the 15th of August 2023.
