Tag Archives: Space Launch

A decision has been made on the location of the first vertical launch site to be developed in the UK. The initial site will be located in Sutherland on the north coast of Scotland, the UK Space Agency announced today.

In a move that appears to have surprised the Indian government, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has asked New Delhi for its cooperation in establishing a civilian satellite launch centre.

Acknowledging competition from companies like SpaceX, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aim to ensure that its next-generation space launch vehicle, the H-3, will cut launch costs by half compared to its current workhorse, the H-2.

China is on the verge of a space exploration breakthrough with the launch of the “Magpie Bridge” relay satellite for its Chang'e-4 lunar mission that will explore the dark side of the Moon, further establishing itself as a preeminent global space power.

After a number of delays and starts, South Korea is finally pressing ahead with the development of its second Korean Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-II) as well as its lunar exploration programme. The KSLV-II is a three-stage launch vehicle which will put a 1.5-ton multipurpose satellite into low orbit at 600 to 800 kilometers (372 to 497 miles) above the Earth. The first-stage booster will consist of four 75-ton fuel engines, and the second stage will be made up of a single 75-ton engine. The third stage will come with a 7-ton liquid engine.

Chinese private launch company OneSpace successfully carried out the maiden launch of its rocket, marking the first entry of a private launch company from China into the increasingly crowded global small satellite launch market.

Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) has proposed the creation of a Multi-Mode Super Port at Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport to provide a single hub for all sub- and supersonic air travel, space access, and hyperloop transportation in the UAE and the Middle East region.

Firefly Aerospace, the New Space launch company revamped by US investor of Ukrainian descent Max Polyakov, has received important support from the U.S. Air Force to use the launch facilities at Vandenberg AFB in California for its Alpha and Beta launch vehicles, marking a milestone in the company's quest to provide cheap launch options in the small- and medium-sized payload market.

The United Arab Emirates has signed a Letter of Intent with Russia and Kazakhstan to cooperate in space exploration and future space projects. The agreement was signed during a visit to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan by a delegation from the UAE Space Agency led by Dr. Ahmad Abdullah Al Falasi, UAE Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency.

Kenya's first indigenously-built satellite was launched by a SpaceX Falcon-9 space launch vehicle to the International Space Station (ISS) on 2 April 2018 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The satellite, called First Kenya University Nano Satellite-Precursor Flight (1KUNS-PF) was built by a team from the University of Nairobi, with technical assistance from staff from the University of Rome, and co-funded by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) as part of the KiboCUBE programme.