September 2024
Liberating access to space
... safety standards, address space debris issues and mitigate environmental impacts is essential. Moreover, balancing commercial launch activities with national security needs, particularly for military purposes, adds layers of complexity. Continuous...
July 2016
France, Europe and Russia - two decades of space launch cooperation
... within only two years, will lead to at least 21 Soyuz launching from both the Guiana Space Centre and Russian launch sites. Along with the possibility to conduct commercial launches to GTO with Soyuz from French Guiana in 2017 in order...
January 2022
De Ayrshire ad Astra
...) and Sir George Zambellas. Horizontal launch history One of the first dedicated small commercial launch vehicles was a horizontal air-launch system Traditional horizontal launch, whereby rockets are air-launched from a carrier aircraft, rather than...
July 2014
Space 1.0 to Space 3.0: from Gagarin to market growth
... perfect rocket, Ariane-5. The market cost of the launch of one satellite is more than $120m (and, as a rule, two are launched at the same time); but it is an open secret that every commercial launch of Ariane-5 is subsidised from the budget of the...
30 May 2023
Virgin Orbit cuts its losses and ceases operations
... failed to materialise, the company slashed 85 percent of its workforce. As part of its wider programme to deliver commercial launch capabilities to Britain, the UK Space Agency (UKSA) was strongly supportive of Virgin Orbit's first mission from...
13 December 2023
Orbex awarded £3.3 million as part of ESA initiative
...be carbon-neutral in its construction and operation. The site will see the launch of up to 12 orbital rockets per year, with several commercial launch contracts with satellite manufacturers already secured. Sustainability is also a core driver in the...
