European Spaceflight
• Andrew Parsonson
Australia has submitted a counteroffer to the European Space Agency over the cost of sending astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg on a mission to the International Space Station. The proposed funding has drawn domestic criticism, with the government accused of haggling over the price of the historic mission.
European Spaceflight
Human Spaceflight & Space Stations
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Australia has submitted a counteroffer to the European Space Agency over the cost of sending astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg on a mission to the International Space Station. The proposed funding has drawn domestic criticism, with the government accused of haggling over the price of the historic mission.
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NASA’s revised Artemis sequence moves the Orion docking test with SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon landers to an Earth-orbit mission in summer 2027. A crewed lunar landing would follow on Artemis IV in 2028, with NASA adding test milestones as it addresses challenges to the schedule.
China plans to use a Lanyue lunar lander cargo flight to demonstrate the vehicle’s ability to reach the surface before taikonauts fly aboard. The mission will carry items weighing no more than 50 kilograms, providing a pre-crewed test of the lander as part of China’s crewed Moon plans.
On Oct. 23, 2007, NASA’s space shuttle Discovery carried the Harmony module to the International Space Station on mission STS-120. The launch marked the start of Harmony’s journey to the station, where the module became part of its expanding orbital infrastructure.
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NASA’s October Artemis update outlines two architectures for delivering astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028, while detailing near-term SLS work, a lighter sortie spacesuit and plans for an Artemis III lander test flight in Earth orbit next year. The agency has not announced a firm launch date for that test.
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Expedition 75 received four new crew members aboard the International Space Station at the beginning of October, as Crew-12 departed and handed over to Crew-13. A Dragon spacecraft also brought new cargo to the orbiting outpost, supporting its continuing crewed operations.
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The agency’s safety advisers say NASA risks losing human access to low Earth orbit as Crew Dragon approaches retirement and concerns persist about commercial space stations. The warning puts continuity of crewed operations in orbit at issue, though the available report provides no timetable or details of the advisers’ recommendations.
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