Spaceflight Daily Report, Thursday 27th August 2026

Image credit: Arianespace

Launch of MTG-I2

Arianespace launched an Ariane 6 rocket from Kourou in French Guiana at 2011 UTC, or 1711 local time (GFT). This was carrying MTG-I2, also known as Meteosat-14, a geostationary weather imaging satellite operated by EUMETSAT. This completes the organisation's Meteosat Third Generation constellation. This was the 9th flight of the Ariane 6, which flew in its 62 configuration, meaning it had two strap-on boosters. It was also the first Ariane 6 to deliver a payload to geostationary orbit. [Source: Arianespace]

First Batch of European Launcher Challenge Funding Awarded

The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed the first three contracts as part of its European Launcher Challenge programme, which aims to help fund the development of private launch vehicles. They have awarded €186.9 million to Rocket Factory Augsberg (RFA) to continue development of their RFA One rocket, €158.9 million to PLD Space to continue development of their Miura 5 rocket, and €197.8 million to Isar Aerospace to continue development of their Spectrum rocket. These awards are mainly funded by Germany and Spain, with the United Kingdom, Norway, and Austria also making contributions. A fourth contract is expected soon, which will award funding to ArianeGroup subsidiary MaiaSpace to continue development of their Maia rocket. [Source: ESA]

International Space Station Activities

NASA published their daily blog post on the crew's activities aboard the International Space Station. The Cygnus cargo spacecraft, berthed to the Unity module, fired its thrusters for 20 minutes and 43 seconds to raise the station's perigee by 2.6 miles. The astronauts spent their day preparing for Tuesday's spacewalk and carrying out routine research and maintenance. [Source: NASA]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Tuesday 28th July 2026

Image credit: Katalyst Space

LINK Loss of Attitude Control

The LINK spacecraft, launched a few weeks ago, has lost attitude control following malfunctions in its reaction wheels and thrusters. LINK is serving the Swift Boost mission, a low budget attempt to reboost NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Engineers at NASA and Katalyst Space are working to determine if the mission can still be completed once they have the spacecraft back under control. [Source: NASA]

International Space Station Activities

The crew of the International Space Station prepared for three spacewalks scheduled for August, as well as carrying out routine research and maintenance. [Source: NASA]

RFA Encounter Issue with Rocket

Germany company Rocket Factory Augsberg encountered an unspecified issue with their RFA One rocket during testing. The rocket, which is currently stacked on the pad at SaxaVord in the Shetland Islands, will now be de-stacked. The first attempt to launch RFA One, back in 2024, ended with the first stage destroyed by fire during a static fire test, so they will be aiming to avoid that this time around even if it means further delays. They are in a race with Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket to launch the first private European orbital vehicle, and whichever wins that race will also mark the first non-Russian orbital launch from geographic Europe. [Source: Rocket Factory Augsberg]

ESA Looking to Repurpose Lunar Link

The European Space Agency have opened a call for proposals to repurpose Lunar Link, a communications module that the agency was developing for NASA's now-cancelled Lunar Gateway space station around the Moon. As the technology has already been developed, ESA is interested in turning the module into a standalone communications satellite for helping ground stations to communicate with other Moon missions. [Source: ESA]