Spaceflight Vol 56 No 12 – December 2014

A Secret Client
On 16 September an Atlas 401 launched a top secret payload for an unknown client. The weather was appalling and the launch occurred within the last second in the window. What was that all about?

The Role of Space in STEM Education and Outreach
The summary of a paper presented at the IAC in Toronto championing the role of space educators in motivating students for STEM courses.

ESA spaceplane ready
Jacques van Oene describes the plans for a European manoeuvrable re-entry vehicle assigned to fly on a Vega rocket from Kourou.

Rukavishnikov: The unlucky cosmonaut
Spaceflight ISS contributor George Spiteri looks at the life of one cosmonaut who never quite seemed to find the luck he deserved.

A new star for Orion
Linda Herridge reports from the Kennedy Space Center on plans for the first flight of Orion, scheduled for November.

Next Steps for SLS
David Todd met up with key people involved in the development of NASA’s new Space Launch System and reports on the latest developments.

IAC 2014 Toronto: Notes from the Congress
David Todd reports on news and gossip at and around the 65th International Astronautical Congress in Toronto.

Show and tell for Italian astronaut
Fabrizio Bernardini reports on the experiments selected for Italy’s first female astronaut on her forthcoming Futura mission.

Echoes of Apollo
Nick Howes tells the intriguing story of a boy gripped by space and who went on to play an important part in the Apollo 11 story.

Regular Features

Britain in Space – Columbus comm’s upgrade – And the winner is…

Briefing notes – news shorts from around the world

World News Analysis – ISS at a crossroads – Back to the Moon!

Satellite Digest – 503 September 2014

ISS Operations Summary – 16 September – 15 October 2014

Flashback – A regular feature looking back 50 years ago this month

Society News – Award for Council Member – BIS South-West: ‘The Next Fifty Years in Space – UKSEDS Workshop

What’s On