After two years of contentious debate, the European Commission has a freshly minted budget of €10 billion ($13.7 billion) over seven years with which to complete and launch two new flagship space programs: the Galileo satellite navigation constellation and the Copernicus Earth-observation system. With some half-dozen spacecraft dedicated to the two programs set to launch this year, the EC's next task is to figure out how to use them.

The space agencies that operate the International Space Station—and their other spaceflight partners—likely will be using its facilities to prepare for a push to the Moon and beyond, as well as trying to promote its commercial use. Top managers from more than 30 space agencies who met in Washington Jan. 9-10 were unanimous in their consensus joint statement that deep-space exploration should be based on the ISS model.

In its highest and longest ascent to date, NASA's Morpheus prototype planetary lander flew to an estimated 305 ft. and traversed 358 ft. during a 64-sec. free flight at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Jan. 21.

Competition forces tough decisions on Europe's launch sector this year

NASA crew competition tightens with safety-certification bids

Virgin Galactic plans long-duration hot-fire ground tests of its 47,500-lb.-thrust NewtonTwo kerosene-fueled rocket engine “in the coming months,” following a full-mission duty cycle test of this 3,500-lb.-thrust NewtonOne engine. The work at Virgin's static test stand at Mojave, Calif., supports company plans to supplement its suborbital human spaceflight business by launching small satellites from its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft.