Private Spaceflight

US company ExLabs announced that its ApophisExL mothership passed a key review ahead of a 2028 launch to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis. The spacecraft will deploy two landers as part of multiple missions studying the asteroid during its close pass by Earth on 13 April 2029. Apophis, 400 metres across, will come within 32,000 kilometres, visible to the naked eye.