Alpha Centauri News July 8 2200

Utekha City, Kent Prime
Yesterday, a Leviathan rocket exploded while being filled with fuel. No launch personel was harmed in the accident, since fueling ships are vacated during this process. However, the ship was heavily damaged in the explosion and sank. There is no indication of a radioactive spill. The investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing, but is severely hindered by the sinking of the wreckages. The destruction of the fueling ship has rendered the launch site unusable. Replacement of the vessel is assumed to take over a year.

Terpenie City, Sharov's World
Completion of the ongoing maintenance work on the statue of Aviam Sharov has been delayed due to a temporary shortage of copper sheeting. Several settlements on the planet have already volunteered part of their stores to the project. A spokerperson of the Terpenie Ship Council stated that the scaffolding currently covering the statue will still likely be gone in time for the memorial on August 15.

High Sol Orbit
What was once described as "humanity's most lost object" has accidentally been found. Mechanics repairing a minor meteoroid strike to a Mars bound bulk freighter were surprised to find that the meteoroid was actually a 20 centimeter metal disk. It was determined to be one of the jojo despin masses of the Sputnik 11 probe, which left the system in 1971. The despin masses reached escape velocity together with the probe before being detached. Scientists speculate that it was deflected back into the system by an object in the Oort Cloud. The relic will be exhibited in the visitors' center of the historical Baikonur Cosmodrome.