THE BOEING STARLINER LAUNCHES SOON, WITH A CREW, AND ITS SUCCESS WOULD BE A BIG DEAL - If all goes well late on May 6, 2024, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will blast off into space on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Launching from the Kennedy Space Center, this last crucial test for Starliner will test out the new spacecraft and take the pair to the International Space Station for about a week. Part of NASA’s commercial crew program, this long-delayed mission will represent the vehicle’s first crewed launch. If successful, it will give NASA – and in the future, space tourists – more options for getting to low Earth orbit. More (Source: Astronomy Magazine - May 4)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 30TH STARLINK MISSION OF 2024 ON FALCON 9 FLIGHT FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket on its 30th Starlink flight of the year. The mission added 23 more satellites to the mega constellation. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-55 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) happened at 10:37 p.m. EDT (0237 UTC). The 45th Weather Squadron at the Cape forecast about 85 percent chance of favorable conditions at liftoff with some consideration for clouds in the area. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 3)
SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCHES 2 SATELLITES ON RECORD-TYING 20TH FLIGHT - SpaceX just tied its rocket-reuse record for the second time in less than a week. A Falcon 9 rocket launched two Earth-observation satellites for the company Maxar today (May 2) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:36 p.m. EDT (1836 GMT; 11:36 a.m. local California time). It was the 20th mission for this rocket's first stage, tying a record that one Falcon 9 set last month and another one equaled on Saturday night (April 27). More (Source: - May 3)
NASA WORKS TO GIVE SATELLITE SWARMS A HIVE MIND - Swarms of small satellites could communicate amongst themselves like a hive mind, using machine learning algorithms, could revolutionize scientists’ understanding of weather and climate changes. Swarms of small satellites could communicate amongst themselves to collect data on important weather patterns at different times of the day or year, and from multiple angles. Such swarms, using machine learning algorithms, could revolutionize scientists’ understanding of weather and climate changes. More (Source: NASA - May 3)
NRO’S FIRST BATCH OF NEXT-GENERATION SPY SATELLITES SET FOR LAUNCH - The National Reconnaissance Office is preparing to launch the first phase of its new imaging satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman. The agency is targeting a May 19 launch for the mission designated NROL-146 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Troy Meink, the NRO’s principal deputy director, said May 1. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 2)
A SATELLITE THAT WAS LOST IN SPACE FOR 25 YEARS HAS FINALLY BEEN FOUND - An experimental satellite that launched in 1974 disappeared from ground-based sensors in the 1990s, only to be found again this week. Some defunct satellites or debris can often go missing for years, presenting hazards within an increasingly crowded Earth orbit. But, how exactly do objects disappear in space? The Infra-Red Calibration Balloon (S73-7) satellite was part of the United States Air Force’s Space Test Program. After launching on April 10, 1974, a large reconnaissance satellite, called KH-9 Hexagon, ejected the 26-inch-wide (66-centimeter-wide) satellite, boosting it to a 500 mile (800 kilometers) circular orbit. More (Source: Quartz - May 2)
SPACEX TO LAUNCH 23 STARLINK SATELLITES TONIGHT IN 2ND HALF OF SPACEFLIGHT DOUBLEHEADER - SpaceX aims to launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites tonight (May 2), on the second half of a planned spaceflight doubleheader. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station tonight during a 3.5-hour window that opens at 9:49 p.m. EDT (0149 GMT on May 3). SpaceX will webcast the action via its X account, beginning about five minutes before the window opens. More (Source: Space.com - May 2)
THE STARLINER SPACECRAFT IS FINALLY FLYING ASTRONAUTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - After a bumpy few years, NASA’s Starliner is finally ready for takeoff. The agency says the Boeing spacecraft is set to begin its inaugural crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) next week, nearly a decade after originally intended. The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket and the adjoining CST-100 Starliner spacecraft are scheduled to depart from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6. More (Source: Yahoo - May 2)
CHINESE ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO EARTH AFTER 6 MONTHS ON SPACE STATION - A Chinese spacecraft returned to Earth on Tuesday with three astronauts who completed a six-month mission aboard the country’s orbiting space station. The Shenzhou-17 craft carrying Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin landed at the Dongfeng site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the Gobi Desert shortly before 6 p.m. It comes roughly four days after the Shenzhou-18 mission docked with the station with their three-member replacement crew. More (Source: AP News - May 2)
Next
