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)
AIRBUS OUTLINES PLANS FOR FUTURE HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGING SATELLITES - More than a year after losing two Pléiades Neo high-resolution imaging satellites in a launch failure, Airbus has outlined plans to replace them. The company announced April 29 a new program called Pléiades Neo Next, which it described as creating “new satellite assets and capabilities” to augment the two Pléiades Neo satellites currently in operation. That will start with one satellite Airbus has started to manufacture that will launch in the next few years. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 1)
MORE SATELLITES, LESS SPACE: NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS RISK GROWTH ON ORBIT - A new report finds that 2023 was yet another boom year for space operations with more launches, more satellites deployed, more dead satellites littering the heavens, more satellite maneuvers — and with that increase in on-orbit activity a growth in risks to operators, in part evidenced by “markedly increasing” insurance rates for operators. “The State of Satellite Deployments and Orbital Operations” is the first of what space monitoring firm Slingshot Aerospace intends as an annual report looking at the domain through “the lens of the satellite lifecycle” from launch to deployment to on–orbit operations to end-of-life disposal. More (Source: Breaking Defense - May 1)
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