ATLAS V ROCKET TO LAUNCH AMAZON’S 2ND BATCH OF KUIPER INTERNET SATELLITES ON JUNE 13 - Amazon's second fleet of internet satellites now has a target launch date. The stack of 27 satellites, part of Amazon's Project Kuiper constellation, is scheduled to launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket next Friday (June 13). Liftoff of the mission, known as Kuiper 2, is set... More (Source: Space.com - Jun 7)
ELON MUSK SAYS SPACEX WILL DECOMMISSION DRAGON SPACECRAFT AFTER TRUMP THREAT — OR NOT - Elon Musk on Thursday said his company SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft “immediately” because of threats by President Donald Trump to cancel government contracts with Musk’s businesses. But hours later, Musk said, “Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon,” after a X us... More (Source: CNBC - Jun 7)
SPACEX LAUNCHES SXM-10 SATELLITE FOR SIRIUSXM ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched its first customer mission of the month shortly after midnight on Saturday morning with a Falcon 9 flight heading to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The late-night launch of the SXM-10 satellite for SiriusXM, a satellite radio company, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at C... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 7)
NASA SETS COVERAGE FOR AXIOM MISSION 4 LAUNCH, ARRIVAL AT STATION - NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are targeting 8:22 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 10, for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4. The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel ... More (Source: NASA - Jun 6)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 500TH ORBITAL FALCON ROCKET ON 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALCON 9 - SpaceX was back at the launch pad for a midweek flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Starlink 11-22 mission marked the company’s 500th orbital launch of a Falcon rocket, including Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 5)
SPACEX LAUNCHES MIDNIGHT HOUR STARLINK MISSION FROM FLORIDA - SpaceX managed to launch its latest batch of Starlink satellites Tuesday morning following a scrub in the pre-dawn hours of Monday. Liftoff of the Starlink 12-19 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 12:43 a.m. EDT (0443 UTC) on Tuesday, June 3, as... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 4)
CREW PREPS FOR FOURTH AXIOM PRIVATE MISSION, KEEPS UP HUMAN RESEARCH - The Expedition 73 crew members are turning their attention to the upcoming fourth private mission from Axiom Space. While the International Space Station crewmates prepare for the Ax-4 quartet’s arrival aboard a SpaceX Dragon they also continued studying how their bodies are adapting to weightless... More (Source: NASA - Jun 4)
ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES BLACKSKY’S NEXT GEN-3 SATELLITE ON ELECTRON ROCKET FROM NEW ZEALAND - Rocket Lab successfully launched its 65th Electron rocket to date on a mission in support of its customer, BlackSky, and the next launch for its Gen-3 satellite constellation. Teams launched the mission, dubbed ‘Full Stream Ahead,’ from Pad A at Rocket Lab’s launch complex in Mahia, New Zea... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 3)
SPACEX SCRUBS MONDAY MORNING LAUNCH OF 23 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX decided to scrub its plans to launch 23 Starlink satellites in the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning, though the company didn’t state a reason for the change in plans. The launch team is now targeting a liftoff of the Starlink 12-19 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral S... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 2)
WEST COAST FALCON 9 LAUNCHES 27 SATELLITES FOR SPACEX’S STARLINK INTERNET SERVICE - SpaceX closed out May with its 16th Falcon 9 launch of the month. The Saturday afternoon launch from the company’s West Coast launch pad carried 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to a low Earth orbit. Liftoff of the Starlink 11-18 mission from a foggy Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Spac... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 1)
ISS MISSIONS WITH RUSSIA ARE LIKE WORKING WITH NAZIS, SAYS FORMER US ASTRONAUT - A retired US astronaut has told RFE/RL that joint missions with Russia on the International Space Station (ISS) should be scaled back, comparing them to collaboration with Nazi Germany at the height of World War II. "Cooperating with the Russians on the ISS is like going on an Antarctic expeditio... More (Source: Radio Free Europe - Jun 1)
HOW MANY SATELLITES COULD FIT IN EARTH ORBIT? AND HOW MANY DO WE REALLY NEED? - The number of satellites orbiting Earth is rising fast, thanks to private companies such as SpaceX. But just how big will these "megaconstellations" become? And what problems might they cause? In the last five years, the number of satellites orbiting Earth has more than doubled and will likely doub... More (Source: Live Science - May 31)
U.S. SPACE FORCE, LOCKHEED MARTIN LAUNCH NEWEST GPS SATELLITE ON SPACEX FALCON ROCKET - The latest addition to the United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation launched into medium Earth orbit Friday afternoon, skirting some season thunderstorms passing through the area. The GPS III-7 Space Vehicle 08 (SV-08) launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 31)
NASA HELPS WITH PROGRESS ON VAST’S HAVEN-1 COMMERCIAL SPACE STATION - NASA-supported commercial space station, Vast’s Haven-1, recently completed a test of a critical air filter system for keeping future astronauts healthy in orbit. Testing confirmed the system can maintain a safe and healthy atmosphere for all planned Haven-1 mission phases. Testing of the trace... More (Source: NASA - May 30)
CHINA LAUNCHES CLASSIFIED SHIJAN-26 SATELLITE WITH LONG MARCH 4B ROCKET - China carried out its ninth launch of the month early Thursday, sending the secretive Shijian-26 spacecraft into orbit. A Long March 4B rocket lifted off at 12:12 a.m. Eastern (0412 UTC) May 29 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China. Insulation tiles fell away from the rocket’s ... More (Source: SpaceNews - May 30)
SPACEX TO LAUNCH GPS III SVO8 SATELLITE FROM CAPE CANAVERAL ON MAY 30 - SpaceX is set to launch a GPS III SVO8 satellite into orbit from Cape Canaveral, FL on May 30. The preparations for the upcoming mission for the U.S. Space Force (USSF) proceeded on an accelerated timeline to add the SV08 to the constellation. In press comments, Col. Andrew Menschner, underscored... More (Source: Inside GNSS - May 30)
SPACE ONE AND SPACE BD TO LAUNCH SATELLITE FOR JAPANESE MILITARY - The Japanese military has selected companies Space One and Space BD to launch a small satellite. The companies announced May 28 that they won a contract from the Japan Ministry of Defense for the launch of an optical imaging satellite that will be built by Canon Electronics. The announcement did ... More (Source: SpaceNews - May 30)
SPACEX TO LAUNCH ANOTHER GPS III SATELLITE IN RECORD TURNAROUND - SpaceX is gearing up to launch a Global Positioning System satellite for the U.S. military on May 30 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, marking another high-profile national security mission that shifted from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan to the Falcon 9 rocket. The launch of G... More (Source: SpaceNews - May 29)
ROCKET LAB TO LAUNCH PRIVATE EARTH-OBSERVING SATELLITE JUNE 2 AFTER DELAY - Rocket Lab announced on May 28 that it's now targeting no earlier than June 2 EDT for the "Full Stream Ahead" launch "to allow for additional checkouts" and accommodate bad weather that's expected to come in. The mission, which Rocket Lab calls "Full Stream Ahead," will send the Gen-3 satellite to a... More (Source: Space.com - May 29)
