NRO, SPACEX LAUNCH RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM VANDENBERG SFB - The National Reconnaissance Office sent its 11th batch of small, reconnaissance satellites into low Earth orbit Monday morning. These are believed to be Starshield satellites, a government variant of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, though the NRO hasn’t confirmed this. The intelligence-gatherin... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 23)
FORRESTER’S DIGEST: TELESAT WITHDRAWS PLAN FOR EXTRA SATELLITES - Canada-based satellite operator Telesat has formally cancelled its plans for an additional 1,671 low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites. Telesat has already admitted that its important geostationary DTH business is under pressure and is betting its business mainly on a new LEO fleet, called Lightspe... More (Source: SatNews - Sep 22)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 28 STARLINK SATELLITES ON SUNDAY SUNRISE FALCON 9 FLIGHT - Rocket enthusiasts along the East Coast were treated to sunny sunrise launch from SpaceX on Sunday as it flew its Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral. The Starlink 10-27 mission will send 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit. The spacecraft will deploy from the rocket’s upper stage a li... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 21)
'WE MUST REPLACE THIS CAPABILITY NOW': NEW NOAA SATELLITE TO REPLACE AGING SPACE WEATHER SENTINELS LAUNCHES SEPT. 23 - On Sept. 23, a spacecraft will launch with a clear mission — to keep a constant watch on the sun to help protect Earth from space weather. The satellite, Space Weather Follow-On L1 (SWFO-L1), is launching just in time, as scientists warn our aging fleet of solar sentinels is reaching the end of it... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 20)
NEW REPORT WARNS THAT CHINA COULD OVERTAKE THE US AS TOP NATION IN SPACE — AND IT COULD HAPPEN 'IN 5-10 YEARS,' EXPERT CLAIMS - A new report from the Commercial Space Federation warns that China could soon overtake the U.S. in the "new space race." The country's rapid progression starkly contrasts the limitations imposed on NASA by record-breaking budget cuts.... More (Source: Live Science - Sep 20)
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CARGO SHIP REACHES SPACE STATION - Running a day late because of a software issue, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo ship caught up with the International Space Station early Thursday and then stood by while the lab’s robot arm latched onto a grapple fixture to wrap up a successful, if extended, rendezvous. The capture came a... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 19)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 28 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched its latest batch of Starlink satellites from Florida’s Space Coast in the predawn hours of Thursday morning. The Starlink 10-61 mission will see a batch of 28 Starlink V2 mini satellites launched into a low Earth orbit about an hour after liftoff. SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 ro... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 19)
WILL THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION BE REPLACED BEFORE ITS FIERY DEATH IN 2030? - NASA, its international partners, and commercial stakeholders are weighing the challenges of extending the aging ISS’s service life against the need to transition to next-generation low-Earth orbit platforms. With a planned retirement around 2030 driven by safety and technological concerns, discus... More (Source: Space News - Sep 19)
NASA, NORTHROP GRUMMAN POSTPONE CYGNUS XL ARRIVAL TO ISS FOLLOWING PROPULSION ISSUE - Northrop Grumman’s new Cygnus XL spacecraft will no longer dock with the International Space Station Wednesday morning as originally planned. In a blog post Tuesday evening, NASA announced that two, orbit-raising burns of the spacecraft’s main engine “stopped earlier than planned.” The ag... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 18)
CHINA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES TEST SATELLITE FOR SATELLITE INTERNET TECHNOLOGY - China successfully sent a test satellite for satellite internet technology into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located in the country's northwest, on Tuesday. The satellite was launched at 9:06 a.m. (Beijing Time) aboard a Long March-2C carrier rocket, with the Yuanzheng-1S (Expe... More (Source: www.gov.cn - Sep 17)
CREW AWAITS SECOND CARGO MISSION IN LESS THAN A WEEK; KEEPS UP BIOTECH RESEARCH - One cargo spacecraft has docked to the International Space Station and another one is on its way to continue resupplying the Expedition 73 crew. While the orbital residents await their next delivery, they continued researching on Monday advanced ways to keep humans healthy and nourished on long dura... More (Source: NASA - Sep 17)
THESE 2 EUROPEAN TELESCOPES USE LASERS TO TRACK POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SPACE JUNK - Advanced laser systems at two European observatories are revolutionizing how space debris is monitored, enabling precise tracking of objects that might threaten operational satellites. Employing powerful laser beams and cutting‐edge telescopic technology, researchers can now detect and measure eve... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 16)
SOLAR ARRAYS DEPLOY AS CYGNUS XL ORBITS TOWARD STATION - Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft deployed its two solar arrays after launching earlier Sunday at 6:11 p.m. EDT on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to the International Space Station. ... More (Source: NASA - Sep 16)
NORTHROP GRUMMAN’S 1ST CYGNUS XL SPACECRAFT LAUNCHES ON CARGO RUN TO THE SPACE STATION - Northrop Grumman’s first Cygnus XL vehicle was jettisoned on its way to the International Space Station following a pre-sunset launch from Cape Canaveral Sunday evening. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket thundered off the pad at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at 6:11 a.m. EDT (2211). About 8 minutes... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 15)
PROGRESS 93 CARGO CRAFT DOCKS TO STATION RESUPPLYING CREW - The unpiloted Progress 93 spacecraft arrived at aft port of the International Space Station’s Zvezda module at 1:23 p.m. EDT on Saturday. The Roscosmos spacecraft is delivering about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station. It will remain doc... More (Source: NASA - Sep 14)
RUSSIA LAUNCHES MILITARY SATELLITE AND STUDENT-BUILT SPACECRAFT FROM ARCTIC BASE - Russia’s Defense Ministry reported the successful launch of a Soyuz-2.1b medium-class carrier rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region on 13 September, according to Russian news agency Interfax. The launch deployed two spacecraft into orbit: a military satellite serving Def... More (Source: Euromaidan Press - Sep 14)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 300TH STARLINK SATELLITE-INTERNET MISSION - SpaceX just lofted yet another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink craft lifted off from foggy Vandenberg Space Force Base in California today (Sept. 13) at 1:55 p.m. EDT (1755 GMT; 10:55 a.m. local California time). It was the 300th Star... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 14)
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE, FAA CLEAR SPACEX TO LAUNCH UP TO 120 FALCON 9 ROCKETS ANNUALLY FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - The Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of the Air Force gave the green light for SpaceX to more than double its launch cadence from its workhorse launch pad in Florida and construct a new landing zone for its Falcon rocket boosters. On Sept. 3, the FAA published documents supporti... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 13)
RUSSIAN SOYUZ ROCKET LAUNCHES ROBOTIC PROGRESS CARGO SHIP WITH 2.8 TONS OF SUPPLIES TOWARD THE ISS - A Russian Progress freighter launched toward the International Space Station today (Sept. 11) on a mission to deliver several tons of cargo for the station's astronaut crew. A Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Russia-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today at 11:54 a.m. EDT (1554 GMT; 8:54 p.m... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 13)
