ITALIAN MISSION ADDS TO GROWING IRIDE SPACE FLEET - The Italian programme IRIDE, which provides public sector services based on data from its fleet of Earth observation constellations, has added eight satellites to its second constellation, Eaglet II. The Eaglet II satellites lifted off on board a Falcon 9 rocket at 19:44 CET (10:44 local time... More (Source: European Space Agency - Dec 1)
THE METOP SECOND GENERATION-B1 SATELLITE LAUNCH DRAWS CLOSER - The launch of the MetOp second generation-B1 satellite is scheduled for 2026 as it enters its third round of pre-launch testing. This satellite will be the second entry in the MetOp second generation satellite program, as the first entry, the second-generation A1 satellite, was launched a few months... More (Source: Orbital Today - Dec 1)
CHINA PLANS 'ORBITAL GUARDIAN,' A 156-SATELLITE SAFEGUARD FOR SPACE - China is deploying a satellite constellation to enhance its space situational awareness, focusing on debris tracking for collision avoidance. The constellation will be used to track space debris and ensure the safe operation of spacecraft. With global coverage, it is a responsive low Earth orbit ... More (Source: CGTN - Dec 1)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 140 SPACECRAFT ON TRANSPORTER-15 RIDESHARE MISSION - The second time proved to be the charm as SpaceX successfully launched 140 payloads onboard its Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Space Force Base Friday morning. The flight came two days after SpaceX scrubbed the mission around the time liquid oxygen load was supposed to start on the rocket’s upper s... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 1)
RUSSIA'S ONLY ACTIVE LAUNCH PAD FOR COSMONAUTS DAMAGED BY SOYUZ CREW LAUNCH TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Russia's successful launch of three new crew members to the International Space Station on Thursday (Nov. 27), resulted in damage to country's only active launch pad for crewed spaceflights to the orbiting lab, Russia's federal space corporation has confirmed. The maintenance cabin (also referred... More (Source: Space.com - Dec 1)
SOUTH KOREA’S LARGEST SATELLITE LAUNCHED ON NURI ROCKET IN AMBITIOUS SPACE MISSION - South Korea launched its largest satellite yet on its nationally developed space rocket early Thursday in the fourth of six launches planned through 2027. The three-stage Nuri rocket lifted off from a spaceport on an island off the southwestern coastal county of Goheung. Aerospace officials said ... More (Source: AP News - Nov 28)
NASA ASTRONAUT CHRIS WILLIAMS, CREWMATES ARRIVE AT SPACE STATION - NASA astronaut Chris Williams, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, safely arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, expanding the orbiting laboratory’s crew to 10 for the next two weeks. The trio launched aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft at... More (Source: NASA - Nov 28)
NASA ASTRONAUT, TWO COSMONAUTS TAKE THANKSGIVING DAY RIDE TO SPACE STATION - Astronomer-turned-medical physicist and now NASA astronaut Chris Williams joined two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz ferry ship Thursday for a Thanksgiving Day flight to the International Space Station, kicking off a planned eight-month stay in orbit. With commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov at the ... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 27)
SPACEX SCRUBS TRANSPORTER-15 LAUNCH, TARGETS FRIDAY FOR NEXT ATTEMPT - SpaceX is preparing to fly dozens of spacecraft into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) during its fourth smallsat rideshare mission of the year as part of its Transporter series. The flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was set to happen a day before the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the ... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 27)
NEW STATION CREW COUNTS DOWN TO THANKSGIVING DAY LAUNCH - One NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan counting down to a lift off on Thanksgiving Day to the International Space Station to begin an eight-month microgravity research mission. The seven-member Expedition 73 crew will expand to ten when the new t... More (Source: NASA - Nov 27)
WATCH CHINA'S SHENZHOU 22 RESCUE SHIP ARRIVE AT TIANGONG SPACE STATION - Three Chinese astronauts finally have a reliable way to get home from orbit. The uncrewed Shenzhou 22 spacecraft arrived at Tiangong space station today (Nov. 25) at 2:50 a.m. EST (0750 GMT and 3:50 p.m. Beijing time), about 3.5 hours after launching to orbit atop a Long March 2F/G rocket.... More (Source: Space.com - Nov 26)
BLACKSKY RELEASES FIRST IMAGES FROM NEW GEN-3 SATELLITE AFTER UNDISCLOSED LAUNCH - BlackSky Technology released images on Tuesday from a recently launched Gen-3 satellite, reporting that it delivered images from the satellite less than 24 hours after launch. The image (above) collected by the Gen-3 satellite shows the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Thousands of ... More (Source: Via Satellite - Nov 26)
NASA REDUCES FLIGHTS ON BOEING'S STARLINER AFTER BOTCHED ASTRONAUT MISSION - NASA on Monday slashed the number of astronaut missions on Boeing's Starliner contract and said the spacecraft's next mission to the International Space Station will fly without a crew, reducing the scope of a program hobbled by engineering woes and outpaced by Elon Musk's SpaceX. The most recent m... More (Source: Reuters - Nov 25)
SHENZHOU 22 LAUNCHES UNCREWED TO CHINESE TIANGONG SPACE STATION - The Shenzhou 22 mission, originally scheduled to fly next year, launched successfully on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 04:11 UTC from Site 901 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s Inner Mongolia province. Shenzhou 22, mounted atop a Chang Zheng-2F rocket, launched without crew and will dock au... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Nov 25)
SOYUZ ROCKET ROLLS OUT AS CYGNUS PARKS AWAY FROM STATION - Soyuz rocket rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today to begin counting down to a Thanksgiving Day liftoff of three new crew members to the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev ar... More (Source: NASA - Nov 25)
NEXT METOP SECOND GENERATION WEATHER SATELLITE IN THE SPOTLIGHT - The MetOp Second Generation-B1 satellite has entered its third and most delicate round of pre-launch testing, marking another step towards strengthening Europe’s weather forecasting capabilities. Engineers are now putting the satellite through rigorous electromagnetic compatibility tests to... More (Source: European Space Agency - Nov 25)
AMAZON STARTS LETTING BUSINESSES TEST REBRANDED LEO SATELLITE SERVICE AS IT PLAYS CATCH-UP TO MUSK’S STARLINK - Amazon said Monday it will begin allowing businesses to test its recently rebranded internet-from-space service that seeks to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink. Select businesses will be able to test Amazon Leo production hardware and software as part of an “enterprise preview” of the servi... More (Source: CNBC - Nov 25)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 28 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM VANDENBERG ON BRAND NEW FALCON 9 ROCKET - SpaceX launched a brand new Falcon 9 booster on a mission from California to deploy another batch of satellites for the company’s Starlink internet service. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, occurred at 12:48 a.m. PST (3:48 a.m. EST / 0848 UTC). It... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 24)
25 YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - November marks 25 years of human presence aboard the International Space Station, a testament to international collaboration and human ingenuity. Since the first crew arrived on Nov. 2, 2000, NASA and its partners have conducted thousands of research investigations and technology demonstrations to a... More (Source: NASA - Nov 23)
