U.S. SPACE FORCE AND ASTROSCALE TO CO-INVEST IN A REFUELING SATELLITE - Astroscale U.S., a provider of on-orbit services to extend the life of satellites, has signed an agreement with the U.S. Space Force to co-invest in an on-orbit refueling vehicle. Col. Joyce Bulson, project manager at Space Systems Command, said the agreement includes $25.5 million in government ... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 26)
SPACE FORCE GETS ANOTHER WEATHER SATELLITE FROM NOAA - The U.S. Space Force for the second time has taken ownership of a retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather satellite to fill gaps in coverage for the U.S. military. NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite known as GOES-15, originally activated in 2011, w... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 25)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 21 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM CALIFORNIA ON SEPT. 25 - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from California early Monday morning (Sept. 25), carrying 21 Starlink satellites to orbit. The Falcon 9 is lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Monday at 4:48 a.m. EDT (0848 GMT; 1:48 a.m. local California time). The launch was streamed l... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 25)
NASA SEEKS PROPOSALS FROM US INDUSTRY FOR STATION DEORBIT SPACECRAFT - NASA has released a request for proposal from U.S. industry for the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (USDV), a spacecraft meant to safely deorbit the International Space Station as part of its planned retirement. To maximize value to the government and enhance competition, the acquisition will allow offerors... More (Source: NASA - Sep 21)
BANG! INFLATABLE SPACE STATION MODULE BLOWS APART IN EXPLOSIVE TEST - That's now five space station prototypes blown up for science's sake. The Colorado company Sierra Space, which is creating an inflatable module for an International Space Station (ISS) successor, deliberately exploded a new design on Aug. 17 that included a metal plate. (In this case, the plate w... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 21)
SPACEX ROCKET LAUNCHES STARLINK SATELLITES ON RECORD-BREAKING 17TH FLIGHT - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket just set a reuse record. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday at 11:38 p.m. EDT (0338 GMT Sept. 20), carrying 22 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO). The rocket's first stage came back t... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 21)
FCC DIRECTING MORE SATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS TO MITIGATE EFFECTS ON ASTRONOMY - The Federal Communications Commission is requiring more operators of satellite constellations to work with astronomers to minimize the effects their satellites will have on ground-based astronomy. The FCC issued authorizations Aug. 31 to Iceye and Planet, updating their licenses to add new satell... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 20)
ROCKET LAB SUFFERS ANOMALY DURING LAUNCH, EARTH-OBSERVATION SATELLITE LOST - Rocket Lab suffered an anomaly during the launch of a radar Earth-observation satellite early Tuesday morning (Sept. 19). An Electron rocket carrying a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft for the California company Capella Space lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site Tuesday at 2:55 ... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 19)
CHINA LAUNCHES YAOGAN-39 REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE - China on Sunday successfully launched a new remote sensing satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province. A Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying the satellite Yaogan-39 lifted off at 12:13 p.m. (Beijing Time). Sunday's launch was the 488th mission un... More (Source: Xinhua - Sep 18)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 22 STARLINK SATELLITES AFTER 1-DAY DELAY - SpaceX launched 22 more of its Starlink internet satellites late on Friday night (Sept. 15) after a one-day delay. A Falcon 9 rocket launched the Starlink spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Friday at 11:38 p.m. EDT (0338 GMT on Sept. 16). SpaceX had been planning... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 17)
FIREFLY LAUNCHES SPACE FORCE ‘VICTUS NOX’ MISSION - The U.S. Space Force announced that Firefly Aerospace successfully launched a Millennium Space small satellite Sept. 14 — a mission designed to demonstrate capabilities to launch in a much shorter timeline than is typical for national security missions. The Space Force mission, known as Victus... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 16)
SOYUZ SPACECRAFT WITH US ASTRONAUT, TWO RUSSIAN COSMONAUTS DOCKS AT ISS - A Russian spacecraft blasted off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome on Friday carrying two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut to join the crew of the International Space Station (ISS), live TV images showed. At 1853 GMT the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft with American Loral O'Hara and Russians Ol... More (Source: Reuters - Sep 16)
RUSSIA ROLLS SOYUZ ROCKET TO THE PAD AHEAD OF SEPT. 15 ASTRONAUT LAUNCH TO ISS - Tuesday was an active day at Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, as the Soyuz rocket for the next astronaut launch to the International Space Station was rolled to the launchpad. A Soyuz 2.1a rocket will launch the Soyuz MS-24 mission on Sept. 15, at 11:44 a.m. EDT (1544 GMT). The sp... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 14)
NASA SETS COVERAGE FOR LAUNCH, DOCKING OF NEW SPACE STATION CREW - A NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are set to launch to the International Space Station on Friday, Sept. 15. The U.S. space agency will provide full coverage of launch and crew’s arrival at the microgravity laboratory. NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Konon... More (Source: NASA - Sep 14)
HOW COULD RUSSIA HELP NORTH KOREA BUILD A SATELLITE? - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday toured Russia's most modern space launch centre, where President Vladimir Putin promised to help Pyongyang build satellites. The unprecedented visit comes as North Korea seeks to put its first spy satellite into orbit, an effort that has seen two faile... More (Source: Reuters - Sep 14)
NORTH KOREA’S LAST REMAINING SATELLITE TO BURN UP IN ATMOSPHERE SOON - North Korea’s first-ever satellite is likely to soon fall out of orbit and disintegrate in the atmosphere after over a decade in space, experts assessed this week. Available evidence suggests the Kwangmyongsong-3-2 (KMS-3-2) satellite has not been operational since shortly after the DPRK launch... More (Source: North Korea News - Sep 13)
ARIANESPACE TO LAUNCH INTELSAT SMALL GEO SATELLITE - Arianespace will launch a small geostationary communication satellite for Intelsat on an Ariane 6 in 2026, a sign of a stable, but diminished, role for such satellites in the commercial launch market. Arianespace announced Sept. 12 it signed a contract with Intelsat to launch the IS-45 satellite ... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 13)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 21 NEW STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET - SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites early Tuesday (Sept. 12) and landed the returning rocket on a ship at sea. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 21 Starlink craft from California's foggy Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday at 2:57 a.m. EDT (0657 GMT; 11:57 p.m. Se... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 13)
CANADA'S TELESAT TAPS SPACEX TO LAUNCH ITS BROADBAND SATELLITES IN ORBIT - Canada's Telesat (TSAT.TO) on Monday said it has sealed an agreement with SpaceX to launch its low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites from 2026, with the aim of providing global broadband service from space in late 2027. LEO satellites operate 36 times closer to Earth than traditional ones so they take... More (Source: Reuters - Sep 13)
