STATION HAS NEW COMMANDER; SOYUZ TRIO READY FOR SATURDAY DEPARTURE - The International Space Station has a new commander as three Expedition 72 crew members get ready to return to Earth on Saturday. The orbital residents staying behind will soon welcome a U.S. cargo craft and get ready for their increment’s first spacewalk. Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace... More (Source: NASA - Apr 20)
SPACEX LAUNCHES THIRD NRO MISSION IN EIGHT DAYS - America’s spy satellite agency, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), launched its third mission in eight days on Sunday, April 20. The mission featured another batch of satellites to support its proliferated architecture constellation in low Earth orbit. The satellites, believed to be Star... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 20)
2 PRIVATE SATELLITES UNDOCK AFTER PIONEERING LIFE-EXTENSION MISSION - Two commercial satellites have completed an undocking maneuver high above Earth, signaling the successful end to a pioneering spacecraft life-extension mission. The Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1), developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Space Logistics LLC, docked with Intelsat’s IS-... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 19)
UPCOMING LAUNCH - CRS-32 MISSION - SpaceX is targeting Monday, April 21 for Falcon 9’s launch of Dragon’s 32nd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-32) mission to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 4:15 a.m. ET, with a backup launch op... More (Source: SpaceX - Apr 19)
ITALY MOVES AHEAD WITH STUDY FOR 100-SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - The Italian government has approved Phase 2 of a feasibility study exploring the possibility of the country developing an 100-satellite constellation. While few details have been announced, initial reports indicate that the constellation will support communications and be designed for interoperabili... More (Source: SatNews - Apr 18)
SATELLITES SHOW CHINESE MOVES AGAINST US ALLY - New satellite imagery has revealed for the first time a hulking steel rig in the Yellow Sea between China and South Korea that has inflamed tensions between the two nations. The photographs, supplied exclusively to Newsweek, show the latest of several large steel platforms that China has insta... More (Source: Newsweek - Apr 18)
“TRANSFORMATIONAL” SATELLITE WILL MONITOR EARTH’S SURFACE CHANGES - In a few weeks, Earth scientists will launch a satellite that will provide unprecedented, high-resolution coverage of some of the most remote and rapidly changing parts of the world. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, a joint mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research ... More (Source: Eos.org - Apr 18)
NASA SAFETY PANEL WARNS OF INCREASING RISKS TO ISS OPERATIONS - Members of a NASA safety panel said they were “deeply concerned” about the safety of the aging International Space Station, citing long-running issues and funding shortfalls. During a public meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) April 17, members expressed concerns about growi... More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 18)
CHINA ROLLS OUT ROCKET FOR SHENZHOU 20 ASTRONAUT LAUNCH TO ITS TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China is gearing up to launch its latest astronaut crew into orbit. A Long March 2F rocket, topped with the Shenzhou 20 crew spacecraft, was rolled out to its launch pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Wednesday (April 16), according to Chinese state media. The 203-foot-long (62 meters) ... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 18)
MULTILATERAL COORDINATION WILL BE NEEDED FOR COMMERCIAL SPACE STATIONS - Even as NASA and its partners on the International Space Station shift to commercial space stations, NASA’s former deputy administrator believes there will still be a role for multilateral coordination of work on those stations. Speaking at a Royal Aeronautical Society symposium on internationa... More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 18)
CHINA LAUNCHES WORLD'S FIRST THREE-SATELLITE CONSTELLATION IN EARTH-MOON SPACE - China has established the world's first three-satellite constellation based on the Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) in the Earth-moon region of space, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Monday. Developed under the CAS class A strategic priority program "Earth-Moon Space DRO Explo... More (Source: Ecns.cn - Apr 17)
HERE’S HOW A SATELLITE ENDED UP AS A GHOSTLY APPARITION ON GOOGLE EARTH - Dig deep on Google Earth and you'll inevitably find a surprise or two. Maybe you're looking at far-flung islands in the middle of an ocean or checking in on something closer to home. A few years ago, online sleuths found an image of a B-2 stealth bomber in flight over Missouri. The aircraft is sm... More (Source: Ars Technica - Apr 16)
EXPERIENCE THE LAUNCH OF NASA’S SPACEX CREW-11 MISSION - Digital content creators are invited to register to attend the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to carry astronauts to the International Space Station for a science expedition as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. This will be the 15th time a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched by a Fa... More (Source: NASA - Apr 16)
NASA ASTRONAUT DON PETTIT AND 2 COSMONAUTS WILL RETURN TO EARTH ON APRIL 19 - NASA astronaut Don Pettit and two cosmonaut colleagues will return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday night (April 19), if all goes to plan. The journey home for Pettit, Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner will begin Saturday at 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 GMT), when their Russia... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 16)
NASA SETS COVERAGE FOR SPACEX 32ND STATION RESUPPLY LAUNCH, ARRIVAL - NASA and SpaceX are targeting 4:15 a.m. EDT, Monday, April 21, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. This is the 32nd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the orbiting laboratory for the agency. Filled with mor... More (Source: PR Newswire - Apr 15)
REPORT: GLOBAL LEO SATELLITE GROWTH TO HIT 42,600 BY 2032 - The number of active low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites is expected to grow dramatically over the next decade, increasing from 7,473 in 2023 to about 42,600 by 2032, according to a new report from technology intelligence firm ABI Research. The report cites growing investment from China and Europe a... More (Source: Military Aerospace - Apr 15)
SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCHES 27 STARLINK SATELLITES TO ORBIT ON RECORD-BREAKING 27TH FLIGHT - SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of rocket reuse. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 27 of the company's Starlink internet satellites lifted off at midnight (0400 GMT) on Monday (April 14) from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 27th launch for the rocket's first stage,... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 15)
KATY PERRY AND GAYLE KING LAUNCH TO SPACE WITH 4 OTHERS ON HISTORIC ALL-FEMALE BLUE ORIGIN ROCKET FLIGHT - Jeff Bezos' aerospace company launched its NS-31 mission today (April 14), sending the pop star and her five female crewmates on a brief mission to suborbital space. Liftoff occured at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT) from Blue Origin's West Texas launch site. It was the first all-female spaceflight sinc... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 14)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 400TH FLIGHT-PROVEN FALCON BOOSTER WITH SATURDAY STARLINK MISSION - After being stymied by back-to-back scrubs on consecutive nights, SpaceX managed to launch the Starlink 12-17 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Saturday night. The mission marked the 400th launch of a flight proven booster. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A took place at 8:53 p.m. EDT (... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 13)
