CHINA LAUNCHES SECOND YAOGAN-42 RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITE - China launched its second Yaogan-42 reconnaissance satellite over the weekend, weeks after sending the first such satellite into a similar orbit. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 7:45 p.m. Eastern (2334 UTC) April 20. The China Aerospace Science and Techno... More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 22)
NASA SATELLITE'S 'SHOCKING' SPACE JUNK NEAR-MISS WAS EVEN CLOSER THAN THOUGHT - Humanity dodged an orbital bullet recently by an even slimmer margin than we thought. In the wee hours of Feb. 28, the dead Russian spy satellite Cosmos 2221 and NASA's TIMED craft, which has been studying Earth's atmosphere since 2001, made an uncomfortably close pass in orbit, zooming within a... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 21)
JAPANESE SATELLITE WILL BEAM SOLAR POWER TO EARTH IN 2025 - Japan is on track to beam solar power from space to Earth next year, two years after a similar feat was achieved by U.S. engineers. The development marks an important step toward a possible space-based solar power station that could help wean the world off fossil fuels amid the intensifying battle a... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 20)
CONSTELLATION OF STARLINK SATELLITES GROWS WITH LATEST SPACEX LAUNCH FROM FLORIDA - SpaceX launched a cluster of 23 satellites into low-Earth orbit Thursday, the 334th launch of the company's Starlink Internet satellites and the 268th time a reusable booster rocket has been used. The launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida occurred at 6:40 p.m. EDT. he booster ... More (Source: UPI - Apr 20)
SPACEX AND NORTHROP ARE WORKING ON A CONSTELLATION OF SPY SATELLITES - SpaceX is reportedly working with at least one major US defense contractor, Northrop Grumman, on a constellation of spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. According to Reuters, development of the network of hundreds of spy satellites by SpaceX is being coordinated with multiple co... More (Source: Ars Technica - Apr 20)
CHINA ROLLS OUT ROCKET FOR NEXT ASTRONAUT MISSION TO TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China is all set to send its next crew to its Tiangong space station. The Shenzhou 18 spacecraft currently sits atop a Long March 2F rocket, on its pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The rocket was transferred 0.93 miles (1.5 kilometers) by rail from the vertical integration building to the ... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 20)
SPACEX COMPLETES 40TH FALCON 9 LAUNCH OF THE YEAR WITH STARLINK MISSION - SpaceX completed its 40 Falcon 9 mission of the year with a launch from the Cape. The Starlink 6-52 mission added 23 more satellites to the growing low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 6:40 p.m. EDT (2240 UTC), the o... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 19)
SPACEX LAUNCHES FALCON 9 ROCKET ON STARLINK MISSION FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER - SpaceX completed its latest Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A NASA’s Kennedy Space Center early Wednesday evening. The Starlink 6-51 mission came about a week-and-a-half after the launch of its first Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission from that same launch pad. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket happened 5:2... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 18)
ESA IS LAUNCHING TWO SATELLITES ON A WORLD-FIRST MISSION TO CREATE A MAN-MADE SOLAR ECLIPSE - ESA says the "Proba-3" mission will be the first to create an artificial eclipse in a bid to better understand solar weather. The recent total solar eclipse primarily seen in North America left tens of millions in awe. Now, the European Space Agency (ESA) is working to create an artificial ecl... More (Source: Euronews.com - Apr 17)
NASA COMPLETES ANALYSIS OF RECOVERED SPACE OBJECT - In March 2021, NASA ground controllers used the International Space Station’s robotic arm to release a cargo pallet containing aging nickel hydride batteries from the space station following the delivery and installation of new lithium-ion batteries as part of power upgrades on the orbital outpost... More (Source: NASA - Apr 17)
SPACEX TO LAUNCH MAXAR WORLDVIEW LEGION 1 & 2 MISSION FOR LEADING RESOLUTION AND ACCURACY - These are the first two of six planned WorldView Legion satellites, which will enhance Maxar Intelligence’s constellation by delivering industry-leading resolution and accuracy. When all six WorldView Legion satellites are launched, it will triple Maxar Intelligence’s capacity to collect 30 cm-c... More (Source: SatNews - Apr 17)
DEAD SATELLITES ARE FILLING SPACE WITH TRASH. THAT COULD AFFECT EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD - A dead spacecraft the size of a truck ignites with plasma and pulverizes into dust and litter as it rips through the ionosphere and atmosphere. This is what happens to internet service satellites during re-entry. When the full mega-constellation of satellites is deployed in the 2030s, companies will... More (Source: The Guardian - Apr 17)
SPACE FORCE IS PLANNING A MILITARY EXERCISE IN ORBIT - The US Space Force announced Thursday it is partnering with two companies, Rocket Lab and True Anomaly, for a first-of-its-kind mission to demonstrate how the military might counter “on-orbit aggression.” On this mission, a spacecraft built and launched by Rocket Lab will chase down another s... More (Source: WIRED - Apr 15)
SPACEX LAUNCHES FALCON 9 BOOSTER ON RECORD-BREAKING 20TH FLIGHT - SpaceX shattered multiple records Friday night as it launched 23 satellites for the company’s Starlink internet service from Cape Canaveral. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted offf from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9:40 p.m. EDT (0140 UTC). It was the first time a Falcon 9 first-stage booster fl... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 14)
SUSPECTED SPACE-JUNK STRIKE IN FLORIDA SIGNALS NEW ERA OF ORBITAL DEBRIS - Three years ago astronauts threw out the largest piece of trash ever tossed from the International Space Station. Now some of it seems to have punched a hole through a house in Naples, Fla. In what may be judged as a bizarre and twisted case of “breaking and entering,” last month a plummeting cy... More (Source: Scientific American - Apr 14)
FLEET SPACE LAUNCHES CENTAURI-6 SATELLITE ON SPACEX’S BANDWAGON-1 MISSION - Fleet Space Technologies has successfully deployed the company’s Centauri-6 satellite on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-1 mission, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The addition of Centauri-6 to Fleet Space’s satellite constellation will play... More (Source: SatNews - Apr 13)
RUSSIA’S ANGARA A5 ROCKET BLASTS OFF INTO SPACE AFTER TWO ABORTED LAUNCHES - Russia has launched its Angara A5 rocket from a space facility in the country’s far east after technical glitches prompted officials to abort missions at the last minute for two days in a row. Thursday’s launch of the new space vehicle is intended to showcase Russia’s post-Soviet space ambi... More (Source: Al Jazeera - Apr 13)
SPACEX LAUNCHES SPACE FORCE WEATHER SATELLITE DESIGNED TO TAKE OVER FOR A PROGRAM WITH ROOTS TO THE 1960S - SpaceX launched a military weather satellite designed to replace aging satellites from a program dating back to the 1960s. The United States Space Force-62 (USSF-62) mission featured the launch of the first Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) spacecraft. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 12)
NEW SPY-SATELLITE CONSTELLATION BEGINS LAUNCH NEXT MONTH - The National Reconnaissance Office will soon launch the first group of satellites to begin building the spy agency’s future network of intelligence satellites. “We've already launched a number of demonstration satellites over the last few years to verify cost and performance….This launch w... More (Source: Defense One - Apr 11)
