OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS, GOVERNMENTS PROPOSED LAUNCHING OVER ONE MILLION SATELLITES, BUT WHERE WILL THEY ALL GO? - In September 2021, Rwanda announced that it was planning to launch over 300,000 satellites. Three months later, a Canadian company, having previously launched two dozen CubeSats, said it would launch an additional 100,000. Then, a French company did likewise. And SpaceX, which has already launched a... More (Source: Space.com - Nov 30)
US READY TO COLLABORATE FOR BUILDING INDIAN SPACE STATION - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Bill Nelson, on Tuesday, said that the United States is willing to working with India to construct its own space station. Nelson, who arrived in India today, stated that India and the US are working on plans to send an Indian astron... More (Source: The Times of India - Nov 29)
NASA TO PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE OF SPACE STATION CARGO LAUNCH, DOCKING - NASA will provide live launch and docking coverage of the Roscosmos Progress 86 cargo spacecraft carrying about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 70 crew aboard the International Space Station. The unpiloted spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 4:25 a.m. EST on Friday, Dec... More (Source: PR Newswire - Nov 29)
FIREFLY TO LAUNCH A LOCKHEED MARTIN SATELLITE ANTENNA DEMONSTRATION - The next launch by Firefly Aerospace, scheduled for December, will be an electronically steerable antenna payload designed by Lockheed Martin for a technology demonstration. Lockheed Martin in June announced it awarded Firefly a contract to launch a small satellite. The company on Nov. 27 disclos... More (Source: SpaceNews - Nov 29)
SOUTH KOREA DELAYS ITS OWN SPY SATELLITE LIFTOFF, DAYS AFTER NORTH'S SATELLITE LAUNCH - South Korea has postponed the planned launch of its first military spy satellite set for this Thursday, officials said, days after rival North Korea claimed to put its own spy satellite into orbit for the first time. Under a contract with SpaceX, South Korea is to launch five spy satellites by 20... More (Source: Yahoo News - Nov 29)
SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCHES 23 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - The next batch of Starlink satellites for SpaceX’s space-based internet service soared into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket Monday night from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff occurred at 11:20 p.m. EST (0420 UTC) the Falcon 9 piercing a thin layer of cloud as it headed on southerly tr... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 28)
LAUNCH OF IRELAND’S 1ST SATELLITE IS UPCOMING… - Built by students at University College Dublin under guidance of ESA’s Education Office, EIRSAT-1 is a 2U CubeSat carrying three experiments, including a novel gamma ray detector that will study some of the most luminous explosions in the universe. The mission has been in development since the ... More (Source: SatNews - Nov 27)
NORTH KOREA ROCKET EXPLODES DURING SPY SATELLITE LAUNCH, AND METEOR HUNTERS CAUGHT IT ON CAMERA - The first stage of a North Korean rocket apparently exploded Tuesday (Nov. 21) during a purported spy satellite launch, a new video suggests. A camera at South Korea's Yonsei University, usually used for tracking meteors or shooting stars, showed the first stage of the North Korean Chollima-1 roc... More (Source: Space.com - Nov 27)
CHINA CONDUCTS LAUNCH TO TEST SATELLITE INTERNET CAPABILITIES - China sent an undisclosed number of satellites into orbit Thursday to test satellite internet technologies. A Long March 2D rocket using a Yuanzheng-3 upper stage lifted off at 5:00 a.m. Eastern (1000 UTC) Nov. 23 from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China. The China Aerospace Scienc... More (Source: SpaceNews - Nov 24)
CHINA'S YOUNGEST SPACE STATION CREW SEND HOME SPECTACULAR VIEWS FROM SPACE - China's Shenzhou 17 astronauts are getting into the rhythms of life in orbit — and also sending back some choice clips of their activities. Shenzhou 17 arrived at the Tiangong space station on Oct. 26, where they were greeted by the outgoing Shenzhou 16 mission crew. Mission commander Tang H... More (Source: Space.com - Nov 24)
CHINA'S NEXT CARGO SPACECRAFT ARRIVES AT LAUNCH SITE AHEAD OF EARLY 2024 LIFTOFF - China is preparing to send fresh supplies and more propellant to its space station. The robotic Tianzhou 7 cargo spacecraft arrived recently at China's coastal Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, according to Chinese state media. The spacecraft will undergo final assembly and testing ahead of a lau... More (Source: Space.com - Nov 23)
NASA ACKNOWLEDGES POSSIBILITY OF SHORT-TERM POST-ISS GAP - While NASA seeks to maintain an uninterrupted human presence in low Earth orbit, an agency official said a short-term gap between the International Space Station and commercial successors would not be “the end of the world.” NASA’s current approach to its future in LEO counts on supporting ... More (Source: SpaceNews - Nov 23)
3RD TIME LUCKY? NORTH KOREA CLAIMS SUCCESSFUL SPY SATELLITE LAUNCH - South Korea moved Wednesday to suspend parts of a 2018 military pact with North Korea after Pyongyang defied warnings from the U.S. and its allies with what it said was the successful launch of its first spy satellite. North Korea launched the Malligyong-1 satellite on a Chollima-1 rocket from th... More (Source: NBC News - Nov 23)
NORTH KOREA CLAIMS IT HAS PUT A SPY SATELLITE INTO ORBIT IN 3RD ATTEMPT - North Korea claimed Wednesday to have successfully placed a spy satellite into orbit with its third launch attempt this year, demonstrating the nation's determination to build a space-based surveillance system during protracted tensions with the United States. The North's claim could not immediat... More (Source: NPR - Nov 22)
SPACEX SET TO LAUNCH 23 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM FLORIDA TONIGHT - SpaceX plans to launch 23 more Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida tonight (Nov. 21), continuing a busy stretch for the company. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during a nearly four-hour window that opens at 11:01 p.m. EDT (... More (Source: Space.com - Nov 22)
NASA REQUESTS FUNDING FOR $1 BILLION ‘SPACE TUG’ TO DEORBIT THE ISS - NASA is developing a plan to deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of its lifetime, currently scheduled for 2030. Since the 356-foot-wide laboratory is too big to completely vaporize if left to naturally burn in Earth’s atmosphere, the space agency intends to send a US spacecraf... More (Source: SpaceRef - Nov 22)
NASA TOOL BAG TONIGHT: HOW TO SEE THE DROPPED SPACE BOX FLOATING ACROSS THE SKY - We’ve all been there. You’ve put something down, and now you can't find it – it’s like it disappeared into thin air. But earlier this month, a NASA tool bag literally did fly off into a vacuum during routine checks aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The tool bag has been orbiti... More (Source: BBC Science Focus - Nov 22)
WITH BUDGET CUTS AND AN AGING STATION, CAN NASA LEARN TO LOVE A GAP IN ORBIT? - Just in case you were under any illusions about the age of the International Space Station, Monday marked the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Zarya module. This Russian-built power and propulsion module formed the cornerstone of the space station, and the first residents arrived two years late... More (Source: Ars Technica - Nov 22)
NORTH KOREA TELLS JAPAN IT PLANS TO LAUNCH SATELLITE IN THE COMING DAYS - North Korea has notified Japan it plans to launch a satellite between Wednesday and Dec. 1, in what Tokyo and Seoul said could be a third attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit in violation of a U.N. ban. Japan's Coast Guard said on Tuesday the North gave notice of the launch in the direction ... More (Source: Reuters - Nov 21)
