MINOTAUR ROCKET SET TO LAUNCH TOP SECRET SATELLITES FROM VIRGINIA - A Minotaur 1 rocket powered by a surplus Cold War-era missile stage more than 54 years old is poised to blast off from the Eastern Shore of Virginia Tuesday morning, heading to orbit with three top secret spacecraft for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency. The solid-fueled launcher, sized to haul small satellites into orbit, is awaiting liftoff from pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Liftoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT). More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 15)
CHINA TO SEND THREE MEN INTO SPACE FOR ITS FIRST CREWED MISSION IN ALMOST FIVE YEARS - A Chinese spacecraft will blast off from the Gobi Desert on a rocket in the coming days, ferrying three men to an orbiting space module for a three-month stay. It is the first time in nearly five years that China is sending humans into space. Shenzhou-12, meaning "Divine Vessel", will be the third of 11 missions needed to complete China's space station by 2022. More (Source: ABC News - Jun 14)
KUWAIT’S FIRST SATELLITE TO LAUNCH ON JUNE 24 - Orbital Space has announced that QMR-KWT is due to be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (SLC 40) in Florida on June 24, 2021. QMR-KWT – ‘Moon of Kuwait’ – translated from Arabic – is a 1U CubeSat and will be Kuwait’s first Satellite. Speaking about the development, Bassam Alfeeli, Founder and General Manager of Orbital Space, said: “Our goal is to make space accessible to all, and as a startup, we are excited to work with other startups to meet our mutual objectives. More (Source: SatelliteProME.com - Jun 14)
PEGASUS ROCKET SUCCESSFUL IN RESPONSIVE LAUNCH DEMONSTRATION - A Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket dropped from the belly of a carrier jet over the Pacific Ocean early Sunday and streaked into orbit with a small U.S. military space surveillance satellite named Odyssey, completing a successful rapid launch exercise in partnership with a secretive new Space Force special projects unit. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 14)
ENCAPSULATION OF GPS III SV05 COMPLETED @ CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION FOR A JUNE 17 LAUNCH - The U.S. Space Force’s (USSF) Space and Missile Systems Center’s (SMC) Lockheed Martin-built GPS III Space Vehicle 05 satellite was encapsulated within a SpaceX payload fairing at Astrotech Space Operations Florida facility on June 9 in preparation for its upcoming launch scheduled for June 17, 2021 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The 15-minute launch window opens 12:09 p.m., EDT. More (Source: SatNews Publishers - Jun 13)
RUSSIA PREPARING TO GIVE IRAN ADVANCED SATELLITE SYSTEM: REPORT - Russia is set to deliver an advanced satellite system to Iran that will vastly improve its spying capabilities, according to a US media report. Moscow is preparing to give Iran a Kanopus-V satellite with a high-resolution camera, the Washington Post reported Thursday. It will allow the Islamic republic to monitor facilities of its adversaries across the Middle East, the paper said, citing current and former US and Middle Eastern officials. More (Source: The Defense Post - Jun 13)
HUSH-HUSH MILITARY SATELLITE READY TO RIDE PEGASUS ROCKET INTO ORBIT - A small U.S. military satellite named Odyssey, designed and built in less than a year by a secretive new Space Force special projects unit, is set to launch early Sunday from an aircraft off the coast of California aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket. The mission’s goal is to demonstrate how the military can develop and launch satellites on faster timescales. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 13)
LOOK AT THE AMBITIOUS PLANS FOR VOYAGER STATION, A HOTEL IN OUTER SPACE - Plans are underway for a luxury getaway that is out of this world. Literally. Orbital Assembly Corporation, billed as the world’s first large-scale space construction company and run by former pilot John Blincow, aims to open Voyager Station in 2027. The company recently opened a new production facility in Fontana, Calif. More (Source: Boston.com - Jun 12)
CHINESE CHANG ZHENG 2D LAUNCHES COMMERCIAL EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE AND SECONDARY PAYLOADS - A Chinese Chang Zheng 2D rocket has successfully lofted four satellites into Low Earth Orbit. The primary spacecraft on board was Beijing-3, a commercially developed and operated Earth observation satellite. The Chang Zheng, known outside of China as the Long March 2D, lifted off from Launch Complex 9 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, located in Shanxi province in Northern China, at 03:03 UTC on June 11 (11:03 PM local time). More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Jun 12)
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