SPACEX SCRUBS TRANSPORTER-15 LAUNCH, TARGETS FRIDAY FOR NEXT ATTEMPT - SpaceX is preparing to fly dozens of spacecraft into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) during its fourth smallsat rideshare mission of the year as part of its Transporter series. The flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was set to happen a day before the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States, but the launch scrubbed about 15.5 minutes prior to liftoff. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 27)
NEW STATION CREW COUNTS DOWN TO THANKSGIVING DAY LAUNCH - One NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan counting down to a lift off on Thanksgiving Day to the International Space Station to begin an eight-month microgravity research mission. The seven-member Expedition 73 crew will expand to ten when the new trio arrives just over three hours after launch. More (Source: NASA - Nov 27)
WATCH CHINA'S SHENZHOU 22 RESCUE SHIP ARRIVE AT TIANGONG SPACE STATION - Three Chinese astronauts finally have a reliable way to get home from orbit. The uncrewed Shenzhou 22 spacecraft arrived at Tiangong space station today (Nov. 25) at 2:50 a.m. EST (0750 GMT and 3:50 p.m. Beijing time), about 3.5 hours after launching to orbit atop a Long March 2F/G rocket. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 26)
BLACKSKY RELEASES FIRST IMAGES FROM NEW GEN-3 SATELLITE AFTER UNDISCLOSED LAUNCH - BlackSky Technology released images on Tuesday from a recently launched Gen-3 satellite, reporting that it delivered images from the satellite less than 24 hours after launch. The image (above) collected by the Gen-3 satellite shows the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Thousands of vehicles can be seen at the port. The image was collected on Nov. 22. BlackSky didn’t announce the satellite’s launch but confirmed to Via Satellite on Tuesday that it was the undisclosed customer on Rocket Lab’s Electron mission last week. More (Source: Via Satellite - Nov 26)
NASA REDUCES FLIGHTS ON BOEING'S STARLINER AFTER BOTCHED ASTRONAUT MISSION - NASA on Monday slashed the number of astronaut missions on Boeing's Starliner contract and said the spacecraft's next mission to the International Space Station will fly without a crew, reducing the scope of a program hobbled by engineering woes and outpaced by Elon Musk's SpaceX. The most recent mishap occurred during Starliner's first crewed test flight in 2024, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Several thrusters on Starliner's propulsion system shut down during its approach to the ISS. More (Source: Reuters - Nov 25)
SHENZHOU 22 LAUNCHES UNCREWED TO CHINESE TIANGONG SPACE STATION - The Shenzhou 22 mission, originally scheduled to fly next year, launched successfully on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 04:11 UTC from Site 901 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s Inner Mongolia province. Shenzhou 22, mounted atop a Chang Zheng-2F rocket, launched without crew and will dock autonomously with the Tiangong space station after a four and a half hour orbital flight and rendezvous procedure. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Nov 25)
SOYUZ ROCKET ROLLS OUT AS CYGNUS PARKS AWAY FROM STATION - Soyuz rocket rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today to begin counting down to a Thanksgiving Day liftoff of three new crew members to the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev are scheduled to lift off aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft at 4:27 a.m. EDT (3:27 p.m. Baikonur time) on Thursday, Nov. 27. They will orbit Earth twice before docking to the Rassvet module at 7:38 a.m. the same day beginning an eight-month space research mission. More (Source: NASA - Nov 25)
NEXT METOP SECOND GENERATION WEATHER SATELLITE IN THE SPOTLIGHT - The MetOp Second Generation-B1 satellite has entered its third and most delicate round of pre-launch testing, marking another step towards strengthening Europe’s weather forecasting capabilities. Engineers are now putting the satellite through rigorous electromagnetic compatibility tests to ensure that its many electronic systems can operate without interfering with one another once this new weather satellite is in orbit around Earth next year. More (Source: European Space Agency - Nov 25)
AMAZON STARTS LETTING BUSINESSES TEST REBRANDED LEO SATELLITE SERVICE AS IT PLAYS CATCH-UP TO MUSK’S STARLINK - Amazon said Monday it will begin allowing businesses to test its recently rebranded internet-from-space service that seeks to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink. Select businesses will be able to test Amazon Leo production hardware and software as part of an “enterprise preview” of the service “ahead of a wider rollout,” the company said in a blog post. The test program will allow Amazon to collect feedback and “tailor solutions for specific industries” ahead of a broader launch, the company said. More (Source: CNBC - Nov 25)
Next
