BOEING STARLINER PROCEEDING TOWARD STATION TODAY - Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is proceeding toward the International Space Station on the NASA-Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2). Boeing and NASA met as an International Space Station Mission Management Team (IMMT) this afternoon to review the status of the flight test and approved a plan to proceed toward the final phase of rendezvous and docking, which remains scheduled at for 7:10 p.m. EDT. Docking broadcast coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. More (Source: NASA - May 21)
ATLAS 5 LAUNCHES STARLINER ON SECOND UNCREWED TEST FLIGHT - Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station on a critical, long-delayed uncrewed test flight of the commercial crew vehicle. An Atlas 5 N22 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:54 p.m. Eastern May 19. The Starliner spacecraft, formally designated Spacecraft 2 by Boeing, separated from the dual-engine Centaur upper stage 15 minutes after liftoff, performing a 40-second orbital insertion burn 16 minutes later to place the spacecraft into a stable orbit. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 20)
EARTH-WATCHING SATELLITE BARELY ESCAPES COLLISION WITH RUSSIAN SPACE DEBRIS - An important Earth-observing satellite just experienced a heart-pounding near-miss as it moved to avoid space debris. The European Space Agency detailed the Sentinel-1A satellite's dramatic dodge in a series of tweets on Wednesday, pointing to a 2021 Russian missile test that scattered chunks of a defunct Cosmos satellite around in orbit. On Monday, Sentinel-1A performed a set of emergency maneuvers to avoid what ESA called a "high-risk collision." More (Source: CNET - May 19)
BOEING'S STARLINER CAPSULE READY FOR THIRD ATTEMPT TO REACH SPACE STATION - An Atlas 5 rocket carrying Boeing's Starliner crew capsule was mounted on its seaside launch stand Wednesday, setting the stage for blastoff Thursday on the company's third attempt to complete an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station. Software glitches spoiled the Starliner's debut test flight in December 2019, preventing an autonomous rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station, and corroded valves derailed a planned reflight last August. More (Source: CBS News - May 19)
WATCH SPACEX LAUNCH 53 NEW STARLINK SATELLITES EARLY WEDNESDAY - SpaceX plans to launch 53 more Starlink internet satellites and land the returning rocket on a ship at sea early Wednesday morning (May 18), and you can watch all the action live. A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket topped with 53 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday at 6:20 a.m. EDT (1020 GMT). The rocket's first stage will land on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean about nine minutes after liftoff, if all goes according to plan. More (Source: Space.com - May 18)
STARLINER NEARS LAUNCH, CREW WORKS SPACE BOTANY AND HUMAN RESEARCH - The International Space Station is gearing up for the targeted arrival of Boeing’s Starliner crew ship on the company’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission. Meanwhile, the Expedition 67 crew is continuing its ongoing life science activities while maintaining orbital lab systems. Weather forecasters are predicting a 70% chance for favorable weather when Boeing’s OFT-2 mission is scheduled to launch at 6:54 p.m. EDT on Thursday. More (Source: NASA - May 18)
ASTRONAUT SNAPS SUPER FLOWER BLOOD MOON ECLIPSE PHOTOS FROM SPACE STATION - Astronauts at the International Space Station enjoyed stunning views of the total lunar eclipse on the night of May 15. European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti shared several snapshots on Twitter today (May 16), showing different stages of the Super Flower Blood Moon lunar eclipse framed by space station equipment and with cloud-covered Earth below. More (Source: Spsce.com - May 17)
CHINESE ROCKET COMPANY SUFFERS THIRD CONSECUTIVE LAUNCH FAILURE - An orbital launch attempt by Chinese startup iSpace suffered failure early Friday, following on from two failures last year. The fourth Hyperbola-1, a four-stage solid rocket, lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 3:09 a.m. Eastern May 13. Apparent launch footage appeared on a Chinese social media site shortly after launch but a period of silence followed, extending well past the time at which a similar launch could have been declared successful. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 16)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 53 MORE STARLINK SATELLITES, LANDS ROCKET AT SEA AGAIN - SpaceX launched 53 Starlink satellites and landed the returning rocket on Saturday (May 14), its second such effort in less than 24 hours. A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket carrying 53 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites lifted off Saturday at 4:40 p.m. EDT (2040 GMT) from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket's first stage came back to Earth and landed at sea on the SpaceX droneship Just Read the Instructions about 8.5 minutes after liftoff. More (Source: Space.com - May 15)
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