CREW OPENS CARGO CRAFT, WORKS ON PHYSICS GEAR AND BIOMEDICAL TECH - The hatches are open between the International Space Station and the new Progress 95 cargo spacecraft following the delivery of about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies on Monday. Expedition 74 commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineer Sergei Mikaev, both from Roscosmos, finalized leak and pressure checks between Progress 95 and the Zvezda service module’s rear port on Tuesday. Afterward, the duo installed air ducts and began unpacking the spacecraft beginning seven months of cargo activities in the resupply ship. More (Source: NASA - Apr 29)
PROGRESS 95 CARGO CRAFT DOCKS TO STATION WITH FOOD, FUEL, AND SUPPLIES - The uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 95 spacecraft docked to the aft port of the International Space Station’s Zvezda module at 8 p.m. EDT Monday. The spacecraft is delivering about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 74 crew. It will remain docked to the orbiting laboratory for about six months before departing for a planned destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew. More (Source: NASA - Apr 28)
ULA LAUNCHES 29 AMAZON LEO SATELLITES ON ATLAS 5 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - United Launch Alliance completed its second Atlas 5 rocket launch of the month, marking the company’s fastest turnaround at Space Launch Complex 41 to date. It beats the previous record by nearly three days. On board the Atlas 5 rocket was a batch of 29 Amazon Leo satellites. This will be ULA’s sixth flight delivering production versions of the broadband internet satellites to orbit and its seventh overall, including the two demo satellites launched on the Protoflight mission in October 2023. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 28)
SPACEX FLIES 25 STARLINK SATELLITES TO ORBIT ON ITS 50TH FALCON 9 LAUNCH OF THE YEAR - SpaceX launched its 50th Falcon 9 rocket of the year from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday, carrying another batch of satellites for its Starlink internet service. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-16 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East occurred under cloudy skies at 7:37 a.m. PDT (10:37 a.m. EDT / 14:37 UTC). The rocket carrying 25 of SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini broadband internet satellites took a southerly trajectory on departure from the central California coast. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 27)
SATELLITE SNAPS AMAZING 36TH BIRTHDAY PIC OF HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - It's a rare treat to see Hubble up close. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope was on the receiving end of an amazing space photo for a change. On Friday (April 24), Hubble's 36th birthday, the Colorado-based spatial intelligence company Vantor published a stunning, close-up shot of the telescope that was taken the day before by one of its WorldView Legion Earth-observing satellites. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 26)
RUSSIA LAUNCHES 3 TONS OF CARGO TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FROM KAZAKHSTAN - Russia launched its latest Progress cargo ship toward the International Space Station today (April 25). A Soyuz rocket topped with the robotic Progress 95 freighter lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today at 6:21 p.m. EDT (2221 GMT; 3:21 a.m. on April 26 local time). The Russian freighter, known as Progress 95, is hauling about 3 tons of food, propellant and other supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). More (Source: Space.com - Apr 26)
NASA SHARES SPACEX CREW-13 ASSIGNMENTS FOR SPACE STATION MISSION - As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission, four crew members from three space agencies will launch no earlier than mid-September to the International Space Station for a long-duration science expedition. NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively. They will be joined by CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, who will serve as mission specialists. After arriving at the orbiting laboratory, Crew-13 will become members of the space station’s Expedition 75. More (Source: NASA - Apr 25)
NASA SETS EARLY SEPTEMBER LAUNCH DATE FOR ROMAN SPACE TELESCOPE - NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now scheduled for launch in early September as agency officials hail its early completion despite ongoing budget uncertainty for its science programs. NASA announced at a media event at the Goddard Space Flight Center April 21 that the space telescope had completed final assembly and testing ahead of shipment to the Kennedy Space Center for launch preparations. More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 24)
ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES JAPANESE 'ORIGAMI' SATELLITE, 7 OTHER SPACECRAFT TO ORBIT - Rocket Lab sent eight Japanese satellites to orbit from New Zealand on Wednesday night (April 22), including one with a unique "origami" construction. An Electron vehicle launched the "Kakuchin Rising" mission from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site on Wednesday at 11:09 p.m. EDT (0309 GMT and 3:19 p.m. local New Zealand time on Thursday, April 23). More (Source: Space.com - Apr 23)
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