SPACEX DRAGON SPLASHES DOWN IN PACIFIC, COMPLETES CARGO MISSION - At 5:11 a.m. PDT (8:11 a.m. EDT), the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of California near Oceanside, marking the return of the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for NASA. Dragon undocked at 12:25 p.m. EDT on June 16, carrying samples that could shape future space exploration and life on Earth.   More
(Source: NASA - Jun 19)

A BOLD SATELLITE RESCUE MISSION CAME TOGETHER IN RECORD TIME, BUT WILL IT WORK? - Just 10 months ago, NASA asked three companies if they could do something nobody had done before. Could they build and launch a satellite to save a $500 million astronomy mission at risk of crashing back to Earth? What’s more, could they do it in less than a year on a tight budget? Katalyst Space Technologies, a startup founded in 2020, presented the most compelling solution. “They came back with a response that was technically and programmatically plausible, and then we were like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it,’” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA’s astrophysics division.   More
(Source: Ars Technica - Jun 19)

HOME AGAIN! SPACEX DRAGON CARGO CAPSULE SPLASHES DOWN OFF CALIFORNIA COAST - SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is back on Earth. The robotic Dragon undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday (June 16) at 12:25 p.m. EDT (1625 GMT), while the two spacecraft were flying about 260 miles (418 kilometers) above the northern Pacific Ocean.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 18)

ARIANESPACE LAUNCHES ITS HEAVIEST PAYLOAD TO DATE WITH AMAZON LEO FLIGHT - Arianespace launched its largest and heaviest payload to date on a version of its Ariane 6 rocket that incorporated new solid rocket boosters Wednesday morning. The mission was designated VA269 by Arianespace and Leo Europe 03 (LE-03) by Amazon. It sent 36 Amazon Leo broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit. This was the third of 18 Ariane 6 flights booked by Amazon Leo to deploy its constellation and followed successful flights in February and April.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 18)

BLUEBIRD 8, 9, AND 10 SATELLITES TO BE LAUNCHED ON JUNE 17, ANNOUNCES AST SPACEMOBILE, INC. - AST SpaceMobile, Inc. is among the 10 Stocks ChatGPT Predicts Could Make You Wealthy in 3 Years. On June 9, the company announced that its next-generation BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 satellites will be launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on June 17 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The orbital launch mission will help in further strengthening the firm's capabilities in commercial and government communications and non-communications, which include space-based cellular broadband services. The satellites will use the company's advanced stackable satellite architecture.   More
(Source: Yahoo Finance - Jun 17)

A CHINESE ROCKET BREAKS APART DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO THE STARLINK CONSTELLATION - The upper stage from a commercial Chinese rocket that launched last week has broken apart in space, spreading debris in a heavily trafficked part of low-Earth orbit home to the International Space Station and a significant portion of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network. The breakup occurred shortly after the Zhuque-2E rocket reached orbit on June 9 with two satellites providing direct-to-cell communications, perhaps around the time the upper stage was expected to perform a disposal burn.   More
(Source: Ars Technica - Jun 16)

NASA’S SPACEX CRS-34 DRAGON RETURNS PACKED WITH SPACE STATION SCIENCE - Scientists await a big splash in the Pacific Ocean as one of the most research-packed Dragon spacecraft to date returns, completing the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. Biological and materials samples, along with tested hardware, are heading back to research teams on Earth for further analysis, advancing NASA’s work to prepare humans for exploration beyond low Earth orbit and to deliver benefits back home.   More
(Source: NASA - Jun 16)

SPACEX LAUNCHES ITS FIRST FALCON 9 ROCKET SINCE NASDAQ DEBUT - SpaceX launched its first Falcon 9 rocket since making its public trading debut on the Nasdaq. The Starlink 17-54 mission launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Monday morning to add another 24 broadband internet satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East occurred at 8:34 a.m. PDT (11:34 a.m. EDT / 1534 UTC). The rocket flew on a south-southwesterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 16)

THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IS OLD AND LEAKY. SHOULD IT BE DECOMMISSIONED SOONER RATHER THAN LATER? - Imagine you live in a house with walls that are just 2.54 mm thick. On the other side of your walls is certain death. Now imagine that there’s a crack in the outer wall of your living room, with oxygen being sucked out. And you can’t fix it. Sounds pretty terrifying, doesn’t it? But that’s exactly what has been going on aboard the International Space Station (ISS). For years.   More
(Source: CBC - Jun 15)

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