STATION ORBITING HIGHER AS EXERCISE RESEARCH AND MAINTENANCE CONTINUE - The International Space Station is orbiting higher today after the Progress 93 cargo spacecraft, docked to the Zvezda service module’s aft port, fired its engines for over 14 minutes, 7 seconds at 8:04 a.m. EST on Wednesday. The reboost increased the space station’s altitude by 1 mile at apogee and 2.3 miles at perigee, leaving the station in an orbit of 265.5 x 255.9 statute miles.   More
(Source: NASA - Nov 20)

KEPLER ANNOUNCES LAUNCH DATE FOR FIRST TRANCHE OF OPTICAL SATELLITES - Kepler Communications will launch ten 300-kilogram-class satellites for its optical data relay network aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, in Jan. 2026. The launch marks the beginning of Kepler’s next-generation operational constellation, designed to provide real-time connectivity, advanced on-orbit compute, and hosted payload services for government and commercial customers.   More
(Source: Satellite Evolution - Nov 20)

SPACEX RESUMES EARLY EVENING LAUNCHES AFTER FAA RESTRICTIONS LIFTED - SpaceX launched of a batch of Starlink satellites on Tuesday, its first early-evening flight since the FAA lifted restrictions on commercial launches prompted by the government shutdown. The Starlink 6-94 mission lifted off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, at 7:12 p.m. EST (0012 UTC), carrying 29 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink internet service. It was the 99th launch from the Florida spaceport this year.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 19)

CHINESE ASTRONAUTS 'STUCK' ON SPACE STATION TO GET A NEW SPACECRAFT AFTER DEBRIS STRIKE LEAVES THEM WITHOUT A RIDE HOME - China appears to have set a launch date for an uncrewed spacecraft that will replace one damaged by space debris while docked at the Tiangong Space Station. The three astronauts (or taikonauts) of the Shenzhou 21 mission are currently aboard China's Tiangong Space Station without a ride home after one of the nation's spacecraft was damaged by an apparent space debris strike. The impact left cracks in a window on the SZ-20 capsule, the spacecraft that launched the three crewmembers of the Shenzhou 20 crew to Tiangong in April 2025 and was set to bring them home.   More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 19)

POLAND IS READY TO LAUNCH ITS FIRST MILITARY SATELLITE, A SAR, FROM CALIFORNIA - The plans to launch Poland’s first military satellite, a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite built by the Polish-Finnish consortium ICEYE, will be from Vandenberg AFB in California on November 22. The launch was originally planned for November 11, which coincidentally is Veterans day here in the states. This is all part of Poland’s plan to secure an Earth observation system for the country’s armed forces and will have its first three military satellites launched this month aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-15 mission.   More
(Source: SatNews - Nov 18)

SPACEX LAUNCHES JOINT NASA-EUROPEAN SEA LEVEL MONITOR - SpaceX launched a joint NASA-European environmental research satellite early Monday, the second in an ongoing billion-dollar project to measure long-term changes in sea level, a key indicator of climate change. The first satellite, known as Sentinel-6 and named in honor of NASA climate researcher Michael Freilich, was launched in November 2020. The follow-on spacecraft, Sentinel-6B, was launched from California atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 12:21 a.m. EST.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 18)

SPACEX COMPLETES SECOND FASTEST TURNAROUND BETWEEN FALCON 9 LAUNCHES FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX kicked off the weekend with a pair of Falcon 9 launches. With both flights depart Florida’s Space Coast at about three hours and 35 minutes of each other, this was the second shortest turnaround from Cape-based flights for SpaceX. The Starlink 6-85 mission was the second scheduled to fly, departing from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:44 a.m. EST (0644 UTC). The Starlink 6-89 mission launched from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 10:08 p.m. EST (0308 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 16)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 29 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER - SpaceX headed into the weekend with a pair of launches planned for Florida’s Space Coast with both supporting the company’s Starlink broadband satellite internet constellation. First up to bat was Starlink 6-89, which flew from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff happened at 10:08 p.m. EST (0308 UTC) with the rocket flying on a south-easterly trajectory.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 16)

NASA SETS LAUNCH COVERAGE FOR INTERNATIONAL OCEAN TRACKING MISSION - The agency is preparing to launch Sentinel-6B, an international satellite that will measure sea surface height for 90% of the planet’s ocean. NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for Sentinel-6B, an international mission delivering critical sea level and ocean data to protect coastal infrastructure, improve weather forecasting, and support commercial activities at sea.   More
(Source: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Nov 16)

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