SPACEX DELAYS STARLINK LAUNCH FROM CALIFORNIA - SpaceX delayed by a day the Starlink 11-9 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base with 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites onboard. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is now targeting Monday, April 28 at 1:39 p.m. PDT (4:39 p.m. EDT, 2039 UTC). Assuming Firefly Aerospace is able to launch its Alpha rocket Sunday morning, this Falcon 9 flight will be the 18th orbital launch of the year from VSFB. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 28)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 23 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Sunday night carrying 23 Starlink satellites, including 13 capable of direct to cell phone service. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 came at 10:09 p.m. EDT (0209 UTC). It was SpaceX’s 48th Falcon 9 launch of 2025. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 28)
SPACEX TO LAUNCH 27 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM VANDENBERG SFB - SpaceX is preparing to launch back-to-back Falcon 9 rockets on Sunday from both California and Florida. Up first is the Starlink 11-9 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base with 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites onboard. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is targeting 3:41 p.m. PDT (6:41 p.m. EDT, 2241 UTC). Assuming Firefly Aerospace is able to launch its Alpha rocket Sunday morning, this Falcon 9 flight will be the 18th orbital launch of the year from VSFB. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 27)
RUSSIAN SATELLITE LINKED TO NUCLEAR WEAPON PROGRAM APPEARS OUT OF CONTROL, U.S. ANALYSTS SAY - The secretive Russian satellite in space that U.S. officials believe is connected to a nuclear anti-satellite weapon program has appeared to be spinning uncontrollably, suggesting it may no longer be functioning in what could be a setback for Moscow's space weapon efforts, according to U.S. analysts. The Cosmos 2553 satellite, launched by Russia weeks before invading Ukraine in 2022, has had various bouts of what appears to be errant spinning over the past year, according to Doppler radar data from space-tracking firm LeoLabs and optical data from Slingshot Aerospace shared with Reuters. More (Source: Reuters - Apr 26)
SHENZHOU-20 CREWED SPACECRAFT ARRIVES AT TIANGONG SPACE STATION - Three Chinese astronauts arrived at the Tiangong space station Thursday aboard the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, hours after launching from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Shenzhou-20 docked with the radial port of the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station at around 11:49 a.m. Eastern (15:49 UTC) April 24, according to the the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO). More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 26)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 28 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched another 28 optimized Starlink V2 Mini satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday night. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-74 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 9:52 p.m. EDT (0152 UTC). The rocket followed a south-easterly trajectory once it left the pad. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 25)
CREW UNLOADS DRAGON AND KICKS OFF NEW SPACE EXPERIMENTS - The Expedition 73 crew is beginning its first full week together unpacking the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft and activating new science experiments. The International Space Station residents are also gearing up for next week’s spacewalk while ensuring the ongoing operations of the orbiting laboratory. More (Source: NASA - Apr 25)
CHINA LAUNCHES SHENZHOU 20 ASTRONAUTS TO TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China's latest human spaceflight mission headed for orbit on Thursday morning (April 24). A Long March 2F rocket topped with the Shenzhou 20 crew spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 24 at 5:17 a.m. EDT (0917 GMT; 5:17 p.m. Beijing time). Shenzhou 20 carried commander Chen Dong, on his third trip to space, and rookie astronauts Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, both of whom were selected for China's third intake of astronauts in 2020. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 25)
SPACEX’S RIDESHARE BANDWAGON-3 MISSION MARKS THE 300TH ORBITAL FLIGHT FROM CAPE CANAVERAL’S PAD 40 - SpaceX completed its third Falcon 9 rocket launch in less than 48 hours with a rideshare mission carrying payloads to a mid-inclination orbit. Liftoff of the Bandwagon-3 mission happened at 8:48 p.m. EDT (0048 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 245th orbital launch for SpaceX from SLC-40 and the 300th total orbital flight from this pad. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 22)
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