SPACEX LAUNCHES 7.5-TON SIRIUSXM SATELLITE AS PART OF CONSTELLATION REFRESH - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Sunday carrying a multi-ton, radio-broadcasting satellite for SiriusXM’s to replace two aging satellites in geostationary Earth orbit. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 10:25 p.m. EDT (0225 UTC), the opening of a four-hour window. The rocket flew on an easterly trajectory upon leaving the launch pad.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 29)

CHINA PLANS TO DOUBLE THE SIZE OF ITS TIANGONG SPACE STATION WHILE THE ISS NEARS ITS END - China is set to expand its space station from three to six modules in the coming years and add a co-orbiting Hubble-class space observatory, even as the International Space Station approaches the end of its lifetime. The three-module, T-shaped Tiangong space station was assembled in orbit across 2021 and 2022 and has hosted numerous three-astronaut Shenzhou crews, but China is now set to expand the orbital outpost with new modules, citing growing research demands and more frequent crew and cargo missions.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 28)

A RUSSIAN MODULE CALLED ZVEZDA HAS BEEN VENTING THE SPACE STATION'S AIR THROUGH CRACKS SINCE 2019 — LOSING NEARLY 2 KILOGRAMS A DAY - The Zvezda service module, the Russian segment that has anchored the back end of the International Space Station since July 2000, has been quietly leaking air into space for nearly seven years. The cracks are in a narrow vestibule called the PrK tunnel, which connects Zvezda to an aft docking port where Russian Progress cargo ships arrive. Roscosmos first reported the leak in September 2019, and the station has been losing breathable atmosphere ever since.   More
(Source: Space Daily - Jun 28)

ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES 10TH SYNSPECTIVE SATELLITE - Rocket Lab launched a radar-imaging satellite for Japanese company Synspective on June 26, a flight delayed by a responsive space mission. The Electron rocket lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 1:43 p.m. Eastern on a mission called “10 Owl of 10” by the company. The payload, a StriX satellite, separated from the rocket’s kick stage 56 minutes later into a 552-kilometer orbit inclined at 42 degrees.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jun 27)

NASA WANTS TO DUMP THE ISS IN THE SEA. EXPERTS SAY THE PLAN 'RAISES SERIOUS CONCERNS FOR OCEAN HEALTH' - NASA's plan to deorbit the International Space Station in coming years has fallen under the scrutiny of a government watchdog group and stirred up a wave of reaction by a leading ocean conservation organization. As presently blueprinted by NASA, the International Space Station will be de-orbited via a series of actions. Firstly, in early to mid-2028, the ISS will start to be lowered through a combination of Earth's natural atmospheric drag and the execution of re-entry maneuvers by the ISS's Russian segment.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 26)

WHAT IS CHINA’S SPACESAIL, AND COULD IT RIVAL ELON MUSK’S STARLINK? - Elon Musk’s Starlink has long dominated the satellite internet industry, but a Chinese government-backed project is aiming to challenge its position. SpaceSail has just a few hundred satellites in low Earth orbit compared with Starlink’s 10,000-plus. But the company says it now has enough satellites to begin its first commercial application, is scaling up at speed, and is reportedly negotiating with dozens of countries to provide satellite internet coverage.   More
(Source: The Guardian - Jun 26)

NASA, BOEING COMMITTED TO STARLINER-1 LAUNCH DESPITE UNCLEAR TIMELINE - More than four months after NASA released a report classifying the 2024 Crew Flight Test of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as a Type A mishap, the timing of the return to flight mission remains up in the air and could be as far as a year away. During a public meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) on Monday, member Kent Rominger said that NASA was still assessing opportunities to launch the uncrewed Starliner-1 mission.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 25)

WEST COAST FALCON 9 LAUNCH CONTINUES EXPANSION OF SPACEX’S STARLINK NETWORK - Spacex launched another 24 satellites for its Starlink internet service from the West Coast Wednesday evening. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-45 mission from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California occurred at 8:30 p.m. PDT (11:30 p.m. EDT / 0330 UTC).    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 25)

SPACEX LAUNCHES REENTRY CAPSULE DEMO MISSION CALLED ‘STARFALL’ - As the sun rose over Florida’s Space Coast on Tuesday, so too did SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, carrying onboard a demonstration of its new uncrewed reentry capsule named ‘Starfall’. The company had been tight-lipped about the payload and its mission profile, cutting off its public-facing, post-liftoff timeline after the booster landing event. SpaceX chose not to share views of its upper stage or the Starfall payload itself during its broadcast.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 25)

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