SPACEX LAUNCHES RIDE SHARE MISSION WITH SOUTH KOREAN SPY SATELLITE, FIRST IRISH SATELLITE - Kicking off the month of December for SpaceX was a Falcon 9 ride share mission with a payload of 25 spacecraft on board. The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base was headlined by the Korea 425 mission. The rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at 10:19 a.m. PST (1:19 EST, 1819 UTC). The launch is set to be the first of two missions SpaceX plans to launch over the weekend. The company aims to launch another batch of 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the early hours of Saturday morning. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 2)
AMAZON BUYS SPACEX ROCKET LAUNCHES FOR KUIPER SATELLITE INTERNET PROJECT - Amazon bought three rocket launches from SpaceX for its Project Kuiper internet satellites, the tech giant announced on Friday. The move is a surprise from Amazon, given the company’s Kuiper system aims to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink in the satellite broadband market. Both Starlink and Kuiper represent multibillion-dollar efforts to create networks with thousands of satellites in orbit to serve customers ranging from consumers to governments. More (Source: CNBC - Dec 2)
SATELLITE IMAGERY REVEALS EXPLOSION AT CHINA’S JIUQUAN SPACEPORT - A Chinese launch vehicle maker appears to have suffered an explosion at a test site at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Satellite images show what are likely test stand facilities and the apparent aftermath of an exhaust plume from a hot fire test on the desert surface. Charred debris can be seen scattered across the surrounding area. The images were published by Harry Stranger, who uses satellite imagery to track space industry developments, on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. More (Source: SpaceNews - Dec 1)
S. KOREA SPY SATELLITE TO LIFT OFF AT VANDENBERG DAYS AFTER N. KOREA LAUNCHES ONE - South Korea is set to launch its inaugural homemade reconnaissance satellite on Dec. 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. The electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) satellite, to be carried by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is Seoul’s first of five planned satellites. Following the initial positioning of the satellite, the country plans to launch four more Synthetic Apertures Radar (SAR) satellites. More (Source: Air & Space Forces Magazine - Dec 1)
NASA WARNS OF “VERY PROBLEMATIC” SPACE TECHNOLOGY BUDGET CUTS - The head of NASA’s space technology directorate warned an advisory group of a “significant impact” to some programs if the Senate version of an appropriations bill for 2024 becomes law. Speaking at a Nov. 30 meeting of the NASA Advisory Council’s technology, innovation and engineering meeting, Prasun Desai, acting associate administrator for space technology at the agency, said that both House and Senate spending bills for fiscal year 2024 fall short of the administration’s request of $1.392 billion for space technology. More (Source: SpaceNews - Dec 1)
SPACE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SATELLITES IN LOW EARTH ORBIT SUCCESSFULLY BROADCAST DATA - The Space Development Agency for the first time demonstrated space-to-ground data communications from low Earth orbit satellites launched earlier this year. In three demonstrations held over the past several days, Link 16 terminals on three satellites in orbit were able to talk to radios on the ground, SDA said Nov. 28. Operators transmitted multiple messages from satellites using L-band radios aboard Tranche 0 Transport Layer satellites made by York Space to a ground test site outside the United States. SDA did not disclose the precise location and only said it was within the territory of a Five Eyes partner nation. More (Source: SpaceNews - Nov 30)
OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS, GOVERNMENTS PROPOSED LAUNCHING OVER ONE MILLION SATELLITES, BUT WHERE WILL THEY ALL GO? - In September 2021, Rwanda announced that it was planning to launch over 300,000 satellites. Three months later, a Canadian company, having previously launched two dozen CubeSats, said it would launch an additional 100,000. Then, a French company did likewise. And SpaceX, which has already launched around 5,000 satellites, now has plans for over 60,000 more. There are currently only about 8,000 active satellites in orbit. What’s going on? More (Source: Space.com - Nov 30)
US READY TO COLLABORATE FOR BUILDING INDIAN SPACE STATION - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Bill Nelson, on Tuesday, said that the United States is willing to working with India to construct its own space station. Nelson, who arrived in India today, stated that India and the US are working on plans to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station by the end of next year. More (Source: The Times of India - Nov 29)
NASA TO PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE OF SPACE STATION CARGO LAUNCH, DOCKING - NASA will provide live launch and docking coverage of the Roscosmos Progress 86 cargo spacecraft carrying about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 70 crew aboard the International Space Station. The unpiloted spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 4:25 a.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 1 (2:25 p.m. Baikonur time), on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Oct. 4, 2023) - The Roscosmos Progress 84 cargo craft is pictured docked to the International Space Station's Poisk module. Credits: NASA (Oct. 4, 2023) - The Roscosmos Progress 84 cargo craft is pictured docked to the International Space Station's Poisk module. Credits: NASA NASA coverage will begin at 4 a.m. on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. More (Source: PR Newswire - Nov 29)
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