WATCH CHINA LAUNCH PAIR OF EARTH-MAPPING SATELLITES ON ITS 50TH LAUNCH OF 2023 - China launched what are likely a pair of partially classified mapping satellites late on Tuesday. A Long March 6A rocket lifted off into a twilit sky above the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 6:50 p.m. EDT on Oct. 31 (2250 GMT, or 6:50 a.m. Beijing Time on Nov. 1) carrying Tianhui-5 Earth-mapping satellites. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced launch success within an hour of launch, noting a single Tianhui satellite as the payload. This was echoed up via media reports.   More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 3)

SATELLITE COMPANIES MAY BE STARTING TO TAKE THE FIGHT AGAINST SPACE JUNK SERIOUSLY - French startup ThrustMe has announced a jump in orders for its innovative iodine-based propulsion systems for small satellites. The interest indicates a shift toward a more sustainable space environment, according to the company. ThrustMe has passed 200 orders, the company said in an Oct. 24 statement, representing a doubling of its order book within just four months. The company’s 4-inch-by-4-inch-by-4-inch (10 centimeters by 10 cm by 10 cm) NPT30-I2 electric thruster — which was first tested in 2020 and uses relatively cheap and abundant iodine, instead of the more exotic xenon — provides small satellites with autonomous maneuverability, helping them avoid collisions and to deorbit when the time comes.   More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 3)

RUSSIAN HELP TO BOOST NORTH KOREA BID TO LAUNCH SPY SATELLITE, SOUTH KOREA SAYS - North Korea is in the final stages of preparations for the launch of a spy satellite and the chances of its third attempt succeeding are high, South Korea's intelligence agency said in a briefing on Wednesday, according to a lawmaker present. North Korea has also sent more than 10 shipments of munitions to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine, including over one million artillery rounds, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was quoted as saying.   More
(Source: Reuters - Nov 2)

NASA, INDIA TO LAUNCH EARTH-OBSERVING SATELLITE IN 2024 - For the first time, the space agencies of the U.S. and India are cooperating to develop the hardware for an Earth-observing mission. NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are putting the finishing touches on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite. After it launches in 2024, NISAR will continually scan Earth's surface with radar. One of its key goals is to track how our planet's landscapes change over time.   More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 1)

WATCH CHINA'S SHENZHOU 16 SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO EARTH TONIGHT - Three Chinese astronauts are set to return to Earth tonight, and you can watch it live. China's Shenzhou 16 astronauts (or taikonauts, as Chinese spaceflyers are known) launched to the nation's Tiangong space station aboard a Long March 2F rocket in May 2023. The crew consists of commander Jing Haipeng, spaceflight engineer Zhu Yangzhu and payload specialist Gui Haichao.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 31)

PENTAGON AWARDS $1.3 BILLION IN CONTRACTS TO NORTHROP GRUMMAN AND YORK FOR 100 SATELLITES - The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency on Monday announced about $1.3 billion in contracts to York Space and Northrop Grumman to build communications satellites. The SDA is having the pair of companies build 100 satellites as part of a network the U.S. military is building called the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. These satellites will be for “Alpha” variant prototypes in the “Tranche 2 Transport Layer” constellation, also known as T2TL-Alpha, to provide encrypted communications.   More
(Source: CNBC - Oct 31)

FALCON 9 ADDS 23 SATELLITES TO STARLINK NETWORK, PUSHES TOTAL IN ORBIT OVER 5,000 - A Falcon 9 carrying 23 more satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink internet service lifted off from Cape Canaveral Monday, bringing the total number of Starlinks currently in orbit to more than 5,000 satellites. Liftoff from pad 40 occurred at 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 UTC). On Sunday night the countdown reached T-30 seconds when an abort was called. The launch director said a problem was detected with the system used to separate the first and second stages of the rocket and launch was pushed back to Monday.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 31)

CHINA PLANS TO TAKE 'HACK-PROOF' QUANTUM SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY TO NEW HEIGHTS - China is planning new, cutting-edge quantum communications satellites. China launched the first dedicated quantum communications satellite, named Micius, in 2016, and has been quietly working on followup missions in the years since. The next satellites will be even more challenging. "Low Earth orbit quantum key satellite networking and medium- and high-orbit quantum science experimental platforms are the main development directions in the future," Wang Jianyu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said Oct. 15 at the third China Space Science Conference, according to a CAS statement.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 31)

PUTIN: RUSSIA TO LAUNCH FIRST MODULE OF SPACE STATION BY 2027 - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the first module of the Russian Orbital Station could be launched into orbit by 2027, as the International Space Station's (ISS) resources are exhausted. Speaking at a meeting with young scientists and space industry specialists, Putin said that Russia aims to build a complete station, not just a single segment.   More
(Source: CGTN - Oct 30)

Previous Next