STARLINK SATELLITE DISINTEGRATES OVER THE CARIBBEAN - Witnesses in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic saw a spectacular satellite reentry around 7:25 p.m. local time (23:25 UTC) on September 6, 2023. Observers reported the reentry appeared across the sky from horizon to horizon, blazing a path from southwest to northeast. According to reentry predictions, the object was Starlink-30167, a satellite from SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, launched on July 28, 2023. Although the new Starlinks are called “V2 mini”, when the solar panels are deployed each spacecraft is 100 feet (30 m) wide.   More
(Source: EarthSky - Sep 8)

HERE'S OUR LAST LOOK AT EUROPE'S AEOLUS SATELLITE FALLING TO ITS FIERY DEATH - The European Space Agency has revealed final images of a trailblazing, wind-profiling spacecraft ahead of its fiery descent into the atmosphere. On Sept. 5, the European Space Agency (ESA) released an animation constructed from the final eight images captured of its wind-measuring Aeolus spacecraft. The combined radar images show how Aeolus began to tumble as it interacted with the Earth's atmosphere at near orbital speed. "These images are our final farewell to the mission we all miss, but whose legacy lives on," Aeolus Mission Manager Tommaso Parrinello said in a statement.    More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 7)

JAPAN LAUNCHES X-RAY SATELLITE, ‘MOON SNIPER’ LUNAR LANDER - A revolutionary satellite that will reveal celestial objects in a new light and the “Moon Sniper” lunar lander lifted off Wednesday night. The Japanese Space Agency launch, which was rescheduled several times due to bad weather, occurred aboard an H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima Space Center at 7:42 p.m. ET Wednesday, or 8:42 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Thursday.    More
(Source: CNN - Sep 7)

CHINESE CERES-1 ROCKET REACHES ORBIT WITH FIRST SEA LAUNCH - China’s Galactic Energy conducted its first sea launch early Wednesday, also marking a ninth successive successful launch for the commercial company. The Ceres-1 solid rocket lifted off from a transport erector launcher on a mobile sea platform off the coast of Haiyang, Shandong province, at 5:34 a.m. Eastern (0934 UTC) Sept. 5. Aboard were four satellites for Guodian Gaoke, a commercial firm constructing its Tianqi low-Earth orbit narrow-band Internet of Things constellation.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 6)

DOD SATELLITES IN LOW EARTH ORBIT PROMISE MORE CONNECTIVITY FOR MILITARY USERS - With its first 23 satellites in orbit, the U.S. Space Development Agency in the coming months will begin the demonstration phase of a data network in space designed to support military operations. SpaceX on Sept. 2 launched SDA’s second batch of satellites. The agency now has 19 communications satellites and four missile-tracking spacecraft in orbit. These make up the Tranche 0 portion of a projected network known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 5)

CREW-6 RETURNS TO EARTH - A Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down of the coast of Florida early Sept. 4, bringing back a crew from the United States, United Arab Emirates and Russia who spent six months on the International Space Station. The Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast from Jacksonville, Florida, at 12:17 a.m. Eastern, completing the Crew-6 mission. The spacecraft had undocked from the ISS at 7:05 a.m. Eastern Sept. 3.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 4)

SPACEX LAUNCHES STARLINK SATELLITES ON RECORD-BREAKING 62ND MISSION OF THE YEAR - SpaceX just set a new launch record. The company sent 21 of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit tonight (Sept. 3) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:47 p.m. EDT (0247 GMT on Sept. 4). It was SpaceX's 62nd orbital mission of 2023, setting a new record for most flights in a year, according to company founder and CEO Elon Musk. The old mark was set in 2022.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 4)

TIANGONG SPACE STATION COULD ALTER PERCEPTIONS OF CHINA’S SPACE PROGRAM, REPORT SAYS - Emerging trends in how China is utilizing and operating its Tiangong space station could impact how the country’s space program is viewed internationally. “The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) intention to allow civilian astronauts and nonstate-owned enterprise (SOE) companies to participate in the Chinese Space Station (CSS) are two trends that will probably change the global image of the Chinese space program,” according to a report from the Department of the Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI), published Aug. 28.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 4)

SPACEX DRAGON WITH CREW-6 ASTRONAUTS UNDOCKS FROM SPACE STATION. HERE'S HOW TO WATCH ITS LANDING LIVE TONIGHT. - A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four Crew-6 astronauts is headed back to Earth with four astronauts aboard to wrap up a six-month space mission and you can watch its splashdown live online early Monday (Sept. 4). The Dragon spacecraft Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT) today after a one-day delay due to bad weather at its splashdown site. The two spacecraft separated in darkness as the station was over the night side of Earth flying 256 miles above the Pacific Ocean at the time.    More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 4)

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