US SPACE FORCE CELEBRATES RETURN OF 1ST GUARDIAN TO LAUNCH TO SPACE - U.S. Space Force Col. Nick Hague is back on Earth after living on the International Space Station (ISS) for the last five-plus months. On March 18, Hague splashed down in the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon capsule "Freedom" with fellow NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Hague holds the distinction of being the first Space Force Guardian to launch into orbit.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 27)

U.S. SPACE FORCE CERTIFIES ULA’S VULCAN ROCKET TO BEGIN LAUNCHING NATIONAL SECURITY MISSIONS - In an announcement highly anticipated by United Launch Alliance and others in the spaceflight community, the U.S. Space Force’s Assured Access to Space (AATS) office affirmed that the Vulcan rocket is now fully certified to launch national security payloads. The completion of this multi-year process means that the USSF’s Space Systems Command can begin launching National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions on the two-stage, heavy-lift rocket.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 27)

SPIRAL IN THE SKY LIKELY TO BE FROM SPACEX LAUNCH - A large glowing spiral visible in the night sky on Monday is believed to have been caused by a SpaceX rocket launch in the US. The Met Office said the shape was likely produced by a frozen plume of fuel from the rocket's exhaust, which reflected the sunlight and appeared to spin in the atmosphere. The cloud-like shape was visible for several minutes above the UK and elsewhere in Europe before fading.   More
(Source: BBC - Mar 26)

SHENZHOU-19 ASTRONAUTS COMPLETE THIRD SPACEWALK, INSTALL FINAL DEBRIS SHIELDING ON TIANGONG - A pair of Chinese astronauts embarked on an extravehicular activity outside the Tiangong space station Friday, as the crew approaches the end of their six-month-long stay in orbit. Astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong returned to the Wentian science module at 8:50 a.m. Eastern (1250 UTC) March 21, completing their seven-hour extravehicular activity (EVA). Cai initially opened the Wentian hatch at 1:45 a.m. (0545 UT), according to China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSA.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 26)

NASA INVITES MEDIA TO SPACEX’S 32ND RESUPPLY LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION - Media accreditation is open for the next launch to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Monday, April 21, to launch the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This launch is the 32nd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for the agency.   More
(Source: NASA - Mar 26)

STARLINK RIVAL AST SPACEMOBILE TIPS NEW SATELLITE PROTOTYPE - AST SpaceMobile—a rival to SpaceX’s cellular Starlink system—is requesting permission to launch a new prototype satellite that differs from the company’s original plans. On Friday, AST asked the FCC for experimental authority to launch and operate an "FM1" satellite. At first glance, it appears to be a second-generation BlueBird satellite. The FM1 and second-gen BlueBird satellites are both 223 square meters, or about three times larger than first-gen BlueBirds, which launched in September and have successfully powered demo video calls.   More
(Source: PCMag - Mar 25)

THIS SATELLITE COULD ONE DAY BE USED TO EAT OTHER SATELLITES - Space junk left over from the tens of thousands of satellites we’ve launched into orbit is a real problem. It not only affects researchers on the International Space Station, which has to dodge debris to avoid a hole-punched hull, but sometimes crash-lands here on Earth, as it recently did when some unidentified man-made space junk crashed into a Kenyan village. A British company called Magdrive is trying to solve these problems.   More
(Source: VICE - Mar 25)

SPACEX LAUNCHES NATIONAL SECURITY SATELLITE FOR NRO ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - The National Reconnaissance Office, which manages the American military’s spy satellites, launched its fifth mission of the 2025 out of roughly a dozen planned for the year. The flight, dubbed NROL-69, lifted off onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to an undisclosed orbital location. The launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 1:48 p.m. EDT (1748 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 25)

CZECH REPUBLIC, UKRAINE LAUNCH SPY SATELLITE PROJECT - The Czech Republic is moving forward with the creation of a joint satellite reconnaissance constellation with Ukraine designed to provide high-resolution optical surveillance capabilities in support of Ukraine’s defense needs. According to Militarnyi outlet, the project stems from an October 2022 agreement between the Czech and Ukrainian governments to establish a joint defense cluster.   More
(Source: Defence Blog - Mar 24)

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