HOUSE AND SENATE APPROPRIATORS CUT NASA’S BUDGET - House and Senate appropriators have drafted bills that would give NASA slightly less money in 2024 than it received in 2023, rather than the significant increase the administration requested. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a commerce, justice and science (CJS) spending bill for fiscal year 2024 on a 28–1 vote during a July 13 markup. That bill funds NASA as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Science Foundation, among other agencies.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jul 18)

ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES 7 SATELLITES, RECOVERS BOOSTER AFTER OCEAN SPLASHDOWN - Rocket Lab launched seven satellites to orbit Sunday (July 17) and brought the booster back to Earth for a soft ocean splashdown. An Electron rocket carrying seven small satellites lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site Monday at 9:27 p.m. EDT (0127 GMT on July 18), after being delayed by a few days due to bad weather. Rocket Lab called the mission, the company's 39th to date, "Baby Come Back." And there's a good reason for that: About 17 minutes after liftoff, the Electron's first stage came back to Earth, making a soft splashdown under parachutes in the Pacific Ocean. Rocket Lab recovered the booster with a ship and will haul it back to land for inspection and analysis.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 18)

AEOLUS: ESA SATELLITE TO BE STEERED BACK TO EARTH FOR FIRST TIME - In a re-entry that's the first of its kind, a satellite named Aeolus is set to return to Earth in the next few weeks - steered and guided by space operators. The European Space Agency's (ESA) satellite has been orbiting for nearly five years but now its mission is complete. Normally satellites remain in space as 'junk' or naturally fall back down to Earth. If they're small they catch fire and fall apart, but Aeolus is a bigger satellite - the size of a small car.   More
(Source: BBC News - Jul 17)

POWERFUL NASA-ISRO EARTH OBSERVING SATELLITE COMING TOGETHER IN INDIA - Two major components of the NISAR satellite have been combined to create a single spacecraft in Bengaluru, India. Set to launch in early 2024, NISAR – short for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar – is being jointly developed by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation, or ISRO, to track movements of Earth’s land and ice surfaces in extremely fine detail. As NISAR monitors nearly every part of our planet at least once every 12 days, the satellite will also help scientists understand, among other observables, the dynamics of forests, wetlands, and agricultural lands.   More
(Source: SpaceRef - Jul 17)

SPACEX LAUNCHES SECOND FALCON 9 BOOSTER ON A 16TH FLIGHT - For the second time this week, SpaceX pushed the envelope by flying a Falcon 9 rocket for a 16th time. Booster 1060 lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s pad 40 at 11:50 p.m. EDT (0350 UTC) Saturday carrying 54 Starlink satellites into orbit. Just last Sunday, Booster 1058 launched 22 second-generation Starlink satellites, becoming the first Falcon 9 rocket to make a 16th flight. Previously, the reusable Falcon 9 first stage booster had only been certified for 15 missions.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 16)

SPACEX TEST FIRES FALCON 9 BOOSTER FOLLOWING LAST-MINUTE LAUNCH SCRUB - SpaceX test fired a Falcon 9 on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral early Saturday to clear the booster for its 16th flight. A launch attempt early Friday was aborted in the final minute of the countdown. SpaceX did not disclose the reason for the scrub. SpaceX is pushing the envelope for the second time this week by attempting to fly a Falcon 9 rocket for the 16th time. On Sunday night another booster lifted off from the same launch pad becoming the first Falcon 9 rocket to make a 16th flight. Previously the Falcon 9 first-stage had been certified for use up to 15 times.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 15)

TAIWAN FLAGS SPACE AMBITION WITH DOMESTICALLY DEVELOPED WEATHER SATELLITE - Taiwan's first domestically developed weather satellite shows its determination to develop its space industry, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday, lauding the programme as a step to take the island to the stars. While Taiwan has since the 1990s had a satellite programme, called FORMOSAT, tension with China has given the government extra impetus, with plans to use satellites in medium- and low-earth orbit for internet services if China attacks and severs sea cables or other forms of communication.   More
(Source: Reuters - Jul 15)

CENTAUR MODIFICATIONS PUSH FIRST VULCAN LAUNCH TO FOURTH QUARTER - United Launch Alliance is now planning a first launch of its Vulcan Centaur rocket in the fourth quarter after the company completes modifications to and testing of the upper stage. In a call with reporters July 13, Tory Bruno, president and chief executive of ULA, said the changes to the Centaur upper stage stemmed from an investigation into a test mishap in March, where hydrogen leaked from a Centaur test article and ignited, damaging both the stage and the test rig. The company announced June 24 that it would delay the launch to make “minor reinforcements” to the Centaur.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jul 14)

ARIANE 5 RETIREMENT LEAVES EUROPE FACING AN ‘ACUTE LAUNCH CRISIS’ - Europe is facing months without its own independent access to space for large satellites following the retirement of its heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket this week after notching up its 117th and final mission over 27 years of operations. Ariane 6, the much-heralded successor, is still undergoing final development and testing. It is behind schedule and is unlikely to fly until the very end of this year, with some industry experts suggesting it may not make its maiden flight until later in 2024.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 13)

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