CHINA’S LANDSPACE REACHES ORBIT WITH METHANE-POWERED ZHUQUE-2 ROCKET - Chinese private rocket firm Landspace achieved a global first late Tuesday by reaching orbit with a methane-fueled rocket. The 49.5-meter-long Zhuque-2 lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on July 11. Landspace and Chinese state media announced that the second Zhuque-2 reached orbit, making it the first methane-fueled globally to reach orbit. This was later verified by U.S. Space Force space tracking data, showing an object in a 431 by 461-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 97.3 degrees.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jul 12)

ASTRANIS WILL LAUNCH A DEDICATED INTERNET SATELLITE FOR THE PHILIPPINES NEXT YEAR - Space-based internet startup Astranis inked a new deal to launch and operate a dedicated satellite for the Philippines, which will provide enough bandwidth to connect up to 2 million people. Astranis is partnering with satellite services provider Orbits Corp, which will buy the capacity with its sister company HTechCorp., a Philippine internet service provider (ISP). The companies did not disclose the financial details of the contract.   More
(Source: TechCrunch - Jul 12)

CHINA LAUNCHES NEW SATELLITE TO TEST SATELLITE INTERNET TECHNOLOGY - A Long March 2C carrier rocket carrying a new satellite blasted off from northwestern China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Sunday. The satellite, which will carry out test missions for satellite internet technologies, has since entered the predetermined orbit.    More
(Source: CGTN - Jul 10)

SPACEX, NASA TARGETING AUG. 15 FOR LAUNCH OF CREW-7 ASTRONAUT MISSION - SpaceX's next astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA now has a target launch date. The flight, known as Crew-7, will lift off on Aug. 15 if all goes according to plan, NASA officials announced on Wednesday (July 5). Like SpaceX's previous astronaut missions, Crew-7 will employ the company's Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket. It will launch from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.   More
(Source: Yahoo News - Jul 9)

WEST COAST LAUNCH PUTS 48 MORE STARLINK INTERNET SATELLITES IN ORBIT - SpaceX lofted another batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit on Friday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. A Falcon 9, carrying 48 satellites inside its payload fairing, lifted off at 12:29:50 p.m. PDT (3:29:50 p.m. EDT; 1929:50 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4-East. It was the 12th flight for the first stage, which carries the tail number B1063. It previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7 and seven Starlink missions. The booster most recently flew 48 days ago on May 20, carrying satellites for OneWeb & Iridium.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 8)

SYRACUSE 4B MILITARY SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED - The SYRACUSE 4B communications satellite, built by Airbus and Thales Alenia Space, has been successfully launched from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. It was the last launch of Ariane 5, the European heavy launcher. SYRACUSE 4B, along with SYRACUSE 4A already in orbit, constitutes the space segment of SYRACUSE IV, the fourth generation secure military satellite communications system for the French Armament General Directorate (DGA – Direction Générale de l’Armement), the French Air and Space force and the French Space Command, built by the industrial consortium formed by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space.   More
(Source: Joint Forces - Jul 7)

SPACEX STARLINK SATELLITES HAD TO MAKE 25,000 COLLISION-AVOIDANCE MANEUVERS IN JUST 6 MONTHS — AND IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE - Staggering growth in Starlink collision-avoidance maneuvers in the past six months is sparking concerns over the long-term sustainability of satellite operations as thousands of new spacecraft are poised to launch into orbit in the coming years. SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites were forced to swerve more than 25,000 times between Dec. 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023 to avoid potentially dangerous approaches to other spacecraft and orbital debris, according to a report filed by SpaceX with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on June 30.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 7)

ENDING AN ERA, EUROPE LAUNCHES ITS FINAL ARIANE 5 ROCKET - Europe’s venerable Ariane 5 rocket blasted off on its 117th and final flight Wednesday, successfully boosting two communications satellites into orbit but leaving the European space program without a large satellite launcher of its own until a delayed successor comes on line. The 165-foot-tall Ariane 5, equipped with two strap-on solid-fuel boosters and two hydrogen-fueled core stages, blasted off from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana, at 6 p.m. EDT, knifing through a cloud deck as it arced away to the east over the Atlantic Ocean.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 6)

IF THERE WERE A WAR IN SPACE, DEBRIS WOULD DESTROY ALL REMAINING SATELLITES IN ABOUT 40 YEARS - On one particular day in 2021, astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the ISS must have felt a pin-prick of fear and uncertainty. On November 15th of that year, Russia fired an anti-satellite missile at one of its own defunct military satellites, Tselina-D. The target weighed about 1,750 kg, and when the missile struck its target, the satellite exploded into a cloud of hazardous debris. NASA woke the crew on the International Space Station in the middle of the night and told them to take precautions and prepare for a possible impact...   More
(Source: Universe Today - Jul 6)

Previous Next