SPACEX LAUNCHES ITS 80TH ORBITAL MISSION OF THE YEAR - SpaceX has had a successful launch yet again. A Falcon 9 rocket lofted 23 more of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday (Nov. 8) at 12:05 a.m EST (0505 GMT). t was the 11th launch and landing for this rocket's first stage, according to the mission description. The 23 Starlink satellites, meanwhile, were scheduled to deploy from the Falcon 9's upper stage into low Earth orbit just under 65 minutes after liftoff.   More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 8)

SOUTH KOREA PLANS TO LAUNCH ITS FIRST MILITARY SPY SATELLITE ON NOV. 30 - South Korea said Monday it plans to launch its first domestically built spy satellite at the end of this month to better monitor rival North Korea, which is expanding its arsenal of nuclear weapons. The plan was unveiled days after North Korea failed to follow through on a vow to make a third attempt to launch its own reconnaissance satellite in October, likely because of technical issues.   More
(Source: Military.com - Nov 8)

EU FINE-TUNES PLAN TO LAUNCH GALILEO SATELLITES ON SPACEX - The European Union has struck a tentative deal to launch four Galileo navigation satellites using Falcon 9 rockets of U.S.-based SpaceX, European officials said on Tuesday, in the latest sign of pressure caused by a gap in European launch capacity. The agreement spans two launches pencilled in for April and July next year, carrying two satellites each, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton told reporters in Seville, Spain, following EU ministerial talks on competitivity in space.   More
(Source: Reuters - Nov 8)

JAPANESE SCIENTISTS WANT TO SEND A WOODEN SATELLITE INTO SPACE - Aluminum rockets and steel skyscrapers; slick high-speed shuttles and glassy facades: that’s how “the future” has been imagined for decades. But that’s not what Koji Murata imagines. A researcher at Kyoto University in Japan, Murata has been exploring how biological materials could be used in space. Murata wondered if he “could build a wooden house on the moon or Mars,” and decided to test the theory — by creating a wooden satellite.   More
(Source: CNN - Nov 8)

LEOLABS DATA SHOWS ON-ORBIT MANEUVERS BY RUSSIAN SATELLITES - The space tracking firm LeoLabs over the past year tracked two Russian satellites performing rendezvous and proximity operations. These satellites — Resurs-P3 and Cosmos-2562 — conducted maneuvers that offer a glimpse of the potential hazards that U.S. and allied spacecraft could face in low Earth orbit, the company said. Resurs-P3 — a Russian Earth observation satellite — performed a large maneuver in November 2022 after years of inactivity, and approached the Russian military satellite Cosmos-2562, according to a LeoLabs briefing.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Nov 7)

CHINA LAUNCHES MYSTERY SATELLITE ON LONG MARCH 7A ROCKET - China launched what it describes as an experimental communications technology satellite late last week. A Long March 7A rocket lifted off from the coastal Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 10:54 a.m. EDT (1454 GMT, or 10:54 p.m. Beijing Time) on Friday (Nov. 3). The payload was revealed to be Tongxin Jishu Shiyan Weixing-10 (TJS-10) by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) when the organization announced launch success within an hour of liftoff.   More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 7)

SPACEWALK SNAFU: ASTRONAUTS LOSE TOOL BAG IN ORBITAL OOPSY - NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara concluded their spacewalk today at 2:47 p.m. EST after 6 hours and 42 minutes. Their spacewalk began at 8:05 a.m. Moghbeli, designated extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), was wearing a suit with red stripes. O’Hara, designated extravehicular crew member 2 (EV 2), was in an unmarked suit.   More
(Source: scitechdaily.com - Nov 6)

TWO KOREAS RACE TO LAUNCH FIRST HOMEGROWN MILITARY SPY SATELLITES - In a high-stakes race, South and North Korea are vying for success in launching their first homegrown military spy satellites, backed respectively by the United States and Russia, as a pivotal initiative aimed at enhancing their military capabilities. The South Korean military is set to launch its domestically-developed reconnaissance satellite on Nov. 30 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, South Korea’s new Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said Friday during his meeting with reporters.   More
(Source: https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231105000108 - Nov 6)

SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCHES ON RECORD-BREAKING 18TH MISSION - SpaceX broke its own rocket-reuse record on Friday (Nov. 3). A Falcon 9 rocket launched 23 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 8:37 p.m. EDT (0047 GMT on Nov. 4). It was the unprecedented 18th mission for this Falcon 9's first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description.   More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 4)

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