SPACEX, NASA DELAY CRS-29 CARGO LAUNCH TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - The next cargo shipment to the International Space Station will wait on Earth two extra days. NASA and SpaceX have delayed the Cargo Dragon CRS-29 mission launch to the International Space Station to Tuesday (Nov. 7) at 9:16 p.m. EST (1316 GMT), agency officials wrote in an email update Thursday (Nov. 1). Space.com will carry the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch live, courtesy of NASA Television. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 3)
MIXED RESULTS FOR SPACEWALKERS AFTER TIME LOST DEALING WITH DIFFICULT-TO-LOOSEN BOLTS - Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara worked outside the International Space Station Wednesday to replace a bearing assembly in one of the lab’s solar array rotation mechanisms. But the task took longer than expected and they were unable to retrieve a failed electronics box as planned. It was the first spacewalk for Moghbeli and O’Hara, the fourth all-female excursion and the first such outing since January 2020 when Jessica Meir and Christina Koch completed their third EVA, or extra-vehicular activity. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 3)
HALLOWEEN ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Although no ghouls or goblins or trick-or-treaters come knocking at the International Space Station’s front hatch, crew members aboard the orbiting facility still like to get in the Halloween spirit. Whether individually or as an entire crew, they dress up in sometimes spooky, sometimes scary, but always creative costumes, often designed from materials available aboard the space station. Please enjoy the following scenes from Halloweens past even as we anticipate the costumes of the future. More (Source: NASA - Nov 3)
WATCH CHINA LAUNCH PAIR OF EARTH-MAPPING SATELLITES ON ITS 50TH LAUNCH OF 2023 - China launched what are likely a pair of partially classified mapping satellites late on Tuesday. A Long March 6A rocket lifted off into a twilit sky above the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 6:50 p.m. EDT on Oct. 31 (2250 GMT, or 6:50 a.m. Beijing Time on Nov. 1) carrying Tianhui-5 Earth-mapping satellites. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced launch success within an hour of launch, noting a single Tianhui satellite as the payload. This was echoed up via media reports. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 3)
SATELLITE COMPANIES MAY BE STARTING TO TAKE THE FIGHT AGAINST SPACE JUNK SERIOUSLY - French startup ThrustMe has announced a jump in orders for its innovative iodine-based propulsion systems for small satellites. The interest indicates a shift toward a more sustainable space environment, according to the company. ThrustMe has passed 200 orders, the company said in an Oct. 24 statement, representing a doubling of its order book within just four months. The company’s 4-inch-by-4-inch-by-4-inch (10 centimeters by 10 cm by 10 cm) NPT30-I2 electric thruster — which was first tested in 2020 and uses relatively cheap and abundant iodine, instead of the more exotic xenon — provides small satellites with autonomous maneuverability, helping them avoid collisions and to deorbit when the time comes. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 3)
RUSSIAN HELP TO BOOST NORTH KOREA BID TO LAUNCH SPY SATELLITE, SOUTH KOREA SAYS - North Korea is in the final stages of preparations for the launch of a spy satellite and the chances of its third attempt succeeding are high, South Korea's intelligence agency said in a briefing on Wednesday, according to a lawmaker present. North Korea has also sent more than 10 shipments of munitions to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine, including over one million artillery rounds, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was quoted as saying. More (Source: Reuters - Nov 2)
NASA, INDIA TO LAUNCH EARTH-OBSERVING SATELLITE IN 2024 - For the first time, the space agencies of the U.S. and India are cooperating to develop the hardware for an Earth-observing mission. NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are putting the finishing touches on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite. After it launches in 2024, NISAR will continually scan Earth's surface with radar. One of its key goals is to track how our planet's landscapes change over time. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 1)
WATCH CHINA'S SHENZHOU 16 SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO EARTH TONIGHT - Three Chinese astronauts are set to return to Earth tonight, and you can watch it live. China's Shenzhou 16 astronauts (or taikonauts, as Chinese spaceflyers are known) launched to the nation's Tiangong space station aboard a Long March 2F rocket in May 2023. The crew consists of commander Jing Haipeng, spaceflight engineer Zhu Yangzhu and payload specialist Gui Haichao. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 31)
PENTAGON AWARDS $1.3 BILLION IN CONTRACTS TO NORTHROP GRUMMAN AND YORK FOR 100 SATELLITES - The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency on Monday announced about $1.3 billion in contracts to York Space and Northrop Grumman to build communications satellites. The SDA is having the pair of companies build 100 satellites as part of a network the U.S. military is building called the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. These satellites will be for “Alpha” variant prototypes in the “Tranche 2 Transport Layer” constellation, also known as T2TL-Alpha, to provide encrypted communications. More (Source: CNBC - Oct 31)
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