FLEET SPACE LAUNCHES CENTAURI-6 SATELLITE ON SPACEX’S BANDWAGON-1 MISSION - Fleet Space Technologies has successfully deployed the company’s Centauri-6 satellite on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-1 mission, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The addition of Centauri-6 to Fleet Space’s satellite constellation will play a vital role in servicing the global demand for its end-to-end mineral exploration solution, ExoSphere, while also building capacity to deliver advanced SATCOM capabilities with smallsat architectures.   More
(Source: SatNews - Apr 13)

RUSSIA’S ANGARA A5 ROCKET BLASTS OFF INTO SPACE AFTER TWO ABORTED LAUNCHES - Russia has launched its Angara A5 rocket from a space facility in the country’s far east after technical glitches prompted officials to abort missions at the last minute for two days in a row. Thursday’s launch of the new space vehicle is intended to showcase Russia’s post-Soviet space ambitions, and the growing role played by the Vostochny Cosmodrome, which is located in the forests of the Amur region bordering China.   More
(Source: Al Jazeera - Apr 13)

SPACEX LAUNCHES SPACE FORCE WEATHER SATELLITE DESIGNED TO TAKE OVER FOR A PROGRAM WITH ROOTS TO THE 1960S - SpaceX launched a military weather satellite designed to replace aging satellites from a program dating back to the 1960s. The United States Space Force-62 (USSF-62) mission featured the launch of the first Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) spacecraft. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 7:25 a.m. PDT (10:25 a.m. EDT (1425 UTC), which was the opening of a 10-minute launch window.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 12)

NEW SPY-SATELLITE CONSTELLATION BEGINS LAUNCH NEXT MONTH - The National Reconnaissance Office will soon launch the first group of satellites to begin building the spy agency’s future network of intelligence satellites. “We've already launched a number of demonstration satellites over the last few years to verify cost and performance….This launch will be the first launch of an actual operational system. This system will increase timeliness of access, diversity of communication pathways, and enhance our resilience,” said Troy Meink, the principal deputy director of the NRO.   More
(Source: Defense One - Apr 11)

SPACEX LAUNCHES FALCON 9 ROCKET ON STARLINK MISSION FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched its latest batch of Starlink satellites during a mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Falcon 9 flight was the company’s 24th dedicated Starlink launch in 2024. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-48 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 1:40 a.m. EDT (0540 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 11)

MAX SPACE ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR INFLATABLE SPACE STATION MODULES - A startup has unveiled plans to develop inflatable modules that the company believes can be made larger and less expensive than alternatives, supporting commercial space stations and other applications. Max Space is developing a series of expandable modules, the first of which is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX rideshare mission in 2025. That Max Space 20 module, compacted into a volume of two cubic meters for launch, will expand to 20 cubic meters after deployment, making it the largest expandable module flown to date.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Apr 11)

ENDING AN ERA, FINAL DELTA 4 HEAVY BOOSTS CLASSIFIED SPY SATELLITE INTO ORBIT - Ending an era in U.S. rocketry, United Launch Alliance fired off its 16th and final triple-core Delta 4 Heavy Tuesday, launching a classified spy satellite in the last hurrah of a storied family of rockets dating back to the dawn of the space age. The Heavy's three hydrogen-fueled RS-68A first stage engines ignited with a rush of bright orange flame at 12:53 p.m. EDT, smoothly pushing the 235-foot-tall rocket away from pad 37 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.   More
(Source: CBS News - Apr 10)

STATION ORBITS INTO ECLIPSE, CREW WORKS RESEARCH AND SPACESUITS - The International Space Station soared into the Moon’s shadow during the solar eclipse on Monday afternoon. The Expedition 71 crew members had an opportunity to view the shadow at the end of their workday filled with cargo transfers, spacesuit maintenance, and microgravity research. The windows on the cupola, the orbital outpost’s “window to the world,” were open and NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps were inside photographing and videotaping the Moon’s shadow on Earth, or umbra, beneath them. They were orbiting 260 miles above southeastern Canada as the Moon’s umbra was moving from New York state into Newfoundland.   More
(Source: NASA - Apr 10)

HERE’S WHAT A SOLAR ECLIPSE LOOKS LIKE FROM SPACE - Few people get a better view of the Earth than those who are actually off the Earth—astronauts who can look down on our planet from above. They are the lucky handful who get to experience the so-called overview effect—the transcendent sense of seeing the world as the fragile biosphere it is, set against the blackness of space. But when it comes to witnessing a solar eclipse, the astronauts don’t have it so good, with a phenomenon that is flat-out eye popping when witnessed from the surface of our world, appearing dark, unsettling, and even a little ugly from space.   More
(Source: TIME - Apr 9)

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