SPACEX LAUNCHES 22 NEXT-GEN STARLINK SATELLITES TO ORBIT, LANDS ROCKET AT SEA - SpaceX launched 22 of its "V2 mini" Starlink broadband satellites to orbit early Friday morning (May 19) and landed the returning rocket at sea. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 22 next-generation Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Friday at 2:19 a.m. EDT (0619 GMT). The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes after liftoff. It touched down on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast. More (Source: Space.com - May 19)
STATION PREPS FOR AXIOM MISSION 2 NEARING SUNDAY LAUNCH - Axiom Mission 2 Nearing Sunday Launch The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour carrying four Axiom Mission 1 astronauts approaches the International Space Station on April 9, 2022, with the first quarter Moon in the background. The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour carrying four Axiom Mission 1 astronauts approaches the International Space Station on April 9, 2022, with the first quarter Moon in the background. The Expedition 69 crew members continue preparing the International Space Station for the arrival four private astronauts early next week. Meanwhile, the orbital residents also stayed focused on their life science activities and lab maintenance tasks. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon Freedom crew ship attached, rolled out to its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday morning. It is scheduled to launch four Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) astronauts at 5:37 p.m. EDT on Sunday to the orbital outpost. More (Source: NASA - May 19)
BEIDOU-3 G4 GETS LAUNCHED AND CHINESE RAPTOR GETS TESTED, AS IT RECEIVES ITS OWN NAME - One of China’s biggest rockets flew again this Wednesday. Chang Zheng 3B/E successfully launched the Beidou-3 G4 payload at 2:49 AM UTC. The launch was conducted from launch complex 2 of the China Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC). This is already the third flight of the massive first-generation launcher. Beidou-3 G4 is a geostationary Earth orbit satellite part of the Chinese Beidou satellite navigation constellation. They provide high-accuracy and high-reliability positioning and timing service around the globe with their DFH-3 bus-based architecture. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - May 18)
PHOTOS SHOW KIM JONG UN AND HIS DAUGHTER INSPECTING MILITARY SPY SATELLITE - World Photos show Kim Jong Un and his daughter inspecting military spy satellite May 17, 2023 / 3:08 PM / AP North Korean leader Kim Jong Un examined a finished military spy satellite, which his country is expected to launch soon, during a visit to an aerospace facility where he described space-based reconnaissance as crucial for countering the U.S. and South Korea. Kim during Tuesday's visit approved an unspecified "future action plan" in preparations for launching the satellite, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Wednesday. North Korea hasn't disclosed a target date for the launch, which some analysts say may be in the next few weeks. More (Source: CBS News - May 18)
SPACEX HAS NARROW WINDOW FOR AX-2 LAUNCH - paceX and Axiom Space will have only two opportunities this month to launch a private astronaut mission to the International Space Station before having to wait potentially several months before getting another shot. At a May 15 briefing, officials from the two companies as well as NASA announced they had completed a flight readiness review for the Ax-2 mission to the station, giving their approval to proceed with a May 21 launch. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled for 5:37 p.m. Eastern that day, setting up a docking May 22 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 17)
SATELLITE BOOM SPARKS CONCERNS OVER NEW PROBLEMS IN SPACE - Space is vast. But are certain parts of space in danger of becoming overcrowded with Internet satellites and cosmic junk? Concern has been increasing among government agencies, astronomers and others as the number of launched and proposed low-Earth orbit satellites surges. Worries center on the increased risk of collisions that create debris fields capable of taking out nearby satellites; bright reflections that harm scientific astronomy and change the night sky; More (Source: Government Technology - May 17)
CHINA CALLS FOR SPACE STATION COMMERCIAL CARGO PROPOSALS - China’s human spaceflight agency is seeking to foster a commercial, low-cost transportation system to deliver cargo to and from its Tiangong space station. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced May 16 that it is seeking to reduce the cost and enhance the flexibility of sending supplies to Tiangong through exploring the development of commercial space models. The program echoes NASA’s own Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program, which awarded contracts in late 2008 to Orbital Sciences Corp. and SpaceX, and saw the first cargo flights to the International Space Station in 2012. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 17)
ASTROSCALE AND MOMENTUS OFFER CONCEPT FOR REBOOSTING HUBBLE - Two companies have disclosed details about how they could raise the orbit of the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA evaluates that and other concepts offered to the agency. Astroscale and Momentus said May 9 that they submitted a response to a NASA request for information (RFI) issued in December 2022 seeking concepts from industry about how they could raise the orbit of Hubble, has been slowly descending since the last shuttle servicing mission in 2009. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 16)
SPACEX AX-2 PRIVATE ASTRONAUT MISSION IS 'GO' FOR MAY 21 LAUNCH - The second-ever private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) remains on track to lift off this weekend. NASA, SpaceX and Houston company Axiom Space held a flight readiness review (FRR) today (May 15) for the Ax-2 mission, which is scheduled to launch four people toward the International Space Station on Sunday afternoon (May 21). More (Source: Space.com - May 16)
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