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)
FALCON 9 ADDS 23 SATELLITES TO STARLINK NETWORK, PUSHES TOTAL IN ORBIT OVER 5,000 - A Falcon 9 carrying 23 more satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink internet service lifted off from Cape Canaveral Monday, bringing the total number of Starlinks currently in orbit to more than 5,000 satellites. Liftoff from pad 40 occurred at 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 UTC). On Sunday night the countdown reached T-30 seconds when an abort was called. The launch director said a problem was detected with the system used to separate the first and second stages of the rocket and launch was pushed back to Monday. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 31)
CHINA PLANS TO TAKE 'HACK-PROOF' QUANTUM SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY TO NEW HEIGHTS - China is planning new, cutting-edge quantum communications satellites. China launched the first dedicated quantum communications satellite, named Micius, in 2016, and has been quietly working on followup missions in the years since. The next satellites will be even more challenging. "Low Earth orbit quantum key satellite networking and medium- and high-orbit quantum science experimental platforms are the main development directions in the future," Wang Jianyu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said Oct. 15 at the third China Space Science Conference, according to a CAS statement. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 31)
PUTIN: RUSSIA TO LAUNCH FIRST MODULE OF SPACE STATION BY 2027 - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the first module of the Russian Orbital Station could be launched into orbit by 2027, as the International Space Station's (ISS) resources are exhausted. Speaking at a meeting with young scientists and space industry specialists, Putin said that Russia aims to build a complete station, not just a single segment. More (Source: CGTN - Oct 30)
STARLINK SATELLITES ‘LEAKING’ SIGNALS THAT INTERFERE WITH RADIO TELESCOPES - When I was a child in the 1970s, seeing a satellite pass overhead in the night sky was a rare event. Now it is commonplace: sit outside for a few minutes after dark, and you can’t miss them. Thousands of satellites have been launched into Earth orbit over the past decade or so, with tens of thousands more planned in coming years. Many of these will be in “mega-constellations” such as Starlink, which aim to cover the entire globe. More (Source: Cosmos Magazine - Oct 30)
SPACEX TO TRY AGAIN AT LAUNCHING 23 STARLINK SATELLITES ON OCT. 30 AFTER ABORT - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch 23 Starlink internet satellites on Monday (Oct. 30), on its second attempt after an abort. A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday (Oct. 30) at 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 GMT). If the Falcon 9 can't get off the ground on time, seven backup opportunities are available, from 7:52 p.m. EDT to 10:22 p.m. EDT (2352 to 0222 GMT on Oct. 30), according to a SpaceX mission description. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 30)
NEW AGREEMENT ENABLES U.S. LAUNCHES FROM AUSTRALIAN SPACEPORTS - The governments of Australia and the United States have signed an agreement that could allow American rockets to launch from Australian spaceports, although it is unclear how much demand there is for them. The U.S. State Department announced Oct. 26 that the two countries signed a technology safeguards agreement (TSA) regarding space launches from Australia. The agreement provides the “legal and technical framework” for American launches from Australian facilities while protecting sensitive technologies. More (Source: SpaceNews - Oct 29)
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