CHINA LAUNCHES NEW METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITE - China on Sunday morning launched a Long March-4B rocket to place a new meteorological satellite in space. The rocket blasted off at 9:36 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China and soon sent the Fengyun-3 07 satellite into its preset orbit. The satellite will provide services for weather forecasting, disaster prevention and mitigation, climate change response and ecological conservation. More (Source: Xinhua - Apr 17)
AAC CLYDE SPACE SDAAS SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED - EPICHyper-1, a 6U AAC Clyde Space EPIC VIEW satellite (image above), was successfully launched on the SpaceX Transporter 7 mission on April 15, 2023. The satellite will deliver Earth Observation (EO) data to Canadian company Wyvern Inc., under an exclusive Space Data as a Service (SDaaS) deal and is planned to be followed by the launch of a further two, 6U satellites during 2023. The satellite lifted off on the Falcon 9 rocket on April 14, 2023 from the Space Launch Complex 4E in Vandenberg, California. The Transporter 7 mission is a dedicated rideshare flight to SSO with dozens of smallsats for commercial and government customers. More (Source: SatNews - Apr 17)
CHINA'S SHENZHOU 15 ASTRONAUTS QUIETLY CONDUCT 3RD SPACEWALK - China's Shenzhou 15 astronauts completed their third spacewalk in late March under a cloud of secrecy. Astronauts Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu exited the Tiangong space station sometime on March 30, with crewmate Deng Qingming assisting from inside the station. China's human spaceflight agency, CMSA, only confirmed (opens in new tab) a day later that the extravehicular activity (EVA) took place. No details of the EVA's times and tasks were published. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 16)
SAYARILABS LAUNCHES ITS 3U EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE, TAIFA-1 - SayariLabs, in collaboration with the Kenya Space Agency and Endurosat, has launched Kenya’s first 3U Earth observation satellite, the Taifa-1, today aboard SpaceX’s Falcon-9 full thrust rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E), Vandenberg Space Force Base in the USA. More (Source: Space in Africa - Apr 16)
TüRKIYE LAUNCHES 1ST HIGH-RES OBSERVATION SATELLITE INTO SPACE - Türkiye on Saturday successfully launched its new and first indigenous high-resolution Earth observation satellite IMECE into space. The Turkish-made pioneering satellite was blasted off early on Saturday from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in the U.S. state of California at 0648 GMT. Türkiye's new satellite IMECE launches into space from Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California, U.S., April 15, 2023. (AA Photo) Türkiye's new satellite IMECE launches into space from Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California, U.S., April 15, 2023. (AA Photo) The launch marks the first time that Türkiye will have an electro-optical satellite camera with sub-meter resolution in orbit. The IMECE's orbit will be sun-synchronous at an altitude of 680 kilometers (422.5 miles) and serve in the areas of defense, disaster management, environment and urbanization, and agriculture and forestry. More (Source: Daily Sabah - Apr 16)
SPACEX TRANSPORTER-7 LAUNCHES 51 PAYLOADS, BOOSTER RETURN TO LZ - SpaceX launched the Transporter-7 rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission lifted off on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 11:48 PM PDT (06:48 UTC on April 15). Launch suffered a four-day delay from the original schedule, in order to allow time for additional pre-launch checkouts as well as improved weather conditions. This was the 24th launch of the year for SpaceX. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Apr 16)
KENYA'S THIRD ATTEMPT TO LAUNCH FIRST 3U OBSERVATION SATELLITE DELAYED - Taifa 1, Kenya's first operational 3U nanosatellite, was set to launch aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in the U.S. state of California on Friday after being delayed twice. But the launch was scrubbed at the last minute because of unfavorable weather. Teddy Warria, with Africa's Talking Limited, a high-tech company, traveled to the University of Nairobi in Kenya from Kisumu, 563 kilometers west of Nairobi. He said he'll stay as long it takes to witness the historic day. More (Source: VOA News - Apr 15)
ARIANESPACE LAUNCHES JUICE SPACE PROBE FOR ESA - Arianespace launched the JUICE space probe for the European Space Agency (ESA) Friday morning from French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket, kicking off Europe’s first mission to Jupiter. This was the second-to-last mission for the heavy-lift Ariane 5. JUICE is now en route to Jupiter. It is due to arrive in 2031 after a series of gravity slingshots from Venus and Earth to propel it on its way. The spacecraft will spend at least three years observing Jupiter’s moons: Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto as potential habitats for life. Airbus Defence and Space built the spacecraft for ESA, and ArianeGroup’s Orbital Propulsion teams built its propulsion system. More (Source: Via Satellite - Apr 15)
CREW PREPPING CARGO DRAGON FOR DEPARTURE AHEAD OF SPACEWALKS - Biology research, cargo packing, and spacewalk preparations continue aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 69 crew goes into a very busy April. NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg have been working on a variety of space experiments since their delivery aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft on March 16. The two astronauts, with assistance from NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio, are finalizing one experiment today by packing space biology samples and research hardware inside Dragon for its return to Earth this weekend. The completed study will help scientists understand how an astronaut’s body adapts to living long-term in weightlessness. They will continue more science-packing activities on Friday. More (Source: - Apr 15)
Previous Next
