DOD SATELLITES IN LOW EARTH ORBIT PROMISE MORE CONNECTIVITY FOR MILITARY USERS - With its first 23 satellites in orbit, the U.S. Space Development Agency in the coming months will begin the demonstration phase of a data network in space designed to support military operations. SpaceX on Sept. 2 launched SDA’s second batch of satellites. The agency now has 19 communications satellites and four missile-tracking spacecraft in orbit. These make up the Tranche 0 portion of a projected network known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 5)
CREW-6 RETURNS TO EARTH - A Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down of the coast of Florida early Sept. 4, bringing back a crew from the United States, United Arab Emirates and Russia who spent six months on the International Space Station. The Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast from Jacksonville, Florida, at 12:17 a.m. Eastern, completing the Crew-6 mission. The spacecraft had undocked from the ISS at 7:05 a.m. Eastern Sept. 3. More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 4)
SPACEX LAUNCHES STARLINK SATELLITES ON RECORD-BREAKING 62ND MISSION OF THE YEAR - SpaceX just set a new launch record. The company sent 21 of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit tonight (Sept. 3) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:47 p.m. EDT (0247 GMT on Sept. 4). It was SpaceX's 62nd orbital mission of 2023, setting a new record for most flights in a year, according to company founder and CEO Elon Musk. The old mark was set in 2022. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 4)
TIANGONG SPACE STATION COULD ALTER PERCEPTIONS OF CHINA’S SPACE PROGRAM, REPORT SAYS - Emerging trends in how China is utilizing and operating its Tiangong space station could impact how the country’s space program is viewed internationally. “The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) intention to allow civilian astronauts and nonstate-owned enterprise (SOE) companies to participate in the Chinese Space Station (CSS) are two trends that will probably change the global image of the Chinese space program,” according to a report from the Department of the Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI), published Aug. 28. More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 4)
SPACEX DRAGON WITH CREW-6 ASTRONAUTS UNDOCKS FROM SPACE STATION. HERE'S HOW TO WATCH ITS LANDING LIVE TONIGHT. - A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four Crew-6 astronauts is headed back to Earth with four astronauts aboard to wrap up a six-month space mission and you can watch its splashdown live online early Monday (Sept. 4). The Dragon spacecraft Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT) today after a one-day delay due to bad weather at its splashdown site. The two spacecraft separated in darkness as the station was over the night side of Earth flying 256 miles above the Pacific Ocean at the time. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 4)
WEST COAST FALCON 9 LAUNCHES 13 DEMONSTRATION SATELLITES FOR MILITARY MEGA-CONSTELLATION - A Falcon 9 rocket launched 13 demonstration satellites for a planned U.S. military mega-constellation from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Saturday. It was the 61st orbital launch of the year for SpaceX. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E at 7:25 a.m. PDT (10:25 a.m. EDT / 1425 UTC). After stage separation and ignition of the upper stage, about two and half minutes into flight the satellite-delivery mission entered a news blackout, typical for national security missions. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 3)
BREAKTHROUGH IN ATMOSPHERIC ANALYSIS: SATELLITE DELIVERS HIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTION OZONE PROFILES - A breakthrough in satellite observations has allowed scientists to obtain high spatial resolution ozone profiles, enhancing our understanding of ozone distribution and its impact on the atmosphere. The research, conducted by the research team led by Cheng Liu and Fei Zhao at the University of Science and Technology of China, utilized data from the Environmental Trace Gases Monitoring Instrument (EMI) on the Gaofen-5 satellite, the first Chinese ultraviolet-visible hyperspectral spectrometer. More (Source: Phys.org - Sep 2)
SPACE STATION CREW MEMBERS FOCUSED ON IN-ORBIT HANDOVER - NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members are settling into their new orbital home aboard the International Space Station while Crew-6 make their own preparations for a safe return to Earth in the coming days. Crew-7 NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov moved into the space station on Aug. 27. The crew launched on Aug. 26 from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. More (Source: NASA - Sep 1)
INVESTING IN SPACE: WHY THE PENTAGON IS SPENDING BILLIONS TO BUILD ITS OWN SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - Low Earth orbit satellite constellations are all the rage, but up to this point they’ve been the prospective domain of commercial entities. Now the U.S. military wants in on the action — thanks in part to inroads made by the likes of Starlink, OneWeb, Planet and more — and it’s spending big, turning to a variety of companies to build a satellite network unlike any the military has built before. More (Source: CNBC - Sep 1)
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