CHINA PREPPING NEXT SPACE STATION CARGO MISSION FOR MAY LAUNCH - China is gearing up to send fresh supplies to its space station. Components of a Long March 7 rocket arrived at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island, south China, on April 13 after shipping from the northern port city of Tianjin. The rocket is now being assembled. It will launch the Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft to the Tiangong space station in the first half of May. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 24)
JAPAN PREPARES TO SHOOT DOWN NORTH KOREA SATELLITE IF IT FALLS ON JAPAN - Japan's Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Saturday ordered the country's military to prepare to shoot down a North Korean spy satellite should it fall within Japan's territory. Hamada ordered the Self-Defense Forces to make necessary preparations as he could potentially "order the destruction of ballistic missiles", the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Preparations included making arrangements to deploy troops to the southern prefecture of Okinawa to "minimise damage should a ballistic missile fall." More (Source: Reuters - Apr 23)
INDIAN ROCKET SENDS 2 SINGAPOREAN SATELLITES TO ORBIT IN 'TEXTBOOK LAUNCH' - An Indian rocket launched two Singaporean satellites to low Earth orbit early Saturday morning (April 22). A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted off from India's Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Saturday at 4:49 a.m. EDT (0849 GMT; 2:19 p.m. India Standard Time), carrying an Earth-observation satellite and a communications tech-demonstrating craft aloft. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 23)
ASTRA WINS $11.5 MILLION CONTRACT TO LAUNCH MILITARY EXPERIMENTAL PAYLOADS - Astra Space won a task order worth $11.5 million to launch experimental payloads for the Defense Department’s Space Test Program. Astra, a small satellite launch company based in Alameda, California, was awarded the contract under the U.S. Space Force’s Orbital Services Program OSP-4, the Space Systems Command announced April 21. More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 23)
ISRO TO LAUNCH PSLV WITH SINGAPOREAN SATELLITES - The Indian Space Research Organisation will use its PSLV rocket to deploy a pair of Singaporean satellites Saturday, in a commercial launch contracted by its subsidiary NewSpace India Limited. The PSLV-CA rocket is due to lift off at 08:49 UTC (2:19 p.m. local time) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Saturday’s launch will carry the TeLEOS-2 radar-imaging satellite, to be operated in partnership between the government of Singapore and ST Electronics. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Apr 22)
NORTHROP GRUMMAN'S SS SALLY RIDE DEPARTS INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Northrop Grumman's autonomous Cygnus spaceship left the International Space Station on Friday, carrying away more than 8,000 pounds of trash from the orbiting laboratory. The SS Sally Ride, named after the first American woman astronaut, departed from the Unity module of the ISS about 7:20 a.m. EDT. The vessel burned up in a planned re-entry into the atmosphere shortly afterward. More (Source: UPI.com - Apr 22)
DEAD NASA SATELLITE CRASHES TO EARTH OVER THE SAHARA DESERT - dead NASA spacecraft crashed to Earth Wednesday night (April 19) over northern Africa, according to the U.S. military. NASA's RHESSI satellite reentered Earth's atmosphere at 8:21 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (0021 GMT on April 20), according to the space agency. "The Department of Defense confirmed that the 660-pound spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere over the Sahara Desert region, at approximately 26 degrees longitude and 21.3 degrees latitude," NASA officials wrote in an update today (opens in new tab) (April 20). More (Source: Space.com - Apr 21)
AIRBUS UNVEILS FUTURISTIC SPACE STATION CONCEPT - The European aerospace giant Airbus has unveiled a new concept space habitat that will be more spacious and comfortable than existing space stations. The multi-purpose orbital module called Loop features three customizable decks that are connected via a tunnel surrounded by an integrated greenhouse. The orbital habitat is designed for a four-person crew but could be adjusted to accommodate up to eight spacefarers, Airbus said in a statement (opens in new tab). More (Source: Space.com - Apr 21)
CONFUSION OVER CAUSE OF FLASH IN SKY OVER KYIV AFTER NASA DENIES INVOLVEMENT - A flash in the sky over the Ukrainian capital prompted confusion and alarm as city authorities said it was caused by a Nasa satellite reentering the atmosphere, while the US space agency denied involvement. A “bright glow” was observed over Kyiv around 10pm local time, the head of Kyiv’s military administration Sergiy Popko wrote on Telegram. An air raid alert was activated, Popko said, but “air defence was not in operation”. More (Source: The Guardian - Apr 20)
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