IS LOW EARTH ORBIT GETTING TOO CROWDED? NEW STUDY RINGS AN ALARM BELL - Hundreds of satellites may soon be flying in orbital regions that are already too packed to allow safe and long-term operations, a new study suggests. The study found that, while in 2019 only 0.2% of satellites in Earth orbit were forced to perform more than 10 collision-avoidance maneuvers per month, that percentage had risen sevenfold by early 2025, to 1.4%. That number might still seem low, but it means that some 340 satellites spend a lot of time dodging debris and other spacecraft.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 14)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 24 AMAZON KUIPER SATELLITES FOLLOWING DAYS OF WEATHER DELAYS - After more than a week of launch delays, SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with two dozen of Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband internet satellites onboard Monday night. The mission came about an hour and a half following the splashdown of SpaceX’s Starship rocket at the conclusion of Starship Flight 11.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 14)

CHINA LAUNCHES MULTIPLE SATELLITES FROM SEA - China launched multiple satellites Saturday aboard a Gravity-1 carrier rocket from waters near Haiyang, in Shandong Province on the eastern coast, state-run Xinhua News reported. The rocket took off at 10.20 am (0220GMT), successfully placing three satellites into their planned orbits. The mission was carried out by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.   More
(Source: Anadolu Ajansı - Oct 12)

ISS ASTRONAUT CAPTURES AMAZING VIDEO OF SPACEX STARLINK SATELLITE TRAIN CRUISING ABOVE AURORAS - An amazing new video shows flashes of sunlight sparkling off a batch of SpaceX satellites, with a green aurora glowing just below. NASA astronaut Don Pettit, an accomplished amateur photographer, captured the stunning "train" of SpaceX Starlink broadband satellites during his recent mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The aurora was produced by solar particles slamming into Earth’s atmosphere.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 11)

JAPAN PREPARES NEW ISS CARGO VEHICLE AS TRIO OF CARGO SPACECRAFT DELIVER NEW EXPERIMENTS AND HARDWARE - The International Space Station (ISS) recently welcomed three spacecraft that delivered much-needed cargo to support Expedition 73’s seven-member astronaut crew, ensuring the crew and Station are supplied with food, water, clothing, and equipment. Meanwhile, the crew continued with its usual collection of experiments and maintenance tasks.   More
(Source: NASASpaceflight.com - Oct 10)

SPACEX DELAYS LAUNCHING AMAZON’S PROJECT KUIPER SATELLITES AMID BACKDROP OF POOR WEATHER - SpaceX was preparing to launch 24 of Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband internet satellites Thursday night, but punted the mission to Saturday as it faces challenging weather conditions during its initial window of opportunity. The mission, dubbed Kuiper Falcon 03 (KF-03), is the third and final launch that Amazon booked using a Falcon 9 rocket. The tech giant announced the contract with SpaceX in December 2023.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 10)

CHINA IS DEVELOPING WAYS TO DE-ORBIT SPACE JUNK. SHOULD WE BE WORRIED? - China is developing the capability to remove space debris from orbit, according to a top official. In recent years, China's space activities have grown tremendously, with an operational space station in low Earth orbit (LEO), a greatly increased rate of launches and plans for multiple constellations consisting of thousands of satellites. The growth of the country's presence in orbit also raises issues of sustainability.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 10)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 28 STARLINK SATELLITES WITH A FALCON 9 BOOSTER FLYING FOR A 29TH TIME - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday night, which added another 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to its megaconstellation in low Earth orbit. The Starlink 11-17 mission flew on a south-easterly trajectory upon departure from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 8:54 p.m. PDT (11:54 p.m. EDT / 0354 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 10)

SPACEX LAUNCHES FALCON 9 ROCKET ON 90TH STARLINK MISSION OF 2025 - SpaceX launched its first Falcon 9 rocket launch from Florida in more than a week in the predawn hours of Tuesday morning. The launch gap was highlighted by a run of persistent, daily storms in Central Florida and over the Atlantic Ocean. The Starlink 10-59 mission added 28 more broadband internet satellites into the growing megaconstellation. Prior to this launch, SpaceX has more than 8,500 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit, according to astronomer an expert orbital tracker, Jonathan McDowell.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 8)

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