TINY METEORITE MAY HAVE CAUSED LEAK FROM SOYUZ CAPSULE - Russian and NASA engineers were assessing a coolant leak on Thursday from a Soyuz crew capsule docked with the International Space Station that could have been caused by a micrometeorite strike. Dramatic NASA TV images showed white particles resembling snowflakes streaming out of the rear of the vessel for hours. The coolant leak forced the last-minute cancellation of a spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts on Wednesday and could potentially impact a return flight to Earth by three crew members.   More
(Source: voanews.com - Dec 17)

SPACEX LAUNCHES SWOT OCEAN RESEARCH MISSION - SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched the joint NASA/CNES Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite mission from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:46 AM PST (11:46 UTC) on Friday, Dec. 16, after a 24-hour delay to allow teams to complete further data review and analysis after moisture was identified in two of the first stage’s Merlin engines. The first stage performed a Return to Launch Site landing at Landing Zone 4 during the mission.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 16)

CHINA LAUNCHES YET MORE CLASSIFIED YAOGAN RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITES TO ORBIT - China has added more satellites to its Yaogan remote sensing collection. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China on Wednesday (Dec. 14) at 1:25 p.m. EST (1815 GMT; or 12:25 a.m. Beijing time on Dec. 15).  The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) declared (opens in new tab) the launch to be a success within an hour of launch, revealing that the payload for the mission was a Yaogan 36 spacecraft.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 16)

NASA HAS LOST CONTACT WITH A HURRICANE-WATCHING SATELLITE - NASA is working to reestablish contact with one of the eight spacecraft that make up its Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) constellation, which monitors hurricanes. CYGNSS is the first space-based system to collect frequent measurements of wind speeds from the ocean's surface near the eye of storms such as tropical cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes. However, the CYGNSS team last received data from the satellite designated FM06 at around 4:32 p.m. EST (2132 GMT) on Nov. 26, according to a NASA statement.    More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 16)

NASA PROVIDES UPDATE ON INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION OPERATIONS - On Wednesday, Dec. 14, an external leak was detected from the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to the Rassvet module on the International Space Station. The external radiator cooling loop of the Soyuz is the suspected leak source. The Roscosmos Mission Control team in Moscow postponed Wednesday evening’s planned spacewalk with two cosmonauts to evaluate the situation and data from the Soyuz spacecraft. None of the crew members aboard the space station was in danger, and all conducted normal operations throughout the day.   More
(Source: NASA - Dec 16)

NASA AND ROCKET LAB READY FOR FIRST ELECTRON LAUNCH FROM WALLOPS - After more than two years of delays, NASA and Rocket Lab are finally ready to conduct the first Electron launch from Wallops Island in Virginia on Dec. 16. The launch, called “Virginia is for Launch Lovers” by the company, is scheduled from the company’s Launch Complex (LC) 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops during a two-hour window that opens at 6 p.m. Eastern Dec. 16. There is an 85% chance of favorable weather for the launch that day as well as on a backup day Dec. 17.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 15)

HISTORIC FIRST LAUNCH OF CHINESE PRIVATE METHANE-FUELED ROCKET ENDS IN FAILURE - Chinese launch company Landspace suffered failure Wednesday in what was the world’s first attempt to achieve orbit with a methane-fueled rocket. The Zhuque-2 methane-liquid oxygen rocket lifted off from newly-constructed facilities at the national Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at around 3:30 a.m. Eastern Dec. 14. Apparent spectator footage posted on Chinese social media showed the rocket ascending into clear skies, trailed by white exhaust. While the first stage is understood to have performed well, separate apparent leaked footage suggests that issues affecting the rocket’s second stage resulted in the failure of the mission.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 15)

RUSSIAN ENGINEERS ASSESSING LEAK FROM SOYUZ CREW SPACECRAFT - A Russian Soyuz crew ferry ship docked to the International Space Station spewed particles of an unknown substance, presumably coolant fluid, into space Wednesday night, forcing two Russian cosmonauts to call off a planned spacewalk as engineers on the ground scrambled to determine the source and the effects of the leak. Mission controllers first observed the leak around 7:45 p.m. EST Wednesday (0045 GMT Thursday), according to Rob Navias, a NASA spokesperson providing commentary on NASA TV.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 15)

ARIANE 5 ROCKET LAUNCHES NEW EUROPEAN METEOSAT SATELLITE, TWO INTELSAT COMSATS - A European Ariane 5 rocket fired off a launching stand Tuesday in tropical South America with the vanguard of a modernized series of weather satellites to improve storm forecasts for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and two Intelsat television broadcasting satellites to cover the United States, a heavyweight payload totaling more than 24,000 pounds (about 11 metric tons). After a smooth on-time countdown, the 185-foot-tall (56.4-meter) Ariane 5 lit its hydrogen-fueled, French-built Vulcain 2 engine when the countdown clock struck zero at 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT) Tuesday. After the engine passed an automated health check, the rocket’s twin solid-fueled boosters ignited seven seconds later to propel the launcher off the pad at the Guiana Space Center on the northeastern coast of South America.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 14)

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