CHINA IS DEVELOPING A QUANTUM COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE NETWORK - Chinese research institutes are working to construct a quantum communications network using satellites in low and medium-to-high Earth orbits. Pan Jianwei, a scientist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and a member of the member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the comments in an interview with media March 4 on the sidelines of China’s annual political sessions in Beijing. More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 11)
WATCH SPACEX CREW-5 ASTRONAUTS LEAVE THE SPACE STATION MARCH 11 AFTER DELAY - SpaceX's Crew-5 astronaut mission for NASA is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Saturday (March 11), and you can watch the action live. A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the Crew-5 quartet — NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann, Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina and Japan's Koichi Wakata — is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) at 2:05 a.m. EST (0705 GMT) on Saturday, wrapping up five months in orbit. More (Source: Space.com - Mar 11)
SPACEX LAUNCHES AND LANDS ROCKET ON MISSION FOR ONEWEB - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday with 40 more internet satellites for rival OneWeb, followed eight minutes later by the landing of the rocket’s first stage booster back at the Florida spaceport. The mission, SpaceX’s 16th flight of the year overall, was the third and final planned dedicated Falcon 9 launch for OneWeb, which switched launch providers from Russia’s Soyuz rocket to SpaceX and Indian rockets last year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. OneWeb has another reservation with SpaceX for a rideshare mission with Iridium later this year. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 10)
SPACEX CREW-5 ASTRONAUTS HOPE TO LEAVE SPACE STATION MARCH 9 AS NASA WATCHES WEATHER - Crew-5 will soon wrap up an eventful half-year in space. The SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts will begin their return trip back to Earth after undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) at 5:05 p.m. EST (2205 GMT) on Thursday (March 9), NASA said in a statement given to reporters today. The crew will then splash down at 9:25 p.m. EST (0125 GMT the following day) on Friday (March 10). More (Source: Space.com - Mar 9)
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FIRES THRUSTERS TO AVOID COLLISION WITH SATELLITE - The International Space Station had to maneuver out of the way of an Earth-imaging satellite on Monday (March 6). At approximately 7:42 a.m. (12:42 GMT), thrusters on the Progress 83 resupply vessel currently docked with the International Space Station (ISS) fired for a little more than six minutes, raising the station's orbit to prevent the potential collision, NASA said in a blog post (opens in new tab). More (Source: Space.com - Mar 9)
DEFUNCT INDO-FRENCH SATELLITE ‘MEGHA-TROPIQUES’ NOW IN PIECES, LAID TO REST IN PACIFIC OCEAN - After providing valuable scientific data and serving the science community for more than a decade, the Indo-French satellite 'Megha-Tropiques' (MT-1) now rests in peace at a remote location in the Pacific Ocean. Just as they had intended, the Indian space agency, ISRO, successfully de-orbited the satellite (gradually brought the satellite closer to Earth from its orbit) and made it re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. More (Source: WION - Mar 9)
CHINA BUILDS HUGE PROPELLANT TANK FOR MASSIVE FUTURE ROCKET - China has produced a 33-foot-wide (10 meters) class propellant tank as it works toward building a super heavy-lift launch vehicle. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) announced (opens in new tab) on March 2 that it had manufactured the huge tank, demonstrating that it had made breakthroughs required to produce a propellant storage tank strong yet also thin and light enough for use in rocket launches. More (Source: Space.com - Mar 8)
JAPAN'S NEW H3 ROCKET FAILS ON 1ST TEST FLIGHT, ADVANCED EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE LOST - Japan's brand-new rocket has failed its first test flight. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s new H3 rocket lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center on Monday (March 6) at 8:37 p.m. EST (0137 GMT and 10:37 a.m. Japan Standard Time on March 7). 5 minutes and 27 seconds after liftoff, a command was sent to the rocket for stage separation and second stage ignition. Just after seven minutes into the flight, launch commentators on JAXA's livestream on YouTube noted that the rocket's velocity was falling and that second stage ignition could not be confirmed. More (Source: Space.com - Mar 7)
ANGOLA’S EO ANGEO-1 SATELLITE TO BE BUILT BY AIRBUS - Airbus Defence and Space has announced an agreement for Angeo-1, the first, very high performance, Angolan Earth Observation (EO) satellite, to be manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space in France, which strengthens the collaboration between the two countries. More (Source: SatNews - Mar 7)
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