RUSSIA ESCALATES RHETORIC ON COMMERCIAL SATELLITES, CALLS THEM ‘LEGITIMATE TARGETS FOR RETALIATION’ - A Russian official speaking at a United Nations meeting on outer space security, criticized Western nations’ use of commercial satellites in military operations, adding fuel to previous declarations that Russia could target space networks operated by private companies. Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian foreign ministry’s department for non-proliferation and arms, called the West’s use of commercial satellites “an extremely dangerous trend that … has become apparent during the latest developments in Ukraine.”   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Oct 28)

SPACEX FALCON 9 LAUNCHES STARLINK GROUP 4-31 FROM VANDENBERG - SpaceX’s 49th Falcon 9 flight of 2022 has lifted off from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California with 53 Starlink satellites. The launch occurred on time on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 6:14 PM PDT (01:14 UTC on Friday, Oct. 28). Falcon 9 launched to the southeast into a 53.2-degree inclined orbit to help fill out the fourth shell of Starlink satellites orbiting at 540 kilometers in altitude.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Oct 28)

CHINA ROLLS OUT ROCKET TO LAUNCH 3RD AND FINAL SPACE STATION MODULE - China is nearly ready to launch the third and final piece of its modular crewed space station. A Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket rolled out to the pad at Wenchang spaceport on Hainan island early Tuesday (Oct. 25), China’s human spaceflight agency (CMSA) announced. The Mengtian space station module is encapsulated in a 67-foot-long (20.5 meters) payload fairing on top of the 187-million-pound (849,000 kilograms) Long March 5B. The rocket and module were transported to the pad in a vertical position, covering roughly 9,200 feet (2,800 meters) in under three hours.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 27)

NASA & NOAA TO LAUNCH WEATHER SATELLITE TUESDAY - NASA is set to launch the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) into orbit on on Tuesday, November 1st from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on an Atlas V 401 rocket! JPSS-2 is the third satellite in a polar satellite series and partnership between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Polar satellites focus on the entire earth, moving from North to South Pole and seeing the same spot on Earth 2x/day – once during the day, the second at night.    More
(Source: WeatherNation - Oct 27)

RUSSIAN CARGO SHIP LAUNCHES ON FLIGHT TO SPACE STATION - Russia launched a Progress supply freighter Tuesday on a two-day trek to the International Space Station to deliver 5,556 pounds (2,520 kilograms) of cargo, fuel, water, and nitrogen to the orbiting research laboratory. A Soyuz-2.1a booster launched the Progress cargo ship at 8:20:09 p.m. EDT Tuesday (0020:09 GMT Wednesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The liquid-fueled rocket deployed the Progress MS-21 spacecraft into orbit about nine minutes later, and the supply ship unfurled solar panels and navigation antennas to begin the flight to the space station.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 26)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION DODGES SPACE DEBRIS FROM RUSSIAN ANTI-SATELLITE TEST - The International Space Station (ISS) just took evasive action to dodge a fragment of a satellite destroyed in a November 2021 Russian anti-satellite test. On Monday (Oct. 24) at 8:25 p.m. EDT (0025 GMT on Oct. 25), the ISS team fired the thrusters on Progress 81, a Russian cargo ship attached to the station, for a total of five minutes and five seconds to avoid the debris fragment, according to a NASA statement (opens in new tab).    More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 26)

RUSSIA LAUNCHES 4 SATELLITES TO ORBIT IN 5TH MISSION OF LAST 2 WEEKS - Russia launched four satellites to orbit on Saturday (Oct. 22), the nation's fifth liftoff in a two-week stretch. A Soyuz rocket topped with three satellites for the Gonets-M communications constellation and a demonstration spacecraft called Skif-D lifted off Saturday at 3:57 p.m. EDT (1957 GMT; 10:57 p.m. Moscow time) from Vostochny Cosmodrome, in far eastern Russia. All four satellites were deployed into their designated orbits as planned, according to Roscosmos, Russia's federal space agency.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 25)

NASA TO PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE OF SPACE STATION CARGO LAUNCH, DOCKING - NASA will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft carrying about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the multi-national Expedition 68 crew aboard the International Space Station. The unpiloted Progress 82 mission is scheduled to launch at 8:20 p.m. EDT (5:20 a.m. Baikonur time) Tuesday, Oct. 25, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Coverage will begin at 8 p.m. on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.   More
(Source: NASA - Oct 25)

CHINA LOOKED AT PUTTING A MONITORING SATELLITE IN RETROGRADE GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT VIA THE MOON - China appears to have considered boosting its space situational awareness capabilities by placing a satellite in a retrograde orbit out at the geostationary belt. A paper published in Nature Scientific Reports by authors from the Xi’an Satellite Control Center looks at using a lunar swingby to insert a satellite into a retrograde orbit out at the geostationary belt (GEO) for monitoring activities and debris warning.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Oct 24)

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