JAPAN ORDERS SATELLITE-CARRYING ROCKET TO SELF-DESTRUCT AFTER FAILED LAUNCH - A Japanese rocket attempting to launch a satellite into space self-destructed after it failed to reach trajectory after liftoff on Wednesday. The Epsilon-6 rocket took off from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Wednesday. The rocket, though, deviated from its intended trajectory shortly after leaving the launching pad. Officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ordered the rocket to self-destruct.   More
(Source: UPI - Oct 13)

ANGOLA LAUNCHES ITS SECOND SATELLITE, ANGOSAT-2, TODAY - Angola has launched its second communications satellite, Angosat-2, today October 12, 2022. The satellite was launched aboard the Proton-M Blok DM-03 rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. It is a four-stage Russian heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Soviet Proton launch vehicle. By virtue of the launch, Angola has now launched two satellites, bringing Africa’s 2022 total to five, and Africa’s total satellite launches to 49.   More
(Source: Space in Africa - Oct 13)

AMAZON TO LAUNCH FIRST OF ITS KUIPER INTERNET SATELLITES ON ULA ROCKET - The first two satellites of Amazon’s space-based internet constellation will be launched early next year on the maiden flight of a new rocket being developed by one of the U.S. Space Force’s biggest contractors. In an announcement Wednesday, Amazon said it would hitch a ride on the new Vulcan rocket being developed by the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.   More
(Source: The Washington Post - Oct 13)

LAUNCH ON DEMAND: IF SATELLITES ARE SHOT DOWN, WILL SPACE FORCE BE READY TO RESTOCK? - A small satellite mission the U.S. Space Force plans to launch in 2023 will test the ability of the commercial space industry to deploy a payload on an extraordinarily compressed timeline. A contract for the mission, code-named Victus Nox, was awarded Sept. 30 to launch services provider Firefly Aerospace and satellite manufacturer Millennium Space. Once the Space Force decides when the mission must launch, it will give Millennium a few months to produce the spacecraft and Firefly will only get 24 hours’ notice to get ready for liftoff.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Oct 12)

STATION CREW PREPARES TO SPLIT UP WHILE RESEARCH CONTINUES - It was a busy Tuesday aboard the International Space Station as the 11 crew members split their time between advanced space research and orbital lab maintenance. Four astronauts are also turning their attention to returning to Earth ending a mission that began in April. Two new Expedition 68 crewmates focused their science activities on growing crops in space and maneuvering free-flying robots. NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio nourished vegetables and photographed their growth progress for the XROOTS space botany study.    More
(Source: NASA - Oct 12)

CHINA FUELS FINAL SPACE STATION MODULE AHEAD OF LAUNCH - The third and final module for China’s space station has been filled with propellant in preparation for its journey to orbit later this month. The Mengtian experiment module arrived at the Wenchang spaceport on the southern island of Hainan in August and has already undergone assembly and testing. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced that the module was loaded with propellant on Oct. 9 ahead of its trip to space.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 12)

SOYUZ LAUNCHES GLONASS NAVIGATION SATELLITE FROM PLESETSK - NASASpaceFlight.com Forums L2 Sign Up Artemis SpaceX Commercial ISS International Other Shop Soyuz launches GLONASS navigation satellite from Plesetsk written by Sawyer Rosenstein October 10, 2022 Russia has added another satellite to its current satellite navigation network with the successful launch of a Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat rocket. Liftoff occurred at 5:52 AM Moscow Time (02:52 UTC) on Oct. 10 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the northwestern part of Russia carrying GLONASS-K1 No. 17. The GLONASS constellation of satellites is very similar to the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and European Galileo satellites.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Oct 11)

NASA SEEKS NEW ROCKETS FOR HURRICANE SATELLITE LAUNCHES AFTER ASTRA FAILURES - Citing "urgent" hurricane-tracking satellite needs, NASA is on the hunt for new rockets after a launch effort failed to deliver two cubesats to space in June. NASA is asking more companies to bid for launching its TROPICS satellite line in 2023 after its initial provider, Astra, lost a rocket carrying two TROPICS cubesats during the debut launch on June 12. (The cause remains under investigation.)   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 11)

TWO INTELSAT VIDEO RELAY SATELLITES RIDE TO ORBIT ON SPACEX ROCKET - SpaceX launched a pair of four-ton Intelsat communications spacecraft from Cape Canaveral at twilight Saturday evening, two days later than planned after back-to-back scrubs, on the third flight of a Falcon 9 rocket this week. The Falcon 9 rocket lit nine kerosene-fueled Merlin 1D engines and thundered away from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT) Saturday. Thrust vector controls pivoted nine main engines to steer the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket due east from pad 40, and the Falcon 9 raced through the speed of sound in less than a minute.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 10)

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