WATER-TRACKING SWOT SATELLITE ENCAPSULATED IN ROCKET PAYLOAD FAIRING - The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission is one step closer to launching so it can track water on more than 90% of Earth’s surface. The SWOT satellite, or the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission, is now encapsulated in its payload fairing in preparation for launch. Technicians at the SpaceX processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California completed the operation and will soon mate the fairing to the top of a Falcon 9 rocket.   More
(Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory - NASA - Dec 11)

ARTEMIS, TIANGONG SUCCESSES IN US-CHINA SPACE RACE LEAVE RUSSIA EATING COSMIC DUST - Space exploration, once a spirited rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, has now become a contest between the US and China. Recent weeks have seen advances in the space programmes of both countries, and these advances have left Russia in the cosmic dust. A powerful new US rocket propelled an uncrewed module to the moon and beyond while the International Space Station, primarily funded and run by the US, continues to do good science. Meanwhile, China’s newly expanded Tiangong space station recently refreshed its crew with a visit from Shenzhou 15.   More
(Source: South China Morning Post - Dec 11)

CHINA LAUNCHES HYPERSPECTRAL EARTH-IMAGING SATELLITE TO ORBIT - China continued its rapid pace of space launches with a mission to add new capabilities to the country's Earth observation system. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off Thursday (Dec. 8) at 1:31 p.m. EST (1831 GMT; 2:31 a.m. Beijing Time on Friday, Dec. 9) from the hill-surrounded Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern province of Shanxi. Aboard the flight was the Gaofen 5 (01A) hyperspectral imaging satellite, which will join the civilian China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS). It will operate from an altitude of roughly 417 miles (672 kilometers) above Earth in a sun-synchronous orbit.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 10)

CHINA LAUNCHES 14 SATELLITES WITH NEW SOLID ROCKET FROM MOBILE SEA PLATFORM - China launched its new Jielong-3 rocket from a mobile sea platform in the Yellow Sea Friday, successfully sending 14 satellites into orbit. The Jielong-3 (“Smart Dragon-3”) lifted off at 1:35 a.m. Eastern (0635 UTC) Dec. 9, from the Tai Rui modified barge off in the Yellow Sea.  The mission carried eight satellites developed by commercial remote sensing firm Changguang Satellite Technology, designated Jilin-1 Gaofen 03D 44-50 remote sensing satellite and the Jilin-1 Pingtai 01A01 satellites. The latter is a new satellite platform adaptable to remote sensing, communications or navigation requirements.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 10)

THIS ARCTIC SPACE CENTRE COULD BECOME THE FIRST TO LAUNCH SATELLITES FROM MAINLAND EUROPE - There were more space launches in 2021 than ever before with more records set to be broken in the coming years. While 2022 has been another exceptional year for space exploration, it has been marred by growing tensions with Europe’s biggest space partner, Russia According to experts, it's become easier to send satellites into orbit thanks to their smaller sizes and cheaper prices compared to a few years ago - and now Europe is looking to capitalise on it.   More
(Source: Euronews - Dec 10)

CHINA LAUNCHES NEW TEST SATELLITE - China successfully sent a new test satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Wednesday, Trend reports citing Xinhua. The VHF Data Exchange System (VDES) test satellite was launched by a Kuaizhou-11 Y2 carrier rocket at 9:15 a.m. (Beijing Time) and entered the planned orbit. The satellite will be mainly used for communications test and key technologies verification of the VDES and the automatic identification system (AIS).   More
(Source: AzerNews - Dec 9)

SPACEX DELIVERS FOR RIVAL ONEWEB WITH SUNSET LAUNCH FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER - Forty more OneWeb internet satellites rocketed into orbit from Kennedy Space Center at sunset Thursday, company’s first launch with SpaceX after suspending flights on Russian rockets earlier this year. Following a spectacular sunset blastoff at 5:27 p.m. EST (2227 GMT) Thursday, the Falcon 9’s upper stage headed into a roughly 373-mile-high (600-kilometer) polar orbit to deploy the 40 OneWeb satellites, while the first stage booster returned to Cape Canaveral for landing. The launch was delayed from earlier in the week as SpaceX prepared the Falcon 9 launcher inside a hangar a quarter-mile south of pad 39A.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 9)

NASA LOSES CONTACT WITH ICON ATMOSPHERE-STUDYING SATELLITE IN EARTH ORBIT - NASA recently lost contact with an atmosphere-studying satellite working beyond its design lifetime. NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) fell out of contact on Nov. 25, and the mission team has not been able to hail the spacecraft in the weeks since, agency officials wrote in a brief statement (opens in new tab) on Wednesday (Dec. 7). "The team is currently still working to establish a connection," NASA officials wrote. "Working with the Department of Defense's Space Surveillance Network, the team has verified that ICON remains intact."   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 8)

CUBESATS LAUNCHED BY ISS ABOVE NAMIBIA FROM UGANDA, ZIMBABWE, AND JAPAN - A set of four CubeSats are photographed after being released from a small satellite deployer on the outside of the Kibo laboratory module as the International Space Station orbited 264 miles above Namibia on the African continent.   More
(Source: SpaseRef - Dec 8)

Previous Next