VEGA C TO LAUNCH FIVE COPERNICUS SPACECRAFT - The European Commission awarded a contract to Arianespace Nov. 29 for launches of five Copernicus Earth observation spacecraft on Vega C rockets between 2024 and 2026. The contract, Arianespace Chief Executive Stéphane Israël said in a press conference, secures the position of the European Commission, which operates both Copernicus and the Galileo navigation constellation, as the launch provider’s top institutional customer.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 1)

SHENZHOU 15 ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT CHINA’S SPACE STATION FOR FIRST CREW HANDOVER - China has six astronauts aboard its recently-completed space station for the first time following the arrival of three crew members aboard Shenzhou-15. Shenzhou-15 launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 10:08 a.m. Eastern Nov. 29. Rendezvous and docking with the Tiangong space station was completed at 4:42 p.m., China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSA, confirmed.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Nov 30)

SOYUZ-2.1B LAUNCHES FINAL GLONASS-M SATELLITE FROM PLESETSK - At 15:17 UTC on Nov. 28, a Soyuz-2.1b launched from Site 43/3 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, carrying the final GLONASS-M satellite to orbit, designated Kosmos-2564. This is the first of two planned launches from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in just three days, with a classified payload scheduled to launch onboard a Soyuz-2.1a on Wednesday, Nov. 30.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Nov 30)

NEW ERA BEGINS WITH CHINA’S LAUNCH OF CREWED MISSION TO ITS SPACE STATION - Three astronauts lifted off to China’s nearly completed space station on Tuesday, marking the beginning of the country’s long-term presence in space. It’s a major achievement for China’s ambitious space program, which has explored the far side of the moon and Mars. The milestone also means the aging International Space Station’s role as the sole venue for continuous human occupancy in Earth’s orbit is coming to an end.    More
(Source: CNN - Nov 30)

SPACEX SUPPLY SHIP DOCKS AT SPACE STATION - A day after launching from Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule approached the International Space Station for an automated docking Sunday with more than 7,700 pounds of supplies and experiments. The Dragon supply ship autonomously linked up with the zenith, or space-facing, docking port on the space station’s Harmony module at 7:39 a.m. EST (1239 GMT) Sunday to wrap up a 17-hour pursuit of the complex. The cargo capsule launched at 2:20 p.m. EST (1920 GMT) Saturday on top of a Falcon 9 rocket.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 29)

INDIA LAUNCHES SATELLITE FOR OCEAN MONITORING - India launched a satellite Saturday to measure ocean winds and water temperatures, adding a key data source for weather forecasters tracking tropical cyclone development around the world. The new ocean monitoring spacecraft, named EOS-06 or Oceansat 3, took off Saturday at 1:26 a.m. EST (0626 GMT) aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, India’s workhorse rocket. The PSLV launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on India’s east coast, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Chennai.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 29)

SPACEX LAUNCHES NEW CARGO DRAGON SPACECRAFT TO SPACE STATION - A brand new SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched a new cargo Dragon spacecraft Nov. 26, carrying supplies, experiments and new solar arrays for the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A at 2:20 p.m. Eastern. The rocket’s upper stage deployed the Dragon spacecraft into low Earth orbit 12 minutes later. The rocket’s first stage, making its first flight, landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Nov 29)

CHINA PREPARES TO SEND NEW 3-PERSON CREW TO SPACE STATION - Final preparations were being made Monday to send a new three-person crew to China's space station as it nears completion amid intensifying competition with the United States. The China Manned Space Agency said the Shenzhou-15 mission will take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert at 11:08 p.m. Tuesday night.   More
(Source: voanews.com - Nov 29)

SATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS COULD HARM THE ENVIRONMENT, NEW WATCHDOG REPORT SAYS - Do people have a right to an unobstructed view of the heavens? For most of human history, such a question would have been considered nonsensical—but with the recent rise of satellite mega constellations, it’s now being asked again and again. Mega constellations are vast groups of spacecraft, numbering in the thousands, that could spark a multitrillion-dollar orbital industry and transform global connectivity and commerce. But the rise of mega constellations also threatens to clutter the night sky, cripple the work of some astronomers and create space debris that harms people on Earth and in space alike.   More
(Source: Scientific American - Nov 25)

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