SOYUZ ROCKET ROLLS OUT FOR LAUNCH OF RUSSIAN-AMERICAN CREW TO SPACE STATION - Ground teams at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan rolled a Soyuz rocket to its launch pad Sunday, moving a step closer to liftoff Wednesday with a team of two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut heading for the International Space Station, the first flight of a U.S. crew member on a Russian spacecraft since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. More (Source: - Sep 21)
STARLINK GROUP 4-34 MISSION FINALLY LIFTS OFF AFTER WEATHER DELAYS - A SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 carrying 54 Starlink satellites has finally launched at 8:18 PM EDT on Sunday, Sept. 18 (00:18 UTC on Sept. 19) after unfavorable weather scrubbed attempts on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. A Saturday launch opportunity was also called off. This mission launched from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 20)
PLANET SHARES INFORMATION ON TANAGER HYPERSPECTRAL CONSTELLATION - Planet released additional information about the hyperspectral constellation the Earth-observation company is developing through the Carbon Mapper public-private partnership. San Francisco-based Planet remains on schedule to launch the first two hyperspectral satellites in 2023 to gather data in 400 spectral bands with a resolution of 30 meters per pixel. While data to pinpoint methane and carbon dioxide sources will be shared publicly through the Carbon Mapper Coalition, Planet also will combine hyperspectral data with electro-optical imagery obtained by its Dove, Pelican and SkySat satellite fleets... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 19)
CHINESE ASTRONAUTS TAKE 4-HOUR SPACEWALK OUTSIDE NEW LAB AT TIANGONG SPACE STATION - Two Chinese astronauts took four-hour spacewalk outside the country's growing Tiangong station this weekend to work on its newest laboratory module, according to state media reports. Astronauts Chen Dong and Cai Xuzhe of the China National Space Administration began their spacewalk Saturday (Sept. 17) at 1:35 a.m. EDT (0535 GMT or 1:35 p.m. Beijing time) outside the Tiangong space station and spent 4 hours and 12 minutes working on its new Wentian laboratory module, according to the state-run CCTV news channel (opens in new tab). More (Source: Space.com - Sep 18)
QUEUE FOR THE QUEEN: HUGE LINE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II MOURNERS VISIBLE FROM SPACE - A massive queue of mourners for Queen Elizabeth II is visible from space. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to join a lineup, called 'The Queue' by locals, stretching 6 miles (10 km) through central London and along the Thames River from her lying-in-state location at Westminster Hall. Maxar Technologies satellites spotted the Queue from space at 12:01 p.m. local time Friday (Sept. 16), the company tweeted (opens in new tab), roughly halfway through the five days allocated for the public to see Her Majesty through Sunday (Sept. 18). More (Source: Space.com - Sep 18)
RUSSIA SAYS PRIVATE SATELLITES COULD BECOME 'LEGITIMATE TARGET' DURING WARTIME - Russia continues its trend of making provocative statements about the international order in space. As the United States continues to leverage more commercial satellites for intelligence and communications work, Russia has issued a warning that these may become a "legitimate target" for wartime operations. That's according to statements made by a Russian delegation on Monday (Sept. 12) at a meeting of the United Nations' open-ended working group (OEWG) on reducing space threats, which is being held in Geneva from Sept. 12 to Sept. 16. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 17)
JAPAN, GERMANY DECLARE MORATORIUM ON ANTI-SATELLITE MISSILE TESTS - Japan and Germany pledged this week not to conduct direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile testing, throwing their weight behind the U.S.-driven initiative launched in April to promote peaceful and safe use of outer space. The two countries announced their commitment during the second session of the U.N. Open-Ended Working Group on reducing space threats, which is underway from Sept. 12 in Geneva. More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 16)
ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES RADAR SATELLITE TO ORBIT ON 30TH ELECTRON MISSION - Rocket Lab's 30th Electron rocket sent a commercial radar satellite soaring to Earth orbit Thursday (Sept. 15). The Electron booster lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site on the North Island's Mahia Peninsula on Thursday at 4:38 p.m. EDT (2038 GMT, or 8:38 a.m. local time on Friday, Sept. 16). More (Source: Space.com - Sep 16)
VAST SPACE TO DEVELOP ARTIFICIAL-GRAVITY SPACE STATION - Vast Space, a Southern California startup founded by cryptocurrency billionaire Jed McCaleb, plans to establish an artificial-gravity space station in low Earth orbit. McCaleb envisions a future where millions of people are living throughout the solar system. Since other companies are helping to reduce launch costs, McCaleb thinks the next important step will be creating large structures where people can live and work in space. More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 16)
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