BOEING'S STARLINER CAPSULE ON TRACK TO LAUNCH ON OFT-2 MISSION TO SPACE STATION MAY 19 - Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule remains on target for its crucial May 19 test launch, company representatives and NASA officials said. Starliner was supposed to lift off on an uncrewed mission to the International Space Station called Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) in August 2021. But standard preflight checks shortly before launch revealed that 13 of the 24 oxidizer valves in the propulsion system in Starliner's service module were stuck. More (Source: Space.com - May 4)
CHINA LAYS OUT BIG PLANS FOR ITS NEW TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China will launch six major missions before the end of the year to complete its Tiangong space station, which space officials say could soon link up with a powerful telescope and host commercial activities and international astronauts. The details were revealed during an April 17 press conference, which was held a day after the return of the Shenzhou 13 astronauts after their national record-setting 182-day mission aboard Tiangong's core module Tianhe. More (Source: Space.com - May 4)
NEW RUSSIAN ROCKET LAUNCHES MILITARY SATELLITE ON 1ST MISSION - A lightweight member of Russia's Angara rocket family launched its first orbital mission last week, sending a military payload aloft, according to reports. The Angara 1.2 rocket launched on April 29 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, which is roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers) north of Moscow, according to RussianSpaceWeb.com, which is run by Russian independent journalist Anatoly Zak. More (Source: Space.com - May 4)
ROCKET LAB MAKES FIRST BOOSTER CATCH ATTEMPT DURING SUCCESSFUL THERE AND BACK AGAIN MISSION - After announcing plans to recover and reuse the first stage of the company’s Electron rocket back in 2019, the California-based rocket company has attempted a mid-air recovery for the very first time. After a successful mid-air catch, the recovery helicopter pilot noticed different load characteristics than expected, and released the stage so it could softly splash down for an ocean recovery. The “There and Back Again” mission launched at 22:49 UTC on May 2, delivering 34 payloads to a sun-synchronous orbit of 520km. The mission was originally scheduled to launch on April 19 but was repeatedly delayed to wait for favorable weather for the experimental recovery attempt. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - May 3)
U.S. TO RAMP UP SPENDING ON CLASSIFIED COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES - The U.S. Space Force plans to request nearly $8 billion over the next five years to scale up development of classified communications satellite networks, according to DoD budget documents. The projected funding is for two geostationary orbit constellations: one for military tactical communications, and another for strategic communications to connect nuclear forces with national command authorities. The largest funding increase is for the Evolved Strategic Satcom, or ESS, program. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 2)
CHINA JUST LAUNCHED A ROCKET WITH 5 SATELLITES TO ORBIT FROM A PLATFORM AT SEA - hina launched five satellites into orbit on a rocket that lifted from a platform at sea on Saturday (April 30), setting a new distance record for the country's offshore launches. A Long March 11 solid-fueled rocket successfully launched from ocean platform in the East China Sea to deliver its payloads into orbit. It was the second launch in as many days for the China National Space Administration, which launched two other satellites from a land-based spaceport on Friday. More (Source: Space.com - May 2)
SPACEX JUST FLEW ITS FASTEST DRAGON ASTRONAUT TRIP TO THE SPACE STATION EVER - SpaceX just set a new record for its fastest Dragon astronaut trip yet. Elon Musk's spaceflight company launched four Crew-4 astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA in less than 16 hours on Wednesday (April 27), the shortest flight time since SpaceX began crewed flights in 2020. "This is the fastest launch to dock that we've done," Steve Stitch, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, told reporters after the launch early Wednesday. "It's about the same time it takes to go from New York to Singapore, so it's kind of interesting." Sponsored Links More (Source: Space.com - May 1)
RUSSIA WILL QUIT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION OVER SANCTIONS - The head of Russia’s space program said Moscow will pull out of the International Space Station, state media reported, a move it has blamed on sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine. “The decision has been taken already, we’re not obliged to talk about it publicly,” Tass and RIA Novosti reported Roscosmos General Director Dmitry Rogozin as saying in an interview with state TV on Saturday. “I can say this only -- in accordance with our obligations, we’ll inform our partners about the end of our work on the ISS with a year’s notice.” More (Source: Bloomberg - May 1)
ROCKET LAB WAITING FOR ‘IDEAL’ WEATHER BEFORE LAUNCH AND RECOVERY ATTEMPT - Rocket Lab called off the planned launch and recovery of an Electron booster Friday, preferring to wait for better wind and cloud cover conditions a few days from now. The next opportunity to launch the mission from New Zealand is Monday. “We don’t usually give mother nature quite so much power over launch timing, but for our first helicopter catch attempt we want to line up the best possible conditions to give us the highest chance of a successful catch,” Rocket Lab said Friday. “In time, we’ll narrow those bounds.” More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 1)
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