IRAN INTENDS TO LAUNCH 100–500-KILOGRAM SATELLITES SOON - The chief of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) has praised positive advancements in orbit technology, announcing that Tehran plans to launch satellites weighing up to 500 kilograms into space on the back of locally manufactured carriers within years. Hassan Salarieh said Iran is aiming to improve its domestic rockets for launching satellite carriers, and in four years it expects to be able to launch satellites weighing up to 500 kilograms into orbit.   More
(Source: Tehran Times - Aug 29)

SPACEX LAUNCH SETS RECORD FOR FALCON 9 PAYLOAD MASS - SpaceX hauled another 54 Starlink internet satellites into orbit Saturday night from Cape Canaveral, setting a record for the heaviest payload ever launched by a Falcon 9 rocket. The launch occurred days after SpaceX and T-Mobile unveiled plans to use a new generation of Starlink spacecraft to provide ubiquitous connectivity to existing cell phones. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 11:41 p.m. EDT Saturday (0341 GMT Sunday) to kick off SpaceX’s 38th launch of the year.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 29)

CHINA WILL ULTIMATELY OVERTAKE THE U.S. IN OUTER SPACE, A NEW STUDY WARNS - The U.S. might be celebrating the impending launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) moon rocket and the serial successes of the James Webb Space Telescope, but according to at least some experts, there’s a potential skunk at the cosmic picnic: China. As Defense One reports, a new analysis conducted by experts from the Space Force, Air Force, Defense Innovation Unit, and more have concluded that, when it comes to playing the long game in space, Beijing may have the U.S. beat.    More
(Source: TIME - Aug 27)

BOEING'S FIRST MANNED SPACEFLIGHT TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION DELAYED TO NEXT YEAR - Boeing's first manned spaceflight with NASA astronauts to the International Space Station was delayed on Thursday to next year, the aerospace company announced on Thursday. The Starliner spacecraft is now scheduled to carry astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS in February as Boeing works out problems with thrusters and a cooling loop anomaly that arose during an unmanned test flight in May.   More
(Source: Fox Business - Aug 26)

T-MOBILE AND SPACEX STARLINK SAY YOUR 5G PHONE WILL CONNECT TO SATELLITES NEXT YEAR - T-Mobile says it's getting rid of mobile dead zones thanks to a new partnership with SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet, at an event hosted by T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert and Elon Musk. With their "Coverage Above and Beyond" setup, mobile phones could connect to satellites and use a slice of a connection providing around 2 to 4 Megabits per second connection (total) across a given coverage area.    More
(Source: The Verge - Aug 26)

KUAIZHOU-1A, CHANG ZHENG 2D LAUNCHES HIGHLIGHT BUSY CHINA WEEK IN SPACEFLIGHT - The Chinese space sector has been very busy this year, averaging approximately one orbital launch attempt per week. This week was no exception, with two successful launches taking place from different parts of China. The Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) and Chang Zheng 2D rockets carried out one mission each, with KZ-1A lofting the Chuangzin-16 payload to orbit while CA-2D took the Beijing 3D satellite to space.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Aug 25)

INTENSE SOLAR STORMS LEAVE INTELSAT'S GALAXY 15 SATELLITE OUT OF CONTROL - International satellite services firm Intelsat has lost control of one of its satellites after it was presumably disabled by space weather. Intelsat is attempting to regain control of the Galaxy 15 broadcast satellite after a disruption on Friday (Aug. 19). Intelsat said that a geomagnetic storm likely "knocked out onboard electronics needed to communicate with the satellite," according to a report from Spacenews.com (opens in new tab).   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 25)

BLUE ORIGIN'S PRIVATE ORBITAL REEF SPACE STATION PASSES KEY DESIGN REVIEW - A private space station that Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and other partners plan to build just cleared a hurdle on its path to orbit. Orbital Reef — a project involving Blue Origin, Sierra Space, Boeing and a number of other companies and institutions — has passed its system definition review (SDR) with NASA, team members announced on Monday (Aug. 22). The milestone shows that Orbital Reef's envisioned architecture is sound and clears the project to proceed further into the design phase.   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 25)

NASA ASKS INDUSTRY FOR INPUT ON ISS DEORBIT CAPABILITIES - NASA is requesting information from industry on its capabilities and interest in developing a spacecraft that would deorbit the International Space Station at the end of its life. NASA issued the request for information (RFI) late Aug. 19, asking companies to supply information about how they could develop a spacecraft that would be used to perform the final reentry maneuvers at the end of the station’s life, pushing it into the atmosphere to break up over the South Pacific Ocean.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Aug 24)

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