SPACEX’S RIDESHARE BANDWAGON-3 MISSION MARKS THE 300TH ORBITAL FLIGHT FROM CAPE CANAVERAL’S PAD 40 - SpaceX completed its third Falcon 9 rocket launch in less than 48 hours with a rideshare mission carrying payloads to a mid-inclination orbit. Liftoff of the Bandwagon-3 mission happened at 8:48 p.m. EDT (0048 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 245th orbital launch for SpaceX from SLC-40 and the 300th total orbital flight from this pad. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 22)
AMAZON'S KUIPER 1 INTERNET SATELLITES GET NEW APRIL 28 LAUNCH DATE ON ATLAS V ROCKET AFTER DELAY - Amazon's first internet satellite fleet has a new launch date at last. After weeks of delays, the first 27 satellites of Amazon's Project Kuiper internet constellation are scheduled to lift off atop an Atlas V rocket on April 28, the rocket's builder United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced over the weekend. Liftoff is set for 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 22)
S. KOREA TO LAUNCH 4TH MILITARY SPY SATELLITE THIS WEEK - South Korea plans to launch its fourth military reconnaissance satellite from a US space base this week, the defense ministry said Monday, as the country seeks to better monitor North Korean threats with independent surveillance capabilities. The military plans to launch the synthetic aperture radar satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 8:48 p.m. on Monday, according to the ministry. More (Source: The Korea Herald - Apr 21)
EARTH'S ORBIT MAY BE IN TROUBLE. WHY SPACE DEBRIS IS TO BLAME. - You might think space as a vast emptiness. But according to the European Space Agency, it's getting incredibly crowded – at least around our planet. A European Space Agency report released April 1 studied the space above Earth. The report says that if space debris buildup is not controlled soon, the area surrounding our planet may become so congested that we won't be able to use certain orbits. More (Source: USA Today - Apr 21)
SPACECRAFT BRINGS RUSSIANS, AMERICAN BACK TO EARTH, RUSSIA'S SPACE AGENCY SAYS - A Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit has returned to Earth, Russia's Roscosmos space agency reported on Sunday. "Its deorbiting and descent to Earth were normal," the agency said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. It added that the spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan. More (Source: Reuters - Apr 21)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 32ND RESUPPLY MISSION FOR NASA TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - SpaceX launched an uncrewed Cargo Dragon to the International Space Station early Monday on a resupply mission with increased importance after a transportation mishap derailed a flight by another U.S. cargo ship. Liftoff from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center happened on Monday, April 21, at 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 UTC). More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 21)
CHINA LAUNCHES 6 CLASSIFIED EXPERIMENTAL SATELLITES WITH LONG MARCH 6A - China sent six experimental Shiyan series satellites into orbit late Friday Eastern, using its Long March 6A rocket launched from Taiyuan. The Long March 6A rocket lifted off at 6:51 p.m. Eastern (2251 UTC) April 18 from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, northern China. The state-owned Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) announced launch success, revealing the payloads to be Shiyan-27 (01-06). More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 20)
STATION HAS NEW COMMANDER; SOYUZ TRIO READY FOR SATURDAY DEPARTURE - The International Space Station has a new commander as three Expedition 72 crew members get ready to return to Earth on Saturday. The orbital residents staying behind will soon welcome a U.S. cargo craft and get ready for their increment’s first spacewalk. Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) took control of the orbital outpost from Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin during a change of command ceremony on Friday afternoon. More (Source: NASA - Apr 20)
SPACEX LAUNCHES THIRD NRO MISSION IN EIGHT DAYS - America’s spy satellite agency, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), launched its third mission in eight days on Sunday, April 20. The mission featured another batch of satellites to support its proliferated architecture constellation in low Earth orbit. The satellites, believed to be Starshield satellites built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman, will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff of the NROL-145 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at for 5:29 a.m. PDT (8:29 a.m. EDT, 1229 UTC). More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 20)
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