SPACEX FALCON HEAVY ROCKET WILL LAUNCH INTERNET SATELLITE TO SERVE ALASKA IN 2022 - SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket just got another passenger. The powerful Falcon Heavy is now scheduled to loft Astranis' first commercial communications satellite to orbit next spring, Astranis representatives announced Thursday (Sept. 23). The satellite — which will beam internet service down to Alaskans from geostationary orbit, about 22,200 miles (35,730 kilometers) up — had previously been slated to ride atop a SpaceX Falcon 9.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 26)

CHINA EYES SENDING 1ST FEMALE ASTRONAUT TO NEW SPACE STATION - One of China's few women astronauts is expected to be named among the crew of the upcoming Shenzhou 13 mission to the Chinese space station. The three-member crew of Shenzhou 12 just returned to Earth following 90 days aboard the Tianhe module of the Tiangong space station, but China is already gearing up for the next visit to its new orbital outpost. The Tianzhou 3 cargo spacecraft launched and docked with Tianhe on Monday (Sept. 20), carrying nearly 13,000 lbs. (6,000 kilograms) of supplies, and the next crew is expected to launch on Shenzhou 13 around Oct. 3 from Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert.    More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 25)

CONGRESS TO NASA: WHAT COMES AFTER THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION? - The specter of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program loomed large as congressional representatives sought details about the agency's plans for orbital spaceflight after the International Space Station. Questions of how long the station — already over 20 years old — can last and how international and industry partnerships might drive activity in low Earth orbit (LEO) filled a two-hour hearing held by the House Science, Space and Technology's subcommittee on space and aeronautics on Tuesday (Sept. 21).    More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 24)

NEXT COMMERCIAL FALCON HEAVY MISSION TO LAUNCH DEBUT ASTRANIS SATELLITE - Astranis said Sept. 23 that SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket will launch its first commercial satellite in a direct-inject mission to geostationary orbit (GEO) in spring 2022. The San Francisco-based startup, which is building and operating the Arcturus satellite for U.S.-based telco Pacific Dataport Inc (PDI), previously picked SpaceX’s Falcon 9 for a launch as a secondary payload early next year to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 24)

ROCKET LAB TO LAUNCH ASTROSCALE INSPECTION SATELLITE - Rocket Lab will launch an Astroscale mission to rendezvous with a spent rocket stage in low Earth orbit, a prelude to eventually deorbiting the stage. Rocket Lab announced Sept. 21 that it won a contract from Astroscale for the launch of its Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) spacecraft. A Rocket Lab Electron will launch ADRAS-J from its Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand in 2023.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 24)

LA PALMA VOLCANO ERUPTION'S INFERNAL BEAUTY VISIBLE FROM SPACE IN ASTRONAUT AND SATELLITE PHOTOS - New astronaut and satellite images of an active volcano on the island of La Palma reveal the frightening beauty of the eruption, as well as its dangerous proximity to humans. Lava began gushing out of the Cumbre Vieja crater on the island, which is located off the coast of northwestern Africa and governed by Spain, on Sunday (Sept. 19). On Wednesday (Sept. 22), European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet shared an image of the eruption as seen from his perch on the International Space Station.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 24)

HOW MANY SATELLITES ARE ORBITING EARTH? - It seems like every week, another rocket is launched into space carrying rovers to Mars, tourists or, most commonly, satellites. The idea that “space is getting crowded” has been around for a few years now, but just how crowded is it? And how crowded is it going to get? I am a professor of physics and director of the Center for Space Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Many satellites that were put into orbit have gone dead and burned up in the atmosphere, but thousands remain.    More
(Source: Astronomy Magazine - Sep 23)

BOEING'S NEXT STARLINER TEST LAUNCH FOR NASA MAY SLIP TO 2022 - Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi may not get off the ground this year after all. Boeing and NASA had originally aimed to launch Starliner's Orbital Test Flight 2 (OFT-2), a crucial uncrewed trial mission to the International Space Station (ISS), from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 30. But preflight checks revealed 13 stuck valves in Starliner's service module, nixing that liftoff plan.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 23)

CRACKS FOUND ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ARE A 'FAIRLY SERIOUS ISSUE,' A FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT SAYS - Cracks are appearing on the International Space Station, and retired NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd says they're a "fairly serious issue." After Russian cosmonauts spotted the cracks on the station's Zarya module, Vladimir Solovyov, flight director of the Russian segment of the ISS, publicly revealed the discovery in August. The cracks don't pose a danger to astronauts at this time, NASA says, and the agency told Insider last month that nobody had identified "new potential leak sites" on the station.   More
(Source: Business Insider - Sep 23)

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