STARLINK LAUNCH MARKS 100 MISSIONS SINCE AN IN-FLIGHT FALCON ROCKET FAILURE - The oldest Falcon 9 booster in SpaceX’s operational rocket fleet sent 60 more Starlink internet satellites into space Tuesday with a launch from historic pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With the 60 satellites launched Tuesday, SpaceX has sent 1,565 Starlink spacecraft into orbit to beam broadband signals around the world, nearly nine times as many satellites in any other company’s constellation.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 5)

ROCKET DEBRIS FROM CHINA'S SPACE STATION LAUNCH IS FALLING BACK TO EARTH — BUT WHERE? - A large Chinese rocket is set to make an uncontrolled reentry back into Earth's atmosphere, but it is not yet clear exactly where or when the debris will hit our planet. China's Long March 5B rocket is "unpredictably" falling back to Earth after launching a part of the new T-shaped Chinese space station on Thursday local time in Wenchang, according to SpaceNews. The 22.5-metric-ton Tianhe space station module is in its correct orbit after separating as planned from the core stage of the rocket, which is now expected to re-enter in a few days or about a week.   More
(Source: Space.com - May 4)

ROSCOSMOS DISCUSSES ISS WITHDRAWAL STRATEGY AND NEW SPACE STATION FOR MID-2020S - Recently, Russian authorities began talking about a potential withdrawal from the International Space Station (ISS) project in 2025. In place of ISS, the Russian space industry would gain ROSS – a new orbital station that’s name stands for Russian Orbital Service Station. According to Roscosmos representatives, the withdrawal from the ISS will be gradual, which means that for some time the ISS and ROSS will work in space in parallel. At the same time, Russia and China have plans to build a lunar space station together.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - May 4)

FIRST PLEIADES NEO SATELLITE PLACED INTO ORBIT - The first of four Pleiades Neo earth-monitoring satellites was placed into orbit on April 28 aboard an Arianespace Vega rocket launched from French Guiana. The first-image milestone is expected this week, followed by a period of in-orbit calibration. The Pleiades Neo constellation is funded, designed, manufactured, owned and operated by Airbus, and is a follow-on to the current first-generation Pleiades satellites.   More
(Source: Spatial Source - May 3)

SPACEX CREW DRAGON MAKES 1ST NIGHTTIME SPLASHDOWN WITH US ASTRONAUTS SINCE APOLLO ERA - A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts returned to Earth early Sunday (May 2) with an ocean splashdown off the Florida coast, successfully completing the company's first full-fledged crewed mission to the International Space Station. The astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-1 mission for NASA splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City at 2:56 a.m. EDT (0656 GMT), with a recovery ship swiftly retrieving their Crew Dragon capsule from the sea.   More
(Source: Space.com - May 2)

CHINESE LONG MARCH 6 ROCKET DELIVERS NINE SMALL SATELLITES TO SPACE - Nine small Chinese satellites, including a technology experiment to test out ways to capture space debris, rode a Long March 6 rocket into orbit April 27 on a rideshare mission managed by China Great Wall Industry Corp., the government-owned enterprise charged with selling Chinese launch services on the commercial market.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 1)

ARIANESPACE LAUNCHES AIRBUS PLéIADES NEO SATELLITE IN VEGA LAUNCH - Arianespace’s Vega rocket returned to flight on Wednesday evening, launching a next-generation Earth Observation (EO) Pléiades Neo satellite for Airbus, along with five rideshare small satellites. The launch from French Guiana was the second Arianespace launch in less than 72 hours, after Arianespace launched a batch of OneWeb satellites from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on April 25. The light lift Vega vehicle took off from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana at 10:50 p.m. local time on April 28. Airbus confirmed after the launch that the first telemetry signals were received from Pléiades Neo.    More
(Source: Aerospace Technology - May 1)

AIR FORCE NTS-3 NAVIGATION SATELLITE TO LAUNCH IN 2023 - The Air Force Research Laboratory is planning a 2023 launch of the NTS-3 experimental satellite the U.S. military will use for positioning, navigation and timing. AFRL previously announced the launch would be in 2022 but the mission will slip into 2023, AFRL Commander Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle told reporters April 28.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Apr 30)

VEGA ROCKET RETURNS TO FLIGHT WITH EUROPE'S MOST ADVANCED EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE YET - Europe's Vega rocket returned to flight late Wednesday (April 28), delivering to orbit Europe's most advanced Earth observation satellite to date. The mission by the European launch provider Arianespace lifted off from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana, at 9:50 p.m EDT (0150 April 29 GMT), carrying the Pléiades Neo 3 Earth observation satellite and five small "rideshare" payloads. It was the first Vega launch since November, when a failure of its Avum upper stage resulted in a loss of two Earth observation satellites.    More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 30)

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