SPACE COLLISION: CHINESE SATELLITE GOT WHACKED BY HUNK OF RUSSIAN ROCKET IN MARCH - Yunhai 1-02's wounds are not self-inflicted. In March, the U.S. Space Force's 18th Space Control Squadron (18SPCS) reported the breakup of Yunhai 1-02, a Chinese military satellite that launched in September 2019. It was unclear at the time whether the spacecraft had suffered some sort of failure — an explosion in its propulsion system, perhaps — or if it had collided with something in orbit. More (Source: Space.com - Aug 18)
ARIANESPACE VEGA ROCKET LAUNCHES EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE AND 4 CUBESATS INTO ORBIT - Arianespace launched a new Earth observation satellite for Airbus Monday night (Aug. 16), along with four other tiny satellites. An Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV19, launched the Pléiades Neo 4 satellite and a quartet of cubesats from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana in South America at 9:47 p.m. EDT (0147 Aug. 17 GMT). More (Source: Space.com - Aug 17)
ROCKET ARRIVES FOR SECOND CHINESE SPACE STATION CARGO MISSION - China is preparing to launch its second space station cargo supply mission in mid to late September following delivery of a Long March 7 rocket to Wenchang spaceport. The fourth new-generation Long March 7 arrived at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, Hainan island, Monday, Aug. 16 after being transported by ship from Tianjin in north China, China’s human spaceflight agency announced. More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 17)
YOU CAN WATCH AN ARIANESPACE VEGA ROCKET LAUNCH 5 SATELLITES INTO SPACE MONDAY. HERE'S HOW. - Arianespace will launch a new Earth observation satellite for Airbus Monday night (Aug. 16), along with four other tiny satellites and you can watch the liftoff live online. An Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV19, will launch the Pléiades Neo 4 satellites and a quartet of cubesats from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana in South America at 9:47 p.m. EDT (0147 Aug. 17 GMT). You can watch the launch live on this page on Space.com, courtesy of Arianespace, or directly via the company's YouTube. The webcast should begin about 20 minutes before liftoff. More (Source: Space.com - Aug 16)
A MALAYSIAN SATELLITE HAS DIED IN SPACE AND WILL MEET A FIERY DOOM - A Malaysian satellite will soon fall from space to burn up in Earth's atmosphere following a mysterious "anomaly" that struck it down in orbit. The nearly 15-year-old Measat-3 communications satellite suffered an unexplained issue on June 21, knocking out service for its customers. It was brought under ground control June 24 but hasn't been operational since, according to updates from the company. More (Source: Space.com - Aug 15)
BOEING OPTS TO HAUL STARLINER BACK TO HANGAR, DELAYS FLIGHT INDEFINITELY - Around-the-clock work to fix valve problems that derailed an Aug. 3 attempt to launch Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule on an unpiloted test flight was called off Friday, delaying another try until after NASA launches a higher-priority asteroid probe in mid-October. Despite the team’s eagerness to fly, “we have to have the maturity to stop, investigate and sit before flying again,” said Kathy Lueders, NASA’s chief of space operations. “And that is what we are doing. We fly when we are ready.” More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 15)
VEGA MISSION’S AIRBUS’ PLEIADES NEO 4 EO SATELLITE TO LAUNCH WITH FOUR AUXILIARY SPACECRAFT - Arianespace’s second Vega mission of the year will lift off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, with the optical observation satellite Pléiades Neo 4 and four auxiliary passengers. After liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport, the Vega launcher will fly for a little over six minutes, powered by the first three stages. The third stage will then separate from the upper composite, which comprises the AVUM upper stage, the Pléiades Neo 4 satellite and its four auxiliary passengers. More (Source: SatNews Publishers - Aug 13)
SPACE STATION SUPPLIES LAUNCHED WITH A PIZZA DELIVERY FOR 7 - Northrop Grumman’s latest space station delivery includes pizza for seven. The company’s Cygnus cargo ship rocketed away from Virginia’s eastern shore Tuesday. It should reach the International Space Station on Thursday. The 8,200-pound (3,700-kilogram) shipment includes fresh apples, tomatoes and kiwi, along with a pizza kit and cheese smorgasbord for the seven station astronauts. More (Source: Associated Press - Aug 12)
INDIAN ROCKET SUFFERS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE DURING LAUNCH, EARTH-WATCHING SATELLITE LOST - India's first launch of 2021 has ended in failure. An Indian rocket carrying a new Earth-observation satellite for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) suffered a catastrophic failure shortly after launching early Thursday (Aug. 12) from the country's Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island in eastern India. The liftoff occurred at 5:43 a.m. local time in India (8:13 p.m. EDT Aug 11/0013 GMT). More (Source: Space.com - Aug 12)
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