WORLD'S FIRST WOODEN SATELLITE AIMS TO PROVE PLYWOOD CAN SURVIVE SPACE - Toothpicks. Tables. Crates. Spoons. Satellites? An ambitious project will send a tiny wooden satellite into orbit later this year to see if it can stand up to the brutal conditions of space. It's already survived a test run into the stratosphere. The WISA Woodsat is a 4-inch (10-centimeter) square satellite that's scheduled for a fall launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket in New Zealand. Getting to orbit is only part of the adventure. Once it's there, the team will monitor the little cube to see how its plywood build stands up to cold, heat, radiation and the vacuum of space.   More
(Source: CNET - Jun 17)

SHENZHOU-12 AND THREE CREW MEMBERS SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCH TO NEW CHINESE SPACE STATION - The first crewed mission to the new Chinese Space Station has successfully launched. Shenzhou-12, carrying three taikonauts, lifted off on Thursday June 17 at 01:22 UTC from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in northwest China. Shenzhou-12 launched on top of the human-rated Long March 2F vehicle, which is based on the retired Long March 2E rocket formerly used to launch geostationary satellites.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Jun 17)

MINOTAUR 1 ROCKET LAUNCHES 3 CLASSIFIED SPY SATELLITES FOR NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE - A Minotaur 1 rocket blasted off from the Eastern Shore of Virginia Tuesday morning (June 15), heading to orbit with three secret spacecraft for the U.S. government's spy satellite agency. Powered by a repurposed missile stage that dates back to the 1960s, the solid-fueled launcher blasted off from Pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia at 9:35 a.m. EDT (1335 GMT) after just more than two hours of delays due to weather.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 16)

MINOTAUR ROCKET SET TO LAUNCH TOP SECRET SATELLITES FROM VIRGINIA - A Minotaur 1 rocket powered by a surplus Cold War-era missile stage more than 54 years old is poised to blast off from the Eastern Shore of Virginia Tuesday morning, heading to orbit with three top secret spacecraft for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency. The solid-fueled launcher, sized to haul small satellites into orbit, is awaiting liftoff from pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Liftoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 15)

CHINA TO SEND THREE MEN INTO SPACE FOR ITS FIRST CREWED MISSION IN ALMOST FIVE YEARS - A Chinese spacecraft will blast off from the Gobi Desert on a rocket in the coming days, ferrying three men to an orbiting space module for a three-month stay. It is the first time in nearly five years that China is sending humans into space. Shenzhou-12, meaning "Divine Vessel", will be the third of 11 missions needed to complete China's space station by 2022.   More
(Source: ABC News - Jun 14)

KUWAIT’S FIRST SATELLITE TO LAUNCH ON JUNE 24 - Orbital Space has announced that QMR-KWT is due to be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (SLC 40) in Florida on June 24, 2021. QMR-KWT – ‘Moon of Kuwait’ – translated from Arabic – is a 1U CubeSat and will be Kuwait’s first Satellite. Speaking about the development, Bassam Alfeeli, Founder and General Manager of Orbital Space, said: “Our goal is to make space accessible to all, and as a startup, we are excited to work with other startups to meet our mutual objectives.   More
(Source: SatelliteProME.com - Jun 14)

PEGASUS ROCKET SUCCESSFUL IN RESPONSIVE LAUNCH DEMONSTRATION - A Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket dropped from the belly of a carrier jet over the Pacific Ocean early Sunday and streaked into orbit with a small U.S. military space surveillance satellite named Odyssey, completing a successful rapid launch exercise in partnership with a secretive new Space Force special projects unit.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 14)

ENCAPSULATION OF GPS III SV05 COMPLETED @ CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION FOR A JUNE 17 LAUNCH - The U.S. Space Force’s (USSF) Space and Missile Systems Center’s (SMC) Lockheed Martin-built GPS III Space Vehicle 05 satellite was encapsulated within a SpaceX payload fairing at Astrotech Space Operations Florida facility on June 9 in preparation for its upcoming launch scheduled for June 17, 2021 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The 15-minute launch window opens 12:09 p.m., EDT.    More
(Source: SatNews Publishers - Jun 13)

RUSSIA PREPARING TO GIVE IRAN ADVANCED SATELLITE SYSTEM: REPORT - Russia is set to deliver an advanced satellite system to Iran that will vastly improve its spying capabilities, according to a US media report. Moscow is preparing to give Iran a Kanopus-V satellite with a high-resolution camera, the Washington Post reported Thursday. It will allow the Islamic republic to monitor facilities of its adversaries across the Middle East, the paper said, citing current and former US and Middle Eastern officials.   More
(Source: The Defense Post - Jun 13)

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