RUSSIA’S NEXT-GENERATION GLONASS-K2 NAVIGATION SATELLITE TO BE ORBITED IN LATE 2021 - An inaugural launch of a Glonass-K2 satellite for Russia’s global Glonass orbital navigation system is scheduled to be held late this year, CEO of the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company (the satellites’ producer) Nikolai Testoyedov told TASS on Thursday. "We are launching our first Glonass-K2 satellite this year," Testoyedov said. "This launch is planned for the fourth quarter of the year."    More
(Source: TASS - May 14)

A NEW CONSTELLATION? SPACE FORCE WANTS TO GET INTO TACTICAL SATELLITE IMAGERY BUSINESS - he head of the U.S. Space Force wants the new service to take on a new mission: providing tactical satellite imagery to the joint forces. He didn’t explain whether that means the service would try to build its own satellite constellation. “There’s a role here for the Space Force in tactical level ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance],” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond at the 12th annual McAleese Conference May 12. “I really believe this is an area that we’ll begin to migrate to because we can do it, and we can do it in a way that doesn’t break the bank and is focused on our joint and coalition partners.”   More
(Source: C4ISRNet - May 13)

NASA WALLOPS ROCKET LAUNCH POSTPONED AGAIN - NASA has again postponed the launch of the KiNET-X sounding rocket from its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The next launch opportunity will be no earlier than Wednesday May 12, at 8:06 p.m. The Sunday and Monday launches were postponed due to “upper level winds not being within the limits for a safe launch.” The original launch was planned for last Friday, but has been moved each night due to the weather.   More
(Source: CBSN Boston - May 12)

NASA AND AXIOM INK DEAL FOR 1ST PRIVATE ASTRONAUT MISSION TO SPACE STATION - NASA and Texas-based company Axiom Space have agreed on terms for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, which will launch as soon as January 2022. The agreement, which was announced on Monday (May 10), includes only a portion of the assorted exchanges required to make a flight like this a reality, but it will result in a net payment from NASA to Axiom of $1.69 million.    More
(Source: Space.com - May 12)

WATCH LIVE TUESDAY: NASA SOUNDING ROCKET LAUNCH TO MAKE COLORFUL CLOUD SHOW OVER EASTERN US - NASA will launch a Black Brant XII sounding rocket from the agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia today (May 10), and you can watch it live online or in person. Observers in the eastern U.S. will have an opportunity to see a colorful light show following the rocket's liftoff, weather permitting. The sounding rocket will release nontoxic barium vapor that will form two visible, green-violet clouds in the evening sky. The clouds will remain visible for about 30 seconds, according to NASA.    More
(Source: Space.com - May 11)

SPYBIRDS: POPPY 8 AND THE DAWN OF SATELLITE OCEAN SURVEILLANCE - At the end of September 1969, a Thor-Agena rocket roared off its launch pad in California and climbed high over the Pacific Ocean, heading south. The rocket dropped its stubby pencil-like solid booster motors not very long after lifting off and continued its arc. A few minutes later, its first stage, burning a mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen, ran low on fuel and its engine shut down.   More
(Source: The Space Review - May 11)

RUSSIA MAY ABANDON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IN 2025: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? - The announcement blazed across the headlines of The Moscow Times on April 19: "Russia to Quit Int'l Space Station in 2025 "! Citing "a senior government official" (Vice Prime Minister Yury Borisov), MT reported that Russia will soon officially inform the United States and its other space partners of its withdrawal from the International Space Station (ISS) effective in 2025, and its plans to "deploy a next-generation national orbital service station" of its own instead.   More
(Source: Motley Fool - May 10)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 60 STARLINK SATELLITES IN RECORD 10TH LIFTOFF (AND LANDING) OF REUSED ROCKET - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit early Sunday (May 9) and then stuck a landing at sea to cap a record 10th flight for the company's reusable booster. The veteran Falcon 9 rocket blasted off before dawn from Space Launch Complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 2:42 a.m. EDT (0642 GMT), marking the company's 14th launch of the year. It was also one for the record books as the flight was this particular booster's 10th launch and landing attempt. The rocket's once pristine exterior was almost black, charred by its many trips to orbit and back.    More
(Source: Space.com - May 9)

SPACEX READY TO BREAK ANOTHER ROCKET REUSE RECORD WITH LAUNCH EARLY SUNDAY - A Falcon 9 rocket and 60 more Starlink internet satellites set for launch early Sunday at Cape Canaveral will mark the first time SpaceX has flown a first stage 10 times, reaching a milestone that the company once said could be a limit for reusing boosters. Now SpaceX plans to keep flying reused rockets on Starlink missions until one fails. The mission Sunday is set for liftoff at 2:42 a.m. EDT (0642 GMT) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 9)

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