CHINA LAUNCHES NEW SATELLITES - China launched a group of satellites on Saturday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province. Launched at 6:50 p.m. (Beijing Time) aboard a Long March-2D carrier rocket, the satellite group, the PIESAT-2 13-16 satellites, entered the preset orbits successfully. More (Source: Global Times - Sep 21)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 27 STARLINK V2 MINI SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM VANDENBERG - An early-evening Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base Saturday will add another 27 satellites to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 6:47 p.m. PDT (9:47 p.m. EDT / 0147 UTC). The rocket hugged the Californian coast line and should’ve been visible to millions as it soars on southeasterly trajectory upon leaving the pad. It was the 81st Starlink mission of the year. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 20)
RUSSIAN PROGRESS CARGO SHIP ARRIVES AT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - An unpiloted Russian Progress cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station Saturday carrying supplies and equipment for the orbiting outpost. The Progress M-25 docked at the space-facing port of Russia’s Poisk module at 9:44 a.m. EDT (1344 UTC). It circled the station before making its final approach using the automated Kurs rendezvous system. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 20)
NASA AWARDS SPACEX THREE CREW FLIGHTS TO SPACE STATION - To continue regular crew transportation to the International Space Station, NASA has awarded SpaceX three additional missions through a contract modification. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract, this change brings the total missions for SpaceX to 17 and helps NASA to maintain access to the space station with two unique commercial crew industry partners. More (Source: NASA - Sep 19)
VIASAT-3 F2 ENTERS SERVICE, EXPANDING CAPACITY AND ENABLING GROWTH ACROSS THE AMERICAS - Viasat, Inc., a global leader in satellite communications technology, today announced that its ViaSat-3 (VS3) F2 satellite has entered service across the Americas, significantly expanding the company's network capacity, flexibility and resilience across the region. The satellite strengthens Viasat's ability to deliver advanced connectivity services while creating new opportunities for growth in key markets and enhancing network economics. More (Source: Viasat - Sep 19)
ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES AN EARTH-OBSERVING RADAR SATELLITE FROM NEW ZEALAND - Rocket Lab launched a Japanese Earth-observing radar satellite to orbit tonight (Sept. 18). An Electron rocket carrying a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft for the Tokyo-based company Synspective lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site tonight at 11:22 p.m. EDT (0322 GMT and 3:22 p.m. local time on Sept. 19). More (Source: Space.com - Sep 19)
SATREC INITIATIVE TO BUILD 10-CENTIMETER-CLASS OPTICAL SATELLITES FOR HANWHA CONSTELLATION - South Korean company Satrec Initiative is working with parent company Hanwha Systems to provide high-resolution Earth imagery for the synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) constellation announced in July. Satrec Initiative, acquires 25-centimeter optical imagery with SpaceEye-T, launched in 2025. To complement Hanwha’s 64-satellite SAR constellation, designed to provide 30-minute revisit by 2031, Satrec Initiative plans to manufacture and launch four satellites to gather 10-centimeter-class optical imagery, Eugene Kim, Satrec Initiative executive vice president told SpaceNews at the World Space Business Week conference here. More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 18)
RUSSIA LAUNCHES PROGRESS 96 WITH 3 TONS OF CARGO TO THE SPACE STATION - Russia launched a cargo mission toward the International Space Station today (Sept. 16), delivering the freighter spacecraft to orbit for a three-day rendezvous journey. The robotic Progress 96 spacecraft lifted off atop a Soyuz rocket from the Russian-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today at 9:33 a.m. EDT (1333 GMT). More (Source: Space.com - Sep 17)
CHINA SATELLITE BREAKS UP IN UNUSUAL ORBIT, LEAVES 43 FRAGMENTS THAT MAY LAST CENTURIES - A Chinese satellite has left "space debris" in Earth's orbit, adding to the growing clutter that could circle our planet for centuries. The debris field was left by Yaogan 50-02 — a Chinese reconnaissance satellite that had been flying in an unusual retrograde orbit about 590 miles above Earth, according to Futurism. The U.S. Space Force is tracking 43 fragments from the breakup in orbits ranging from 372 to 683 miles. More (Source: Yahoo News - Sep 17)
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