SIRIUSXM’S NEW SATELLITE IS IN ORBIT - A new satellite serving SiriusXM is in orbit and “performing properly” after a Sunday launch. That announcement was made by the company along with Maxar Technologies, which built the satellite, and SpaceX, which launched it. SXM-7 Ready For Launch. SpaceX The SXM-7 ready for launch in an image from SpaceX. The satellite is SXM-7 and it has an expected service life of 15 years. More (Source: Radio World - Dec 15)
RUSSIA LAUNCHES NEW ANGARA A5 ROCKET ON SECOND TEST FLIGHT IN NIGHTTIME LIFTOFF - Six years after acing its first test flight, Russia's monster Angara A5 heavy-lift rocket has done it again. The rocket launched flawlessly Monday (Dec. 14) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 12:50 a.m. EST (0550 GMT or 8:50 a.m. Moscow time), according to Russian space agency Roscosmos. Roscosmos also confirmed the Breeze-M upper stage and a mock spacecraft successfully separated from the launch vehicle 12 minutes and 28 seconds after the liftoff. More (Source: Space.com - Dec 15)
SIRIUSXM SATELLITE RIDES SPACEX ROCKET INTO ORBIT - A hefty new satellite to beam SiriusXM radio programming across North America rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Sunday from Cape Canaveral on course to replace an aging broadcast station launched more than 15 years ago. SiriusXM’s SXM 7 spacecraft, built by Maxar in Palo Alto, California, is the first of two new-generation digital broadcasting satellites set to join the company’s fleet in the coming months. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 14)
VSS UNITY ABORTS AFTER ENGINE START, SAFELY LANDS WITH CREW BACK AT SPACEPORT AMERICA - Virgin Galactic was to perform their first human spaceflight of their VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo vehicle from Spaceport America, just south of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, today. The spaceship and crew took off at 10:24 EST (15:24 UTC) firmly attached to their WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft from the runway at Spaceport America. The combined aircraft climbed to altitude before Unity was released at 11:15 EST (16:15 UTC). More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 12)
CHINA LAUNCHED TWO SATELLITES TO FIND SOURCES OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVES - China has launched a pair of satellites which will watch for the electromagnetic counterparts that are emitted along with gravitational waves. These signals will be relayed quickly to the ground, helping narrow the area of sky scientists need to search to find the sources of gravitational waves. These two 140-kilogram satellites make up the Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM), which will watch the entire sky at all times for signals from some of the most violent events in the universe – collisions between a… More (Source: New Scientist - Dec 12)
SPACEX SCRUBS FALCON 9 LAUNCH ATTEMPT WITH SIRIUSXM SATELLITE - SpaceX called off the planned launch of a Falcon 9 rocket Friday at Cape Canaveral, halting the countdown less than a minute before liftoff to allow time to perform additional ground system checkouts before the mission’s next launch opportunity no earlier than Sunday. SpaceX was set to launch the Falcon 9 rocket with the SiriusXM SXM 7 radio broadcasting satellite at 12:55 p.m. EST (1755 GMT) Friday, less than 17 hours after a Delta 4-Heavy rocket from rival launch company United Launch Alliance took off from a nearby pad at Cape Canaveral More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 12)
NASA AND BOEING TARGET NEW LAUNCH DATE FOR NEXT STARLINER TEST FLIGHT TO SPACE STATION - NASA and Boeing now are targeting March 29 for the launch of Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is a critical developmental milestone on the company’s path toward flying crew missions for NASA. More (Source: SciTechDaily - Dec 11)
POWERFUL DELTA IV HEAVY ROCKET LAUNCHES SECRET US SPY SATELLITE TO ORBIT - The United States just added to its network of spy satellites. United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launched its 12th Delta IV Heavy rocket Thursday evening (Dec. 10) from the newly minted Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida . The massive rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex-37 here at 8:09 p.m. EDT (0109 GMT on Dec. 11), hoisting the classified NROL-44 spacecraft for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The launch went off without a hitch following months of delays that included hardware issues and problems with launch pad infrastructure. More (Source: Space.com - Dec 11)
CHINESE LONG MARCH 11 LOFTS GECAM MISSION - On Wednesday, China launched a double satellite mission intended for research in electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves. The launch took place from the Xichang Satellite Center, Sichuan province, at 20:15 UTC using a Long March-11 – Chang Zheng-11 – launch vehicle. According to the National Space Science Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-Sky Monitor (GECAM) mission is composed of two small satellites, and it will focus on detecting electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves, high-energy radiation from fast radio bursts, various gamma-ray bursts, and magnetar flares. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 11)
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