RUSSIAN CARGO SHIP LEAVES, CREW TESTS DRAGON’S COMFORT FACTORS - Russia’s Progress 74 (74P) cargo craft departed the International Space Station today leaving four spaceships from the U.S., Russia and Japan parked at the orbital lab. It will be replaced in two weeks when the Progress 76 arrives to replenish the crew. The 74P undocked today at 2:23 p.m. EDT after seven months attached to the Pirs docking compartment. The trash-packed resupply ship will descend into Earth’s atmosphere above the South Pacific for a fiery but safe demise. The 76P will take its place when it launches on July 23 at 10:26 a.m. and docks just three-and-a-half hours later to Pirs.   More
(Source: NASA - Jul 9)

NEW SATELLITES SET FOR DEPLOYMENT, CARGO CRAFT READY FOR DEPARTURE - The Expedition 63 crew readied a pair of tiny satellites for deployment and finished packing a Russian cargo craft for departure. The International Space Station residents also checked on BEAM today then worked on life support and computer maintenance. Two CubeSats were installed inside a NanoRacks small satellite deployer this morning for release into Earth orbit later this week from outside Japan’s Kibo laboratory module.   More
(Source: NASA - Jul 9)

SPACEX SCRUBS FALCON 9 LAUNCH OF STARLINK SATELLITES DUE TO WEATHER - SpaceX scrubbed their planned Falcon 9 launch for Wednesday due to weather. When a new date is picked, SpaceX will launch the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, carrying another batch of Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch, which is SpaceX's 10th Starlink mission, is part of the company's effort to deliver broadband internet service from low-Earth orbit. There are just under 600 satellites in orbit. SpaceX launched its first batch of 60 Starlink satellites on May 23, 2019.    More
(Source: Fox 35 Orlando - Jul 9)

THREE U.S.-BUILT SATELLITES IN FRENCH GUIANA FOR ARIANE 5 LAUNCH - The next flight of Europe’s heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket, set for July 28 from French Guiana, will carry a record payload of three multi-ton satellites toward geostationary orbit, including a pair of U.S.-built commercial communications payloads and Northrop Grumman’s second robotic satellite servicing spacecraft. The Ariane 5 is one of the most powerful rockets in the world, typically carrying two large satellites at a time on missions toward geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 8)

COMET NEOWISE SHINES IN STUNNING PHOTOS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Astronauts caught a stunning natural light show this weekend from a comet that has been dazzling skywatchers on Earth as well. That streaker, called Comet NEOWISE or C/2020 F3, first came on the scene at the end of March. At that point, the icy lump was quite faint in our skies, and astronomers weren't sure that would change. But as time has passed, the comet has brightened immensely, tantalizing skywatchers even after they were disappointed by two other recent comets that faded away.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 7)

ISRAEL SUCCESSFULLY PLACES SURVEILLANCE SATELLITE INTO ORBIT - For the first time in nearly four years, a rocket successfully shot into orbit from Israel on Monday with a military reconnaissance satellite to shore up the country’s space-based capability to surveil Iran and other adversaries. A Shavit 2 launcher carried the Ofek 16 Earth-imaging satellite into orbit from the Palmachim air base in central Israel. The three-stage rocket lifted off at 0100 GMT Monday (9 p.m. EDT Sunday), or at 4 a.m. local time in Israel, according to the Israel Ministry of Defense.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 7)

THE LONG COUNTDOWN TO COMMERCIAL CREW’S LIFTOFF - Success, the saying goes, has a thousand fathers. Sure enough, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off May 30, placing a Crew Dragon with two NASA astronauts on board into orbit on the first human orbital spaceflight from U.S. soil in nearly nine years, plenty of prospective parents stepped forward. President Donald Trump, who attended the launch at the Kennedy Space Center, was quick to take credit for it.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jul 6)

VIRGIN GALACTIC WILL HELP NASA TAKE PRIVATE PASSENGERS TO SPACE STATION VERY SOON - Virgin Galactic has announced a collaboration with NASA to encourage space tourism, with commercial participation in orbital human spaceflight to the International Space Station. In case you didn’t know, Virgin Galactic is known to be working on commercial space tourism trips aboard its VSS Unity, that launches passengers mid-air after being dropped from an aircraft carrier.    More
(Source: India Times - Jul 6)

LONG MARCH 4B LOFTS NEW GAOFEN SATELLITE - China launched a new remote sensing satellite on Friday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Launch of the Gaofen multi-mode integrated imaging satellite took place at 03:10 UTC from the LC9 launch Complex using the Long March-4B (Y43) rocket. The new remote sensing satellite was accompanied by the small Xibaipo (BY 70-2) on its ride to orbit.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Jul 5)

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