ASTRONAUTS COMPLETE SPACEWALK OUTSIDE SPACE STATION - Two NASA astronauts conducted a spacewalk to replace lithium ion batteries outside of the International Space Station on Friday with only a minor snafu -- the loss of a mirror. Astronauts Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken began the spacewalk at 7:32 a.m. EDT and were back safely inside the ISS just over 6 hours later. More (Source: UPI.com - Jun 27)
TINY SATELLITES COULD DISTRIBUTE QUANTUM KEYS - Unbreakable quantum keys that use the laws of physics to protect their secrets could be transmitted from orbiting devices a person could lift with one hand, according to experiments conducted from the International Space Station. Researchers launched a tiny, experimental satellite loaded with optics that could emit entangled pairs of photons. More (Source: IEEE Spectrum - Jun 27)
SPACEX DELAYS LAUNCH OF STARLINK AND BLACKSKY SATELLITES FOR MORE ROCKET CHECKS - SpaceX is standing down from the launch of its next batch of Starlink satellites to allow time for additional preflight checks of the Falcon 9. The California-based spaceflight company was scheduled to launch another batch of its Starlink internet-beaming satellites and two satellites for BlackSky on a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket at 4:18 p.m. EST (2018 GMT) today from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. However, the company chose to delay the launch attempt, and a new date has not yet been set. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 26)
SPACEX'S 1ST CREW DRAGON FOR ASTRONAUTS ACES TESTS IN SPACE, COULD LAND AUG. 2 - SpaceX's first Crew Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts, now parked at the International Space Station, has passed all its tests so far and could return to Earth on in early August, according to NASA. SpaceX successfully launched the crew capsule, called Endeavour, to the International Space Station on May 30 with veteran astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board. Its Demo-2 mission is a test flight for NASA to prove SpaceX's Crew Dragon is ready for regular astronaut flights to the station. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 26)
ROSCOSMOS SAYS IT WILL SEND TWO TOURISTS TO THE SPACE STATION IN 2023 — AND ONE OF THEM WILL SPACEWALK - After taking a decade-long break from space tourism, Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos plans to send two paying tourists to the International Space Station in 2023 on a short flight of the country’s Soyuz spacecraft. While they’re up there, one of the tourists will perform a spacewalk with an experienced Russian cosmonaut — a first for any private citizen visiting the ISS. More (Source: The Verge - Jun 26)
SPACEX DELAYS ITS 10TH LAUNCH OF STARLINK SATELLITES - The SpaceX launch has been delayed until Friday 4:18 p.m. This story has been updated. SpaceX is set to launch its 10th batch of Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on Friday afternoon, delayed twice this week, as part of a long-term mission to send up to orbit thousands of satellites around Earth that can power high-speed, affordable internet for even remote areas of the globe. More (Source: Orlando Sentinel - Jun 26)
SPACEX GEARING UP FOR ANOTHER LAUNCH OF STARLINK BROADBAND SATELLITES THIS WEEK - For the third time in three weeks, SpaceX is preparing to launch a batch of satellites for the company’s Starlink Internet network from Florida’s Space Coast. Liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket is set for Thursday afternoon from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, weather permitting. Liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for Thursday at 4:39 p.m. EDT (2039 GMT), and two commercial Earth-imaging microsatellites owned by BlackSky will accompany the Starlink payloads into orbit. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 25)
AFTER NEARLY A MONTH IN SPACE, NASA SEEMS REALLY HAPPY WITH CREW DRAGON - After a flawless launch from Florida, the Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken docked with the International Space Station a little more than three weeks ago. Before this flight of Dragonship Endeavour, one of the biggest questions from engineers at NASA and SpaceX concerned the durability of the spacecraft. The first Crew Dragon spacecraft launched on an uncrewed test flight in 2019 and spent less than a week attached to the space station. NASA hoped this Dragon could last a few months in space. More (Source: Ars Technica - Jun 25)
NASA AGREES TO FLY ASTRONAUTS ON REUSED CREW DRAGON SPACECRAFT - NASA has agreed to allow its astronauts to fly on reused Crew Dragon spaceships and Falcon 9 boosters beginning as soon as SpaceX’s third launch of a crew to the International Space Station, a mission expected to launch next year. The space agency has modified its $2.7 billion commercial crew contract with SpaceX to permit reuse of spacecraft and rocket hardware. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 24)
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