AFTER WEATHER DELAYS, ARIANESPACE DELAYS VEGA LAUNCH TO RECHARGE BATTERIES - After an unusual stretch of excessive high-altitude winds prevented launch from French Guiana of 53 small satellites on a Vega rocket in June — and no sign of a letup in winds in the coming days — Arianespace said Wednesday that the mission will be delayed to Aug. 17 to allow time for teams to recharge launcher and payload batteries. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 3)
SPACEWALKERS COMPLETE PENULTIMATE SET OF BATTERY UPGRADES FOR SPACE STATION - Two NASA astronauts have completed the second-to-last set of battery replacements outside of the International Space Station, advancing a multi-year project to upgrade the power system for the orbiting laboratory. Expedition 63 commander Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken, who launched on SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft in late May, conducted their second spacewalk together on Wednesday (July 1), five days after beginning the battery swap work for one of two power channels on the station's far starboard (S6) truss still needing to be upgraded. More (Source: Space.com - Jul 2)
FINAL BEIDOU-3 SATELLITE REACHES OPERATIONAL ORBIT, CHINA’S LAUNCH SITES GEAR UP FOR JULY MISSIONS - China’s final Beidou-3 satellite has reached its intended geostationary orbit and passed systems checks, a week after launch from Xichang. The satellite’s frequency synthesizers, atomic clock, navigation processors and inter-satellite payloads and other systems are working normally, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation stated in a June 30 release. More (Source: SpaceNews - Jul 1)
NASA TV GOES LIVE WEDNESDAY TO BROADCAST SPACEWALK - NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken are scheduled to depart the International Space Station’s Quest airlock Wednesday for a spacewalk to complete battery replacement activities to upgrade one of two power channels on the station’s far starboard truss (S6 Truss). The upgrade includes removing six aging nickel-hydrogen batteries and replacing them with three new lithium-ion batteries and the adapter plates that complete the power circuit to the new batteries. More (Source: NASA - Jul 1)
SPACEX LAUNCHES ADVANCED GPS SATELLITE FOR US SPACE FORCE, STICKS ROCKET LANDING - SpaceX successfully launched its 11th mission of the year, lofting a next-generation global positioning satellite into space for the U.S. Space Force. A shiny, white Falcon 9 rocket took to the skies today (June 30) at 4:10 p.m. EDT (2010 GMT), taking off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 30)
WATCH: SPACEX SET FOR GPS SATELLITE LAUNCH FROM CAPE TODAY - On board the rocket will be the U.S. Air Force’s third-generation satellite called the GPS III Space Vehicle 03. The GPS III constellation of satellites, made by Lockheed Martin, supports U.S. and allied operations. The launch window opens at 3:55 p.m. ET and ends at 4:10 p.m. ET at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 40. More (Source: Bay News 9 - Jun 30)
VEGA’S RETURN TO FLIGHT MISSION SCRUBBED AGAIN - After a lengthy grounding following a failed launch in July 2019, the closure of the Guiana Space Centre due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, and a further postponement because of high-altitude winds, Arianespace’s small-lift Vega rocket was set to launch on its Return To Flight (RTF) mission on Sunday night/Monday morning. Yet another weather delay has now pushed the mission’s launch to “indefinite” as Arianespace works to determine a new launch date. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Jun 29)
SPECTACULAR NEW IMAGES CAPTURE THE SPACE STATION CRUISE ACROSS THE SUN - Moving at eight kilometers (five miles) per second, the International Space Station (ISS) circles our planet every 90 minutes. In a 24-hour period, crew members on the ISS experience 16 sunrises and sunsets. Despite how often the station passes directly between Earth and the Sun, capturing an image of the ISS transiting our nearest star is rare. More (Source: SciTechDaily - Jun 29)
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)
Previous Next