SPACEX TO LAUNCH SECOND ACCELERATED GPS 3 SATELLITE MISSION IN LATE MAY - Following the successful accelerated launch of a Global Positioning System on a Falcon 9 rocket in mid-December, the U.S. Space Force, Lockheed Martin and SpaceX are preparing to launch another GPS 3 satellite on a fast tracked basis. The satellite, dubbed GPS 3 Space Vehicle 08 (SV-08), is targeted for launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station no earlier than late May.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 8)

U.S. SPACE FORCE AWARDS $13.7 BILLION IN NEW NATIONAL SECURITY LAUNCH CONTRACTS TO BLUE ORIGIN, SPACEX AND ULA - A long-awaited launch contract for national security missions was announced by the U.S. Space Force after close of business Friday evening. The mission spreads nearly $14 billion worth of missions between Blue Origin, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA). The contract is known as Lane 2 of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3. These are firm fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contracts that will be issued in batches of missions to the launch providers over a five-year period beginning in FY25.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 7)

VANGUARD 1 IS THE OLDEST SATELLITE ORBITING EARTH. SCIENTISTS WANT TO BRING IT HOME AFTER 67 YEARS - Decades ago during the heady space race rivalry between the former Soviet Union and the United States, the entire world experienced the Sputnik moment when the first artificial satellite orbited the Earth. Sputnik 1's liftoff on Oct. 4, 1957 sparked worries in the U.S., made all the more vexing by the embarrassing and humiliating failure later that year of America's first satellite launch when the U.S. Navy's Vanguard rocket went "kaputnik" as the booster toppled over and exploded.   More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 6)

NASA SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR TWO PRIVATE ASTRONAUT MISSIONS TO ISS - NASA’s latest call for proposals to conduct private astronaut missions to the International Space Station opens the door to having those missions commanded by someone other than a former NASA astronaut. NASA announced April 2 it issued a solicitation for the next two private astronaut missions, or PAMs, to the ISS. These will be the fifth and sixth such missions to the ISS, part of a broader low Earth orbit commercialization effort by NASA with the ultimate goal of replacing the ISS with one or more commercial stations.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Apr 6)

WHAT WILL REPLACE THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION? - NASA is planning to decommission the International Space Station by the end of 2030. The ISS, which began operations in 2000, is reaching the end of its lifespan and has become costly to maintain. NASA selected SpaceX to construct a vehicle that would “de-orbit” the football field-sized station, pushing it down into the atmosphere where it’ll burn up safely over the Pacific ocean. So what comes next?   More
(Source: Science Friday - Apr 6)

FUEL-FREE TETHERS: THE BOLD NEW WEAPON AGAINST SPACE JUNK - PERSEI Space, a startup supported by the European Space Agency and UC3M, is developing a breakthrough solution to tackle space junk and extend satellite lifespans using innovative space tether technology. This fuel-free, scalable system uses electrodynamic tethers that harness Earth’s magnetic field to safely deorbit satellites. With a major demo mission set for 2026, this project could transform how we clean up space.   More
(Source: SciTechDaily - Apr 6)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 28 STARLINK SATELLITES ON SATURDAY NIGHT FALCON 9 FLIGHT - SpaceX launched a batch of 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit on Saturday night. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 6-72 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 11:07 p.m. EDT (0307 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 6)

SPACEX'S PRIVATE FRAM2 ASTRONAUTS SPLASH DOWN ON EARTH, ENDING HISTORIC POLAR ORBIT EXPEDITION - The first four humans to orbit over Earth's north and south poles have safely returned to Earth. SpaceX's private Fram2 mission splashed down today (April 4) at 12:18 p.m. ET (1618 GMT), softly parachuting down into the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Oceanside, California. Their return wraps up about three and half days spent in space, completing the first crewed mission to fly a polar orbit around Earth. "We have confirmation of splashdown of the Dragon spacecraft. Dragon has returned home with the Fram2 crew," SpaceX officials said on the mission's livestream.   More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 4)

CHINA’S THOUSAND SAILS SATELLITE PLAN AT PHASE 2 - While the planet now has global low Earth orbiting coverage from Elon Musk’s Starlink, China is quietly getting on with its own rival scheme, in the shape of its Qianfan (Thousand Sails) satellite constellation project.   More
(Source: SatNews - Apr 3)

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