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)

CHINA LAUNCHES FINAL BEIDOU NAVIGATION SATELLITE - China launched the capstone satellite for the Beidou navigation constellation Tuesday, adding the final piece to a global network to rival the U.S. military’s GPS fleet providing positioning, timing, and search and rescue services. The final Beidou satellite took off at 0143 GMT Tuesday (9:43 p.m. EDT Monday) aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang launch center.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 23)

LEOSTELLA DELIVERS FIRST TWO SATELLITES TO BLACKSKY - LeoStella reports that it has delivered the first two satellites fully manufactured from its production line. The satellites are the fifth and sixth of an ongoing Earth Observation (EO) constellation program for BlackSky. The satellites weigh approximately 50 kg and are designed to be operated in a variety of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) altitudes and inclinations.   More
(Source: Via Satellite - Jun 23)

SATELLITES HAVE DRASTICALLY CHANGED HOW WE FORECAST HURRICANES - The powerful hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900, killing an estimated 8,000 people and destroying more than 3,600 buildings, took the coastal city by surprise. This video looks at advances in hurricane forecasting in the 120 years since, with a focus on the contributions from weather satellites. This satellite technology has allowed us to track hurricanes – their location, movement and intensity.    More
(Source: NASA - Jun 23)

VIRGIN GALACTIC WILL ORGANIZE PRIVATE PASSENGER TRIPS TO THE SPACE STATION FOR NASA - Richard Branson’s space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, will start coordinating private astronaut trips to the International Space Station for NASA — a new partnership aimed at increasing commercial use of the space agency’s orbiting outpost. Thanks to a new Space Act Agreement with NASA, Virgin Galactic is tasked with putting together a “new private orbital astronaut readiness program,” for the agency.    More
(Source: The Verge - Jun 23)

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