SPACEX DRAGON DOCKS TO STATION FILLED WITH NEW SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS - At 6:37 a.m. EDT, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the forward port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module, carrying nearly 6,500 pounds of food, supplies, and equipment for the Expedition 74 crew. This is the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the space station for NASA. In addition to cargo for the crew aboard the space station, Dragon will deliver several new experiments, including a project to determine how well Earth-based simulators mimic microgravity conditions, a bone scaffold made from wood that could produce new treatments for fragile bone conditions like osteoporosis, and equipment to help researchers evaluate how red blood cells and the spleen change in space. More (Source: NASA - May 19)
CHINA LAUNCHES NEW BATCH OF SATELLITE FOR SPACESAIL CONSTELLATION - China launched a Long March-8 carrier rocket on Sunday in the southern island province of Hainan, sending a new satellite group into space. The rocket lifted off at 10:42 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. The satellite group, which is the ninth batch that will constitute the Spacesail Constellation, entered into the preset orbit successfully. More (Source: China Military - May 18)
SATELLITE LAUNCHES ARE FILLING UP THE ATMOSPHERE WITH POLLUTION, STUDY WARNS - The growing number of satellites in space poses a danger to Earth because of the pollution released in their launches, scientists have warned. In recent years, many companies including Elon Musk’s SpaceX have rushed to launch “megaconstellations” of satellites, using them to provide internet connections. More (Source: The Independent - May 17)
NASA, SPACEX LAUNCH DRAGON MISSION WITH 6,500 POUNDS OF SCIENCE AND SUPPLIES TO THE SPACE STATION - The third time was the charm as SpaceX successfully launched its Cargo Dragon spacecraft on Friday evening, loaded with 6,500 pounds of science and supplies for the International Space Station after two delays earlier in the week due to bad weather. Liftoff of the resupply mission, atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, happened at 6:05 p.m. EDT (2205 UTC). It was SpaceX’s 34th mission for NASA, funded by the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contracts. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 16)
SPACEX TARGETS MAY 19 FOR DEBUT OF STARSHIP VERSION 3, LAUNCH PAD 2 - SpaceX is now targeting no earlier than Tuesday, May 19, for the long awaited debut of the third major iteration of its Starship-Super Heavy rocket. The announcement came the day after it completed an integrated tanking test on Monday. The mission, dubbed Flight 12, will not only be the first launch of what is collectively referred to as Starship V3, but also the first launch from Pad 2, the updated version of the launch infrastructure supporting both launch and catch capabilities. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 15)
SATELLITE LAUNCH POLLUTION IS RAPIDLY ACCUMULATING IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE - The potent pollution from so-called megaconstellation satellite systems launched en masse into space since 2019 will account for nearly half (42%) of the total climate impact of space sector pollution by the end of the decade, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. As described in Earth's Future, the research team examined air pollution produced by the growing number of rocket launches, and the discarded rocket bodies and dead satellites falling back to Earth. More (Source: Phys.org - May 15)
CHINA LAUNCHES 18 MORE SATELLITES FOR SPACESAIL CONSTELLATION - China launched a satellite group for commercial constellation from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province on Tuesday. A modified Long March-6 carrier rocket, carrying the satellite group, blasted off at 7:59 p.m. and has sent the group into the preset orbit successfully. More (Source: CGTN - May 14)
SPACEX SCRUBS DRAGON CARGO LAUNCH TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION DUE TO BAD WEATHER - SpaceX will launch its Dragon cargo capsule toward the International Space Station on Wednesday evening (May 13), and you can watch the action live. The robotic Dragon is scheduled to lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in Wednesday at 6:50 p.m. EDT (2250 GMT). That's a one-day delay; NASA and SpaceX called off a try planned for Tuesday evening (May 12) due to weather. More (Source: Space.com - May 14)
CHINA'S TIANZHOU 10 FREIGHTER DELIVERS 7 TONS OF CARGO TO TIANGONG SPACE STATION - A freighter carrying nearly seven tons of supplies has made its way to China's Tiangong space station. The robotic Tianzhou 10 cargo ship lifted off atop a Long March 7 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, on China's Hainan Island, on Sunday (May 10) at 8:14 p.m. EDT (0014 GMT and 8:14 a.m. local time on May 11). More (Source: Space.com - May 13)
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