ASTRONOMERS CAN CLASSIFY SATELLITES BY WATCHING HOW THEY BLOCK STARS - The satellite population in low Earth orbit (LEO) is not an open book. While data on many satellites is public, others are shrouded in secrecy, and information is incomplete for others. New research shows how observers can determine satellite shapes by watching them occult background stars. There are thousands of satellites in LEO, a region defined as below an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 mi). More (Source: Phys.org - May 21)
CHINA LAUNCHES CLASSIFIED COMMS SATELLITE, CONDUCTS COMMERCIAL SEA LAUNCH - China has continued a recent uptick in launch activity with a Long March 7A mission to geosynchronous orbit and a sea launch of a Ceres-1 solid rocket. A Long March 7A rocket lifted off at 7:50 a.m. Eastern (1150 UTC), May 20, from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island, south China. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced launch success around an hour after liftoff, revealing the payload to be the ChinaSat 3B (Zhongxing-3B) communications satellite. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 21)
WATCH CHINA’S PRIVATE CERES-1 ROCKET LAUNCH 4 SATELLITES FROM A SHIP AT SEA - The Chinese company Galactic Energy launched its solid-propellant rocket this morning (May 19) from a ship at sea. The Ceres-1 rocket launched today from the waters off the east coast of China's Shandong Province. The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center coordinated the launch, which sent four Tianqi satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). Liftoff occurred at 3:38 a.m. EDT (0738 GMT; 3:38 p.m. local Beijing time). This was the fifth launch of Ceres-1 from a sea-based platform. More (Source: Space.com - May 20)
SPACE FORCE OFFICIAL: COMMERCIAL SATELLITES CAN DO A LOT MORE THAN WE THOUGHT - A generation ago, when former NASA administrator Dan Goldin promoted the mantra of a "faster, better, cheaper" approach to the agency's science missions, critics often joked that NASA could only pick two. That's no longer the case. NASA is finding success in its partnerships with commercial space companies, especially SpaceX, with lower costs, quicker results, and improved performance. More (Source: Ars Technica - May 20)
SPACEX SCRUBS MONDAY NIGHT FALCON 9 LAUNCH MINUTES BEFORE LIFTOFF - SpaceX scrubbed the planned launch of its 60th Falcon 9 rocket of the year just minutes before its midnight mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station took flight. The company concluded its broadcast before issuing a reason for the launch abort. When it launches, the Starlink 12-15 mission will carry 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit. Among those, 13 feature Direct to Cell capabilities. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 20)
INDIAN ROCKET LAUNCH FAILS, EARTH-OBSERVATION SATELLITE LOST - India's attempt to launch an Earth-observing radar satellite tonight (May 17) ended in failure. The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) EOS-09 spacecraft lifted off atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Saturday at 8:29 p.m. EDT (0029 GMT or 5:59 a.m. India Standard Time on Sunday, May 18). The satellite was lost due to an issue with the third stage of the rocket about six minutes into the launch. More (Source: Space.com - May 19)
WATCH INDIA LAUNCH ITS 2ND SPACE MISSION OF THE YEAR TONIGHT - India will launch an Earth-observing radar satellite tonight (May 17) on the nation's second mission of 2025, and you can watch the action live. The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) EOS-09 spacecraft is scheduled to lift off atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre tonight at 8:29 p.m. EDT (0029 GMT and 5:59 a.m. India Standard Time on Sunday, May 18). More (Source: Space.com - May 18)
LANDSPACE LAUNCHES 6 SATELLITES WITH ENHANCED ZHUQUE-2 ROCKET - Chinese launch startup Landspace sent six satellites into orbit Saturday with the fifth launch of its Zhuque-2 series methane-fueled rocket. The Zhuque-2E lifted off at 12:12 a.m. Eastern (0412 UTC) May 17 from a dedicated pad at Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 18)
ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES RADAR IMAGING SATELLITE FOR IQPS - Rocket Lab launched the latest in a series of radar imaging satellites for a Japanese company May 17. An Electron rocket lifted off from Pad A at the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 4:17 a.m. Eastern. About 50 minutes later it deployed its payload, the QPS-SAR-10 satellite, into a circular 575-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 42 degrees. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 18)
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