CHINA LAUNCHES FIRST REUSABLE, RETURNABLE TEST SATELLITE - China sent its first reusable and returnable test satellite, Shijian-19, into space on Friday, using a Long March-2D rocket for the launch, Xinhua reports. The rocket blasted off at 6:30 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. More (Source: Kazinform - Sep 29)
CHINA'S CAS SPACE LAUNCHES 5 SATELLITES WITH ITS 4TH ROCKET - A commercial Chinese rocket maker has completed its fourth solid rocket launch, sending five satellites into orbit. CAS Space's Kinetica-1 (also known as Lijian-1) solid rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 7:33 p.m. EDT on Sept. 24 (2333 GMT; or 7:33 a.m. Beijing time on Sept. 25). More (Source: - Sep 29)
EUROPEAN TWIN SATELLITE MISSION BIDS TO CREATE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE ON DEMAND - European scientists are preparing to launch a space mission that has been designed to create total eclipses of the sun on demand. The robot spacecraft Proba-3 will be launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in a few weeks in a mission which will involve flying a pair of satellites in close formation round the Earth. They will be linked by lasers and light sensors, with one probe blocking the view of the sun as seen from the other craft. The effect will be to create solar eclipses that will last for several hours. More (Source: The Guardian - Sep 29)
SPACEX LAUNCHES TWO TO SPACE STATION, GIVING STARLINER ASTRONAUTS A RIDE HOME IN FEBRUARY - SpaceX launched a reduced two-man crew on a flight to the International Space Station Saturday, along with supplies and a pair of empty seats for two Starliner astronauts waiting to hitch a ride home in February after an unexpected eight-and-a-half-month stay in orbit. Running two days late because of high winds, rain and clouds spawned by Hurricane Helene, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket roared to life and blasted off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:17 p.m. EDT, climbing away on a northeasterly trajectory directly into the plane of the space station’s orbit. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 29)
EUROPE’S SPACE AGENCY WILL DESTROY A BRAND-NEW SATELLITE IN 2027 JUST TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS - The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch a satellite into Earth’s orbit in 2027 to watch it get wrecked as it reenters the atmosphere. The project is intended to help understand how exactly satellites break apart so that scientists can learn how to prevent the creation of more space debris. Space junk is becoming a bigger problem as we send more satellites into orbit, but there are efforts to try and address it. This mission is part of the ESA’s Zero Debris Charter initiative to stop the creation of additional space debris by 2030. More (Source: The Verge - Sep 28)
H2A ROCKET SENDS JAPANESE RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITE INTO ORBIT - An H2A liquid-fuel rocket sent an information-gathering satellite into orbit Thursday following its launch from a southwestern Japan island, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said. Rocket No. 49's successful mission from the space center on Tanegashima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, followed two postponements due to unfavorable weather. More (Source: Kyodo News - Sep 27)
SATELLITES ARE PHOTOBOMBING ASTRONOMY DATA — COULD AI OFFER A SOLUTION? - Astronomers have developed a machine-learning algorithm that can detect satellite streaks in images of the night sky with high accuracy. The model makes data easier to interpret and could allow removal of the streaks, which are causing increasing problems in astronomy. The technology won’t solve the issue of Internet-communications satellites ‘photobombing’ observations, but it could help to reduce their impact on some telescope images. Researchers presented the work at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) general assembly last month in Cape Town. More (Source: Nature - Sep 27)
AMATEUR ASTRONOMER CATCHES FLEETING GLIMPSE OF SECRET SPY SATELLITE - An avid sky watcher from Austria photographed a top secret spacecraft launched by the Pentagon that’s like no other he’s seen before. Astrophotographer Felix Schöfbänker used a 14-inch Dobsonian telescope to capture the image of the satellite, which is known as USA 290. He shares his images on AstroBin, an image hosting platform for amateur astronomers. More (Source: Gizmodo - Sep 26)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 20 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE - SpaceX launched its latest Falcon 9 rocket on a Starlink mission as Tropical Storm Helene pushed back the launch of the next mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the Starlink 9-8 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 9:01 p.m. PDT (12:01 a.m. EDT, 0401 UTC). This was SpaceX’s 64th Starlink launch of the year. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 26)
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