SPACEX LAUNCHING 20 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM CALIFORNIA EARLY NOV. 9 - SpaceX will launch 20 Starlink internet satellites from California early Saturday morning (Nov. 9). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink spacecraft — 13 of which have direct-to-cell capability — is scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday, during a four-hour window that opens at 1:14 a.m. EST (0514 GMT; 10:14 p.m. Nov. 8 local time). SpaceX will webcast the launch live via X, beginning about five minutes before liftoff. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 8)
RUSSIA SENDS 53 SATELLITES TO ORBIT ON RECORD-BREAKING LAUNCH - Russia launched 53 small satellites into orbit on Monday (Nov. 4), a mix of Russian and international spacecraft. A Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with a Fregat upper stage lifted off from the Vostochny spaceport in the Russian Far East at 6:18 p.m. EST on Monday (2318 GMT; or 2:18 a.m. on Nov. 5 local time). More (Source: Space.com - Nov 8)
CARGO SHIP BRINGS SUPPLIES, SCIENCE GEAR AND HOLIDAY TREATS FOR SPACE STATION CREW - An unpiloted SpaceX Dragon cargo ship caught up with the International Space Station and glided in for a smooth docking on Tuesday — Election Day across the U.S. — bringing 3 tons of supplies, science gear and other equipment to the lab, including holiday treats for the crew. The Dragon's Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from historic launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 9:29 p.m. EST Monday, lighting up the night sky for miles around as it climbed away atop 1.7 million pounds of thrust. More (Source: CBS News - Nov 7)
SPACEX LAUNCHING 23 MORE STARLINK SATELLITES FROM FLORIDA ON NOV. 7 - SpaceX plans to launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites on Thursday afternoon (Nov. 7) from Florida's Space Coast. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday during a four-hour window that opens at 3:13 p.m. EST (1813 GMT). SpaceX will webcast the launch live via X, beginning about five minutes before liftoff. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 7)
RUSSIA LAUNCHES SOYUZ ROCKET WITH DOZENS OF SATELLITES, INCLUDING TWO FROM IRAN - Russia launched a Soyuz rocket early on Tuesday carrying two satellites designed to monitor the space weather around Earth and 53 small satellites, including two Iranian ones, Russia's Roscosmos space agency said. The Soyuz-2.1 launch spacecraft, which lifted off from Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome, carried two Ionosfera-M satellites, which will become part of the space system for monitoring the Earth's ionosphere, the agency said. More (Source: Reuters - Nov 6)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 31ST CARGO RESUPPLY MISSION TO THE SPACE STATION FOR NASA - SpaceX launched its 31st resupply mission to the International Space Station on Monday night. The mission, dubbed Commercial Resupply Services-31 (CRS-31) ferried more than 6,000 pounds of cargo and science experiments to the orbiting outpost. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) happened at 9:29 p.m. EST (0229 UTC). More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 6)
WORLD’S FIRST WOODEN SATELLITE LAUNCHED INTO SPACE - The world’s first wooden satellite has been launched into space as part of study on using timber to help reduce the creation of space junk. Scientists at Kyoto University expect the wooden material to burn up when the device re-enters the atmosphere – potentially providing a way to avoid generating metal particles when a retired satellite returns to Earth. More (Source: The Guardian - Nov 6)
SATELLITE SURVIVES IMPACT WITH OBJECT IN SPACE, TAKES SELFIE TO PROVE IT - A tiny puncture discovered in the solar panel of a small satellite orbiting Earth highlights the seriousness of the orbital clutter problem. Lithuania-based satellite manufacturer NanoAvionics discovered the 0.24-inch-wide (6-millimeter) hole in footage captured by an on-board camera of its MP42 satellite, which has been orbiting the planet since April 2022. The satellite captured the image on Oct 24, and NanoAvionics released it on X on Wednesday, Oct 30. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 6)
JAPAN LAUNCHES MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE ON 4TH FLIGHT OF H3 ROCKET - Japan's new H3 rocket flew for the fourth time ever on Monday morning (Nov. 4). The H3 launched Kirameki 3, a military communications satellite also known as DSN-3, from Tanegashima Space Center on Monday at 1:48 a.m. EST (0548 GMT; 3:48 p.m. local Japan time). The flight was apparently a success: Kirameki 3 deployed at about 29 minutes after liftoff as planned, eliciting cheers and handshakes in mission control, as seen in the launch webcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). More (Source: Space.com - Nov 5)
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