50 DAYS AFTER LAUNCH TO ISS, BOEING STARLINER ASTRONAUTS STILL HAVE NO LANDING DATE - Boeing's Starliner will do a "hot fire" test in orbit soon, as NASA and the company continue to probe the cause of thruster failures and a helium leak in space. Starliner will conduct the test-fire of its 28-thruster reaction control system (RCS) on either Saturday (July 27) or Sunday (July 28) at the International Space Station (ISS), NASA and Boeing announced in a press conference today (July 25). Only 27 of the RCS thrusters will be used, however, as one previously was deemed unusable for the flight home. More (Source: Space.com - Jul 27)
IRAN PLANS TO LAUNCH TWO SATELLITES FROM RUSSIAN SPACEPORT — NEWS AGENCY - According to the agency, ISA head Hassan Salariyeh said on July 9 that the organization planned to launch within a year Kosar observation satellite and Hodhod communication satellite, designed and built by private companies. Kosar can be used for agricultural purposes, surveying and border demarcation. Its lifetime in orbit is two years. Hodhod, in particular, will be used in the area of the Internet of Things and transportation. More (Source: SpaceNews - Jul 26)
US SPACE FORCE IS SET TO INSTALL 24 SATELLITE JAMMING STATIONS CAPABLE OF DISRUPTING RUSSIAN OR CHINESE COMMUNICATIONS - The US military is installing modular state-of-the-art satellite jammers capable of disrupting Russian or Chinese communications, should the need arise. Even though the hardware is ground-based, the US Space Force will oversee installation and operation. The technology is already past prototyping. The military tested the system at two different locations earlier this year. The DoD allocated funds to build 24 remote installations, with 11 scheduled to deploy before the end of the year. This device is not a preventative measure against adversaries disrupting US communications. It’s the opposite. More (Source: SatNews - Jul 25)
RUSSIA UNVEILS TIMELINE FOR BUILDING ITS NEW SPACE STATION, STARTING IN 2027 - Russia has unveiled a comprehensive roadmap for building its newest space station and associated Earth-based infrastructure, with the first modules expected to launch within three years. On July 2, the leadership of Russia's space agency Roscosmos described their upcoming mission to create the nation's newest space station, currently known as the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS), according to Russian news agency TASS. More (Source: Space.com - Jul 25)
SPACEX STARLINK SATELLITES MADE 50,000 COLLISION-AVOIDANCE MANEUVERS IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR SPACE SAFETY? - Satellites in SpaceX's Starlink megaconstellation made nearly 50,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers in the last six months, about double the number made in the previous half-year. Although experts praise Elon Musk's space compay for its commitment to transparency, they warn about the implications of the soaring orbital traffic. SpaceX revealed the increase in its latest Semiannual Constellation Status Report, which was filed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on July 1. According to the report, on average, each Starlink satellite fired its thrusters 14 times between Dec. 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024, to dodge orbiting objects, such as other Starlink satellites, spacecraft owned by other operators and pieces of space debris. More (Source: Space.com - Jul 24)
ASTROSCALE UNLOCKS REMAINING SPACE AGENCY FUNDS TO DE-ORBIT ONEWEB SATELLITE - Astroscale has received the remaining government funds needed for a 2026 demo mission to remove a defunct OneWeb broadband satellite from low Earth orbit (LEO). The Japan-based venture said July 22 its British subsidiary secured around $15 million from the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency to support the last and fourth phase of ELSA-M, or End of Life Services by Astroscale-Multiple mission. More (Source: SpaceNews - Jul 23)
NASA DELAYS ISS SPACEWALKS INDEFINITELY TO INVESTIGATE SPACESUIT COOLANT LEAK - NASA says its next spacewalk will be delayed indefinitely until engineers understand more about what caused a coolant leak on June 24. Tracy Dyson, a NASA astronaut, had a brief spacesuit leak a month ago while still in the hatch of the International Space Station (ISS). She and Mike Barrett had just opened the door for a 6.5-hour spacewalk for maintenance activities, when showers of ice particles erupted from a spacesuit connection to the ISS. The spacewalk was suspended, but the astronauts were never in any danger, NASA has emphasized. More (Source: Space.com - Jul 22)
NASA SETS BRIEFINGS FOR CREW-9 MISSION TO SPACE STATION - NASA will host a pair of news conferences Friday, July 26, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to highlight upcoming crew rotation missions to the International Space Station. NASA will host a mission overview news conference at 12 p.m. EDT and provide coverage on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. The news conference will cover NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the microgravity laboratory and Expeditions 71 and 72. More (Source: NASA - Jul 22)
THERE ARE 10,000 ACTIVE SATELLITES IN ORBIT. MOST BELONG TO ELON MUSK - For the first time in human history, there are now 10,000 functioning satellites above our heads, whipping around the Earth at high speed. It’s a milestone that showcases decades of technical achievement but might also make it harder to sleep at night if you think about it for too long. The count comes from the latest estimate by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and leading watcher of most things orbital. McDowell estimates there are 10,036 active satellites in orbit as of July 18. More (Source: Forbes - Jul 20)
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