ROCKET LAB’S ELECTRON ROCKET EXPERIENCES ABORT AS ITS RUTHERFORD ENGINES BEGAN FIRING, PRIOR TO LIFTOFF - Rocket Lab had to stand down from launching its 53rd Electron rocket on a mission for the France-based Internet of Things company, Kinéis. The rocket aborted prior to liftoff after the nine Rutherford engines began firing about two seconds prior. The mission, dubbed ‘Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star’ by Rocket Lab, was set to launch from Launch Complex 1 Pad A on Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. NZST (Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. EDT, 2300 UTC). Because it was an instantaneous launch window, Rocket Lab had to pivot from further launch attempts on Thursday (local time) and look to a future launch opportunity. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 19)
FRANCE PLANS LOW-ORBIT DEMONSTRATOR THAT CAN TARGET OTHER SATELLITES - France plans to launch a maneuverable satellite into low Earth orbit in the next two years that can target other satellites, something French Space Command said is necessary to show the country can take action to protect its space assets. French nanosatellite builder U-Space will supply the demonstrator in partnership with missile maker MBDA, French Space Command boss Maj. Gen. Philippe Adam and company executives said at an industry conference in Paris on Tuesday. They didn’t detail the satellite’s offensive capabilities, though a presentation video showed the satellite targeting another orbiter with a green laser beam. More (Source: Defense News - Sep 18)
LAUNCH ROUNDUP: FALCON 9 AND ELECTRON TO EXTEND SATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS - This week’s manifest includes the delayed launches of a Falcon 9 with Galileo global positioning satellites and an Electron with a second batch of satellites for Kinéis. SpaceX will also launch one batch of Starlink satellites from California as the constellation increases to 6,000 operational satellites. Following last weekend’s return and recovery of the Polaris Dawn crew onboard Crew Dragon Resilience, the crew of Soyuz MS-25 is scheduled to return to Earth next week... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 18)
SPACEX LAUNCHES EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S GALILEO SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched the latest pair of Galileo spacecraft for the European Union’s navigation satellite constellation. The mission marked the second time that Galileo satellites will launch from U.S. soil, following the so-called L-12 mission, which flew on another Falcon 9 rocket back in April 2024. Liftoff of the L-13 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 6:50 p.m. EDT (2250 UTC). Deployment is expected a little more than 3.5 hours after liftoff. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 18)
RUSSIAN MILITARY SATELLITE(S) PAYLOAD IDENTITY HIGHLY UNCERTAIN TOP SECRET LAUNCH ON TUESDAY - On Tuesday, September 17th Russia’s Angara 1.2 rocket is launching a Russian military satellite(s) of unknown identity from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation at a cost of $31,000,000, weather permitting. The forecast calls for a temperature of 61°F, overcast clouds, 100% cloud cover and a wind speed of 3mph. More (Source: SatNews - Sep 17)
POLARIS DAWN CREW RETURNS TO EARTH WITH SPLASHDOWN IN GULF OF MEXICO - The Polaris Dawn crew closed out a record-setting commercial spaceflight and packed up Saturday for re-entry and a pre-dawn splashdown early Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico northwest of Key West, Florida. Flying along a southwest-to-northeast trajectory, the Crew Dragon capsule, carrying billionaire Jared Isaacman, pilot Scott Poteet and company engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, is expected to fire its braking rockets at 2:40 a.m. EDT Sunday to drop out of orbit. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 15)
'WE JUST RAN OUT OF TIME': BOEING STARLINER ASTRONAUTS ON WHY THEIR SPACESHIP RETURNED TO EARTH WITHOUT THEM - Boeing's Starliner capsule might have been able to finish its mission as planned if time had been on its side. Starliner launched June 5 on its first-ever crewed flight, a trial run that sent NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station (ISS). The duo were supposed to live on the orbiting lab for just a week or so, but NASA extended their stay to about three months while studying thruster issues that cropped up during Starliner's rendezvous with the ISS. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 15)
IRAN SAYS IT SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED A SATELLITE IN ITS PROGRAM CRITICIZED BY WEST OVER MISSILE FEARS - Iran launched a satellite into space Saturday with a rocket built by the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, state-run media reported, the latest for a program the West fears helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program. Iran described the launch as the second such launch to put a satellite into orbit with the rocket. Independent scientists later confirmed the launch and that the satellite reached orbit. More (Source: AP News - Sep 15)
NASA’S SPACEX CREW-9 TO CONDUCT SPACE STATION RESEARCH - NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are headed to the International Space Station for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission in September. Once on station, these crew members will support scientific investigations that include studies of blood clotting, effects of moisture on plants grown in space, and vision changes in astronauts. More (Source: NASA - Sep 14)
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