AFTER FAILURE OF PRIVATE RESCUE MISSION, NASA'S SWIFT SPACE TELESCOPE WILL CRASH BACK TO EARTH. BUT WHEN AND WHERE? - A private spacecraft failed to rescue NASA's Swift space telescope, meaning the big observatory will come crashing back to Earth in the near future. The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory launched to Earth orbit in November 2004. Over the past two decades, it studied gamma-ray bursts — the most powerful explosions in the universe — and other cosmic objects and events using a trio of telescopes. But Swift's science work is now done, and its days in orbit are numbered.   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 28)

NASA, NORTHROP GRUMMAN COMPLETE CYGNUS XL SPACE STATION REBOOST - Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft today fired its thrusters for 20 mins, 43 seconds boosting the International Space Station’s orbit. The Cygnus XL’s gimbaled delta velocity engine was used to adjust the space station’s altitude by 2/10-of-a-mile at apogee, or highest point of station’s orbit, and 2.6 miles at perigee, or lowest point of station’s orbit, placing the station in an orbit of 266.5 x 254.9 miles.    More
(Source: NASA - Aug 28)

MTG-I2 SATELLITE LAUNCHES ON ARIANE 6, COMPLETING EUROPE'S NEW WEATHER SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - The European Space Agency (ESA) has reached a historic milestone in Earth observation and meteorological science, amid the climate crisis and meteorological disasters. The MTG-I2 ("Meteosat Third Generation Imager-2") satellite has been successfully launched aboard the Ariane 6 rocket from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.   More
(Source: Euronews - Aug 28)

MASSIVE SPACE MIRRORS COULD BE 40 TIMES BRIGHTER THAN THE FULL MOON, ASTRONOMERS WARN. 'IT WILL BE WORSE THAN BIG CITIES LIKE LONDON' - Sun-reflecting space mirrors proposed by U.S. startup Reflect Orbital will have an even more devastating effect on the night sky around the world than previously thought, a study has found. Each of the sun-reflecting mirrors proposed by U.S.-based startup Reflect Orbital will appear 40 times brighter than the full moon to observers standing within its beam on Earth, a study has found. The light pollution produced by each of those mirrors would completely wipe out stars from the sky for those underneath them, turning the starry night into an eerie twilight zone.    More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 28)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 27 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM VANDENBERG - SpaceX launched its latest Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning. The Starlink 15-22 mission will add another 27 broadband internet satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit megaconstellation. SpaceX has flown more than 2,000 of its Starlink satellites to orbit so far this year. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 2:35 a.m. PDT (5:35 a.m. EDT / 0935 UTC). The rocket flew on a south-easterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 27)

'YOU JUST SAVED THE VIDEO DISH': TWO ASTRONAUTS COMPLETE SPACEWALK TO REPLACE ISS ANTENNA - "Houston, we have a working comm link again." Thanks to the efforts of two astronauts, such a call is possible again using one of two Space-to-Ground antennas outside the International Space Station (ISS). The pair finished the replacement of a faulty dish assembly during a spacewalk on Tuesday (Aug. 25).   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 26)

TWO MORE SATELLITES FROM RUSSIA’S STARLINK ALTERNATIVE FACE ATMOSPHERIC REENTRY - Russia’s attempt to construct a domestic alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink, aimed at delivering high-speed satellite internet and establishing a dedicated military space communications network, is encountering mounting technical failures in orbit. At least two satellites deployed during the second mass launch on July 20, 2026, are expected to be lost, according to space researcher Anatoly Zak, as reported by The Moscow Times on August 25.   More
(Source: United24 Media - Aug 26)

CHINA LAUNCHES SEVEN SATELLITES INTO SPACE - China launched a carrier rocket from a northwestern spaceport on Tuesday morning, sending seven satellites into orbit, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's leading space contractor. The 43-meter-tall rocket blasted off at 11:21 am at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in a mountainous region in Shanxi province and soon placed the satellites into their preset orbital positions, the State-owned conglomerate said in a news release.   More
(Source: China Daily - Aug 26)

NASA SATELLITES ACE WORLD'S 1ST 'LOST-IN-SPACE' GPS-FREE NAVIGATION EXPERIMENT - No GPS available in space? A satellite experiment may have a solution for that. NASA's Starling mission — made up of a swarm of four cubesats in low Earth orbit (LEO) — is testing out navigation by using other satellites as moving landmarks. The hope is that this tech will allow future missions to navigate if GPS is not available.   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 26)

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