SPACEX LAUNCHES 116 PAYLOADS ON FALCON 9 RIDESHARE MISSION, TRANSPORTER-11 - SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, sending dozens of spacecraft into orbit with its latest rideshare mission launching from California. The rocket’s first stage booster touched down back near the launch site following stage separation, creating a sonic boom for those nearby. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) happened 11:56 a.m. PDT (2:56 p.m. EDT, 1856 UTC). The satellites will be deployed over a more than two-hour-long period.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 17)

LONG MARCH 4B LAUNCHES EXPERIMENTAL YAOGAN-43 SATELLITE GROUP - China successfully launched the first of a new group of Yaogan satellites Friday to test technologies for a low Earth orbit constellation. A Long March 4B rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 3:35 a.m. Eastern, Aug. 16 (0735 UTC), rising into partially cloudy skies above the hills surrounding the spaceport. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) confirmed launch success within an hour of launch, revealing the mission to be Yaogan-43 (01).    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Aug 17)

RUSSIA LAUNCHES 89TH PROGRESS CARGO SPACECRAFT TO ISS - Russia launched its 89th cargo craft to fly to the International Space Station on Wednesday (Aug. 14). The unpiloted Progress MS-28 freighter launched atop a Soyuz rocket from the Russia-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:20 p.m. EDT (0320 GMT and 8:20 local Baikonur time on Aug. 15). Progress MS-28 (or 89P as NASA refers to it) is packed with nearly three tons of food, scientific equipment and other supplies for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 17)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 2ND PAIR OF MAXAR’S WORLDVIEW LEGION SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched a pair of Maxar Space Systems’ WorldView Legion satellites to a mid-inclination orbit Thursday morning. The 30 cm-class imaging satellites rode to space atop a Falcon 9 rocket launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) happened at the beginning of a 60-minute window at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 UTC). Those watching the launch in or around Florida’s Space Coast heard a sonic boom as the first stage booster returns for a touchdown on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at the Cape.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 16)

SENATE BILL WOULD CREATE CENTER TO STUDY SATELLITE INTERFERENCE WITH ASTRONOMY - Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would create a new center devoted to protecting astronomy from interference caused by satellite constellations even as existing efforts involving organizations and companies make progress. The Dark and Quiet Skies Act of 2024, introduced Aug. 1 by Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create a “center of excellence” devoted to mitigating light and radio-frequency interference by satellites on astronomical observations.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Aug 15)

ISRO'S NEXT LAUNCH, AN EXPERIMENTAL SATELLITE RIDE ON A "SMALL" ROCKET - To celebrate India's Independence Day, a small rocket with big ambitions is set to fly. ISRO's baby rocket, called the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), will carry an experimental earth imaging satellite named EOS-8 and SR-0 Demo Sat made by a Chennai-based start-up with a cheeky name - Space Rickshaw, Both will be lofted into a low Earth orbit from Sriharikota on Friday morning. "It is a trailblazing satellite packed with new futuristic technologies," says Dr M Sankaran, Director of the UR Rao Satellite Center (URSC) adding that "the small 175 kg, EOS-8 satellite is packed with new and novel experimental technologies that will help power ISRO's and India's dreams."    More
(Source: NDTV - Aug 15)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 23 STARLINK SATELLITES AFTER YESTERDAY’S LAST SECOND ABORT - Success after an abort yesterday as the SpaceX launch countdown stopped at the 46-second mark when an official said, “launch abort is running,” after the clock stopped ending the webcast. Then on Monday, August 12 at 6:37 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.   More
(Source: SatNews - Aug 14)

SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCHES FOR RECORD-TYING 22ND TIME, SENDING ARCTIC BROADBAND SATELLITES TO ORBIT - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched for a record-tying 22nd time on Sunday night (Aug. 11), sending aloft two satellites that will provide broadband coverage in the Arctic region. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the two spacecraft of the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday at 10:02 p.m. EDT (7:02 p.m. local California time; 0202 GMT on Aug. 12).   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 13)

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ASTRONAUTS GET STUCK IN SPACE - We've all been there…stuck for hours on a broken-down train, abandoned in an airport because of a software update or – my most memorable – stranded in the Falkland Islands after an aircraft engine on an ageing air force transport plane caught fire. At least there were penguins to look at. Spare a thought, then, for Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, now more than two months into their eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It is thought that the spacecraft that took them there – Boeing's shiny new Starliner – may not be capable of getting them safely back to Earth.   More
(Source: BBC - Aug 13)

Previous Next