CHINESE ASTRONAUTS CELEBRATE OLYMPICS ON TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China's current astronaut crew got into the Olympic spirit in orbit. Shenzhou 18 crewmembers Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu have been aboard the country's Tiangong space station since late April and have proven their physical prowess with job-related work such as a national-record spacewalk. But the astronauts also took some time recently to reenact some of the sports that athletes of the just-completed 2024 Paris Olympics competed in here on Earth. Sponsored Links The Most Realistic Game of 2024Raid Shadow Legends    More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 13)

SPACEX LAUNCHED TWIN COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES FOR SPACE NORWAY - SpaceX completed its second launch of the weekend with a mission for Space Norway. The company launched its Falcon 9 rocket for the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM). The satellites, called ASBM-1 and ASBM-2, are designed to provide both military satellite communications as well as commercial broadband connectivity in the northern polar region. Liftoff happened at 7:02 p.m. PDT (10:02 p.m. EDT 0202 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 12)

SPACEX ABORTS STARLINK SATELLITE LAUNCH AT JUST 46 SECONDS AND RESCHEDULES - 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. SpaceX is now targeting Monday, August 12 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 6:37 a.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 9:49 a.m. ET.   More
(Source: SatNews - Aug 12)

ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES CAPELLA SPACE SAR SATELLITE - Rocket Lab launched a Capella Space radar imaging satellite Aug. 11 on a mission that illustrated the flexibility offered by, but also the challenges facing, small launch vehicles. The Electron lifted off from Pad B at Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 9:18 a.m. Eastern after a two-hour delay caused by ground winds and a ship in restricted waters offshore. The rocket’s kick stage deployed its payload, the Acadia-3 satellite, nearly 57 minutes later into a 615-kilometer orbit inclined at 53 degrees.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Aug 12)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 21 STARLINK SATELLITES TO ORBIT FROM FLORIDA - SpaceX sent another group of Starlink satellites to space today (Aug. 10) as the company continues to assemble its giant internet constellation. A Falcon 9 rocket launched 21 Starlink spacecraft to orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida today at 8:50 a.m. EDT (1250 GMT), after a one-day weather delay. As is typical for these missions, the first stage of Falcon 9 made a soft landing back on Earth roughly eight minutes after launch, touching down on the SpaceX droneship Just Read the Instructions, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 12)

‘WHAT GOES UP, MUST COME DOWN:’ JUNK SATELLITES ARE A LOOMING HAZARD - Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its competitors are making reliable, and decently-fast satellite internet services a reality thanks to a growing armada of shimmering satellites orbiting overhead. Through its constellation of over 6,000, 500-pound satellites, SpaceX’s Starlink internet service already reportedly provides broadband to around three million global users, some in remote locations underserved by traditional internet providers. But what happens when all those aging satellites no longer serve their purpose?    More
(Source: Popular Science - Aug 10)

ROCKET LAB’S READY NOW TO LAUNCH CAPELLA’S ACADIA-3 SAR SATELLITE EIGHT DAYS AFTER PREVIOUS MISSION - Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB), a provider in launch services and space systems, announced it has scheduled the launch for its 52nd Electron mission which will deploy a single satellite for American space tech company Capella Space (“Capella”). The mission is scheduled to launch during a 14-day window that opens on August 11th from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. The mission will deploy Capella’s Acadia-3 SAR satellite, a synthetic aperture radar satellite for Earth imagery and observation, to a mid-inclination 615km circular orbit to add to Capella’s existing SAR satellite constellation.   More
(Source: SatNews - Aug 10)

NASA SENDS FINAL COMMAND TO ITS NEOWISE SPACECRAFT, ENDING MORE THAN A DECADE OF ASTEROID OBSERVATIONS - A spacecraft that helped bolster planetary defense is now at the end of its operational mission. On Thursday, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California sent the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft into its final hibernation mode by shutting off its transmitter. The command, issued from the Earth Orbiting Missions Operations Center at JPL, brought to an end more than a decade of observations of comets and asteroids that helped further the understanding of celestial bodies that could potentially pose a threat to Earth.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 9)

CHINESE MEGACONSTELLATION LAUNCH CREATES FIELD OF SPACE DEBRIS - A Chinese launch to deploy a first batch of communications satellites has created more than 50 pieces of debris which could threaten spacecraft in low Earth orbit. The Long March 6A launched Aug. 6, from a specifically constructed launch pad at Taiyuan spaceport. The rocket’s upper stage, modified for restarts and deploying numerous satellites, deployed 18 flat panel Qianfan (“Thousand Sails”), or G60, satellites into roughly 800-kilometer-altitude polar orbit for Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST).   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Aug 9)

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