CHINA REVEALS REUSABLE CARGO SHUTTLE DESIGN FOR TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China has unveiled the design of a new reusable shuttle to take cargo to and from the country's space station. The Haolong space shuttle is being developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). It is one of two winning projects stemming from a call for proposals from China's human spaceflight agency, CMSA, to develop low-cost cargo spacecraft. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 13)
CHINESE PRIVATE ROCKET LAUNCHES 1ST SATELLITE FOR INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMER - Chinese commercial space firm CAS Space announced that it successfully launched 15 satellites into Earth orbit, including one for the Sultanate of Oman. CAS Space's Kinetica-1 (also known as Lijian-1) solid rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Sunday 11:03 pm Eastern time on Sunday, Nov. 10 (0403 GMT on Monday, Nov. 11; or 12:03 pm Beijing time on Monday). More (Source: Space.com - Nov 13)
CHINESE COMMERCIAL LIJIAN-1 ROCKET LAUNCHES 15 SATELLITES - A Chinese commercial rocket sent 15 satellites into orbit late Sunday, including launch service provider CAS Space’s first international payload. The Lijian-1 (Kinetica-1) solid rocket lifted off at 11:03 p.m. Eastern Nov. 10 (0403 UTC, Nov. 11) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The CAS Space launch report states the launch occurred within the “Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area.” The area likely refers to a growing section of Jiuquan spaceport hosting launch areas for companies including CAS Space, Landspace, Space Pioneer and others. It is one of a number of initiatives to allow China to facilitate new commercial rockets and break a bottleneck in spaceport access. More (Source: SpaceNews - Nov 12)
STARLINK SATELLITE FALLS TO EARTH, BURNS UP AS STUNNING FIREBALL OVER US - A brilliant fireball that lit up the skies over four U.S. states is reported to be from the fiery reentry of a SpaceX Starlink satellite. Dozens of eyewitnesses reported seeing a meteor on Saturday (Nov. 9) just after 10:00 p.m. Central Standard Time (11:00 p.m. EST or 0400 GMT on Nov. 10). The American Meteor Society received 36 different reports about the bright fireball as it passed over Colorado, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma. The sightings were mostly clustered around the Oklahoma City and Dallas-Fort Worth regions. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 12)
SPACEX LANDS FALCON 9 BOOSTER FOR A RECORD 23RD TIME AMID KOREASAT-6A MISSION - SpaceX launched the latest communications satellite for KT SAT Corporation Ltd., a satellite service provider in South Korea Monday in the noontime hour. The Falcon 9 rocket was the first of what could shaped up to be a double launch day. Liftoff of the Koreasat-6A mission happened at 12:22 p.m. EST (1722 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. A Starlink delivery mission, postponed from Sunday, is scheduled to fly from pad 40 at neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, four hours later. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 12)
SPACEX LAUNCHING 24 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM FLORIDA ON MONDAY - SpaceX plans to launch 24 more of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast on Monday (Nov. 11). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday during a four-hour window that opens at 4:02 p.m. EST (2102 GMT). The launch had originally been planned for Sunday evening, but was delayed due to poor "unfavorable recovery weather conditions," according to SpaceX. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 11)
SPACEX TO LAUNCH KOREASAT-6A ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER - SpaceX is preparing to launch the latest communications satellite for KT SAT Corporation Ltd., a satellite service provider in South Korea. The Falcon 9 rocket is set to be the first of a potential double launch day on Monday. Liftoff of the Koreasat-6A mission is scheduled for 12:07 p.m. EST (1707 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. A Starlink delivery mission, postponed from Sunday, is scheduled to fly from pad 40 at neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, four hours later. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 11)
NASA EXTENDS ISS CARGO CONTRACTS THROUGH 2030 - NASA has extended three contracts with companies to continue providing transportation of cargo to and from the International Space Station through the projected end of the station’s life in 2030. In procurement filings Nov. 8, NASA stated it planned to extend the existing Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) 2 contracts with Northrop Grumman, Sierra Space and SpaceX that were set to expire at the end of 2026 through the end of 2030. NASA’s current plans call for retiring the ISS in 2030. More (Source: SpaceNews - Nov 10)
LONG MARCH 2C LAUNCHES 4 PIESAT-2 COMMERCIAL RADAR SATELLITES - A Long March rocket launch sent four satellites into orbit late Friday to provide commercial X-band radar imaging services. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off at 10:39 p.m. Eastern Nov. 8 (0339 UTC, Nov. 9) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. Insulation tiles fell away from the rocket as it climbed into clear blue skies. The announcement of launch success that followed revealed the payloads to be the PIESAT-2 (Hongtu-2) 01-04 radar satellites. More (Source: SpaceNews - Nov 10)
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