U.S. CLAIMS RECENTLY LAUNCHED RUSSIAN SATELLITE IS AN ASAT - The U.S. government claims that a recently launched Russian satellite is a counterspace weapon placed in nearly the same orbit as an American reconnaissance satellite. Amb. Robert Wood, U.S. alternate representative for special political affairs in the United Nations, made the allegation during a... More (Source: SpaceNews - May 22)
MAINE’S FIRST RESEARCH SATELLITE TO LAUNCH THIS YEAR - Maine’s first small research satellite, designed to engage middle and high school students in STEM, is expected to launch into orbit within the next couple of months. Firefly Aerospace, a company based in Cedar Rapids, Texas, integrated the nearly one-foot-tall satellite, known as MESAT1, into ... More (Source: Sun Journal - May 21)
SATELLITE MISSION TO UNRAVEL HOW CLOUDS IMPACT FUTURE CLIMATE CHANGE - A brand new satellite that will revolutionize our understanding of the role clouds and aerosol particles play in climate change is set to launch after more than 30 years of planning. The EarthCARE satellite is the brainchild of the University of Reading's Professor Anthony Illingworth. Conceived ... More (Source: Phys.org - May 21)
HOW THE SPACE SHUTTLE COMPLETED A FINAL, DARING HUBBLE REPAIR 15 YEARS AGO - The Hubble Space Telescope continues to operate to this day in part due to the work performed 15 years ago by the crew of STS-125. Dubbed Hubble Servicing Mission 4 (HSM 4), scientists knew this would be their final chance to use the space shuttle to visit and upgrade the orbiting laboratory. As ... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - May 21)
BOEING'S TROUBLED STARLINER SPACECRAFT LAUNCH IS DELAYED AGAIN - The first crewed launch of Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft has been delayed again, to May 25, this time because of a helium leak in the service module. NASA had set the liftoff for May 21 after scrubbing a May 6 launch but the helium leak was discovered on Wednesday. While the agency said ... More (Source: NPR - May 21)
BLUE ORIGIN LAUNCHES 1ST CREWED SPACEFLIGHT SINCE AUGUST 2022 - Blue Origin's nearly two-year human spaceflight drought is over. Jeff Bezos' aerospace company launched its NS-25 mission today (May 19), sending six people — including the United States' first-ever Black astronaut candidate — on a brief trip to suborbital space aboard its New Shepard rocket-... More (Source: Space.com - May 20)
NASA, BOEING FURTHER DELAY STARLINER CREW FLIGHT TEST LAUNCH AMID ONGOING HELIUM LEAK REVIEW - Ongoing analysis of a helium leak on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft forced NASA and Boeing to delay the Crew Flight Test mission further. A blog post, issued late on Friday afternoon, announced a new target launch date for Starliner CFT with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams of no ... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 18)
CHINA LAUNCHES NEW MYSTERY SHIYAN SATELLITE - China launched the latest in its secretive Shiyan satellite series over the weekend. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, northwest China, at 7:43 p.m.EDT on May 11 (2343 GMT, or 7:43 a.m. Beijing time on May 12). Chinese authorities revealed ... More (Source: Space.com - May 18)
SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCHES STARLINK SATELLITES ON RECORD 21ST FLIGHT - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched for the 21st time tonight (May 17), setting a new reusability record for the company. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 8:32 p.m. EDT (0032 GMT on May 18), sending 23 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites toward orbit... More (Source: Space.com - May 18)
BOEING STARLINER'S CREW DEBUT DELAYED AGAIN OVER SPACECRAFT ISSUE - Boeing's first Starliner mission carrying astronauts into space has been delayed again - until at least May 21 - over an issue with the spacecraft's propulsion system, the company said on Tuesday. Starliner's mission carrying two NASA astronauts had been scheduled for liftoff from Florida last we... More (Source: Reuters - May 16)
SPACE FORCE AIMS TO LAUNCH 1ST 'FOO FIGHTER' SATELLITES IN 2027 TO TRACK HYPERSONIC THREATS - The United States Space Force has ordered the first satellites for an upcoming advanced missile defense constellation. The Space Development Agency (SDA), an agency within the U.S. Space Force tasked with developing new, disruptive space technologies, awarded $414 million to California-based Mill... More (Source: Space.com - May 15)
SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW WHAT THE HISTORIC GEOMAGNETIC STORM LOOKED LIKE FROM SPACE - Millions of Americans looked to the night sky and snapped magical photos and videos of the northern lights this weekend during the momentous geomagnetic storm. But cameras were also trained on the storm from space, capturing phantasmal monochromatic shots from the sun's electromagnetic radiation.... More (Source: CBS News - May 15)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 50TH FALCON 9 ROCKET OF 2024 ON STARLINK MISSION - SpaceX continues to expand its Starlink constellation that offer Direct to Cell capability through its Falcon 9 launch on Tuesday. There were 13 Direct to Cell-capable Starlink satellites among the 20 that launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 15)
TINY SATELLITES CAN PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION ABOUT SPACE - CubeSats are satellites constructed of cubic units, or U, a bit smaller than a square tissue box, or about 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) on each side. (A 2U CubeSat, for instance, is about the size of a rectangular tissue box.) Initially developed two decades ago as an inexpensive platform for stu... More (Source: Phys.org - May 14)
SPACEX STARLINK SATELLITES DOING JUST FINE AFTER WEEKEND SOLAR STORM, COMPANY SAYS - SpaceX's Starlink fleet survived solar storms over the weekend. Starlink broadband satellites, which number nearly 6,000 in orbit, all came through after intense solar activity sparked auroras and other signs of space weather across the world, including unusually far into the southern United Stat... More (Source: Space.com - May 14)
NASA TO LAUNCH WEATHER OBSERVING SATELLITE IN JUNE - Next month, NASA will launch NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) satellite to help improve weather observing and environmental monitoring capabilities on Earth, as well as advance space weather observations. NASA said that the GOES-U (Geostationary Operational Environmental S... More (Source: RTTNews - May 14)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 23 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM FLORIDA - SpaceX launched 23 more of its Starlink satellites on Sunday (May 12), adding to its huge and ever-growing broadband megaconstellation. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 8:53 p.m. EDT (0053 GMT on May 13). The Fal... More (Source: Space.com - May 13)
CHINA LAUNCHES NEW SATELLITE INTO SPACE - China on Sunday launched a Long March-4C rocket, placing a satellite in space. The rocket blasted off at 7:43 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China and sent the satellite Shiyan-23 into preset orbit. The satellite will mainly be used for space environm... More (Source: - May 13)
NASA POWER OUTAGE TEMPORARILY HALTS CONTACT WITH SPACE STATION - A NASA power outage disrupted communication between Mission Control and the International Space Station on Tuesday. Mission Control couldn’t send commands to the station and talk with the seven astronauts in orbit. The power outage hit as upgrade work was underway in the building at Houston’s... More (Source: MSN - May 13)
