CREW UNLOADS DRAGON AND KICKS OFF NEW SPACE EXPERIMENTS - The Expedition 73 crew is beginning its first full week together unpacking the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft and activating new science experiments. The International Space Station residents are also gearing up for next week’s spacewalk while ensuring the ongoing operations of the orbiting laboratory.... More (Source: NASA - Apr 25)
CHINA LAUNCHES SHENZHOU 20 ASTRONAUTS TO TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China's latest human spaceflight mission headed for orbit on Thursday morning (April 24). A Long March 2F rocket topped with the Shenzhou 20 crew spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 24 at 5:17 a.m. EDT (0917 GMT; 5:17 p.m. Beijing time). S... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 25)
SPACEX’S RIDESHARE BANDWAGON-3 MISSION MARKS THE 300TH ORBITAL FLIGHT FROM CAPE CANAVERAL’S PAD 40 - SpaceX completed its third Falcon 9 rocket launch in less than 48 hours with a rideshare mission carrying payloads to a mid-inclination orbit. Liftoff of the Bandwagon-3 mission happened at 8:48 p.m. EDT (0048 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 245... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 22)
AMAZON'S KUIPER 1 INTERNET SATELLITES GET NEW APRIL 28 LAUNCH DATE ON ATLAS V ROCKET AFTER DELAY - Amazon's first internet satellite fleet has a new launch date at last. After weeks of delays, the first 27 satellites of Amazon's Project Kuiper internet constellation are scheduled to lift off atop an Atlas V rocket on April 28, the rocket's builder United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced over th... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 22)
S. KOREA TO LAUNCH 4TH MILITARY SPY SATELLITE THIS WEEK - South Korea plans to launch its fourth military reconnaissance satellite from a US space base this week, the defense ministry said Monday, as the country seeks to better monitor North Korean threats with independent surveillance capabilities. The military plans to launch the synthetic aperture ra... More (Source: The Korea Herald - Apr 21)
EARTH'S ORBIT MAY BE IN TROUBLE. WHY SPACE DEBRIS IS TO BLAME. - You might think space as a vast emptiness. But according to the European Space Agency, it's getting incredibly crowded – at least around our planet. A European Space Agency report released April 1 studied the space above Earth. The report says that if space debris buildup is not controlled soon... More (Source: USA Today - Apr 21)
SPACECRAFT BRINGS RUSSIANS, AMERICAN BACK TO EARTH, RUSSIA'S SPACE AGENCY SAYS - A Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit has returned to Earth, Russia's Roscosmos space agency reported on Sunday. "Its deorbiting and descent to Earth were normal," the agency said in a post on the Telegram messaging app... More (Source: Reuters - Apr 21)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 32ND RESUPPLY MISSION FOR NASA TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - SpaceX launched an uncrewed Cargo Dragon to the International Space Station early Monday on a resupply mission with increased importance after a transportation mishap derailed a flight by another U.S. cargo ship. Liftoff from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center happened on Monday, April 21, at 4:15 ... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 21)
CHINA LAUNCHES 6 CLASSIFIED EXPERIMENTAL SATELLITES WITH LONG MARCH 6A - China sent six experimental Shiyan series satellites into orbit late Friday Eastern, using its Long March 6A rocket launched from Taiyuan. The Long March 6A rocket lifted off at 6:51 p.m. Eastern (2251 UTC) April 18 from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, northern China. The state-owned Shanghai Ac... More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 20)
STATION HAS NEW COMMANDER; SOYUZ TRIO READY FOR SATURDAY DEPARTURE - The International Space Station has a new commander as three Expedition 72 crew members get ready to return to Earth on Saturday. The orbital residents staying behind will soon welcome a U.S. cargo craft and get ready for their increment’s first spacewalk. Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace... More (Source: NASA - Apr 20)
SPACEX LAUNCHES THIRD NRO MISSION IN EIGHT DAYS - America’s spy satellite agency, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), launched its third mission in eight days on Sunday, April 20. The mission featured another batch of satellites to support its proliferated architecture constellation in low Earth orbit. The satellites, believed to be Star... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 20)
2 PRIVATE SATELLITES UNDOCK AFTER PIONEERING LIFE-EXTENSION MISSION - Two commercial satellites have completed an undocking maneuver high above Earth, signaling the successful end to a pioneering spacecraft life-extension mission. The Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1), developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Space Logistics LLC, docked with Intelsat’s IS-... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 19)
UPCOMING LAUNCH - CRS-32 MISSION - SpaceX is targeting Monday, April 21 for Falcon 9’s launch of Dragon’s 32nd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-32) mission to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 4:15 a.m. ET, with a backup launch op... More (Source: SpaceX - Apr 19)
ITALY MOVES AHEAD WITH STUDY FOR 100-SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - The Italian government has approved Phase 2 of a feasibility study exploring the possibility of the country developing an 100-satellite constellation. While few details have been announced, initial reports indicate that the constellation will support communications and be designed for interoperabili... More (Source: SatNews - Apr 18)
SATELLITES SHOW CHINESE MOVES AGAINST US ALLY - New satellite imagery has revealed for the first time a hulking steel rig in the Yellow Sea between China and South Korea that has inflamed tensions between the two nations. The photographs, supplied exclusively to Newsweek, show the latest of several large steel platforms that China has insta... More (Source: Newsweek - Apr 18)
“TRANSFORMATIONAL” SATELLITE WILL MONITOR EARTH’S SURFACE CHANGES - In a few weeks, Earth scientists will launch a satellite that will provide unprecedented, high-resolution coverage of some of the most remote and rapidly changing parts of the world. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, a joint mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research ... More (Source: Eos.org - Apr 18)
NASA SAFETY PANEL WARNS OF INCREASING RISKS TO ISS OPERATIONS - Members of a NASA safety panel said they were “deeply concerned” about the safety of the aging International Space Station, citing long-running issues and funding shortfalls. During a public meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) April 17, members expressed concerns about growi... More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 18)
CHINA ROLLS OUT ROCKET FOR SHENZHOU 20 ASTRONAUT LAUNCH TO ITS TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China is gearing up to launch its latest astronaut crew into orbit. A Long March 2F rocket, topped with the Shenzhou 20 crew spacecraft, was rolled out to its launch pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Wednesday (April 16), according to Chinese state media. The 203-foot-long (62 meters) ... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 18)
MULTILATERAL COORDINATION WILL BE NEEDED FOR COMMERCIAL SPACE STATIONS - Even as NASA and its partners on the International Space Station shift to commercial space stations, NASA’s former deputy administrator believes there will still be a role for multilateral coordination of work on those stations. Speaking at a Royal Aeronautical Society symposium on internationa... More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 18)
