SPACEX PARTNERS WITH ASTRONOMERS TO PROTECT RADIO ASTRONOMY FROM SATELLITE INTERFERENCE - An automated data-sharing system co-developed by SpaceX and American radio astronomers promises to protect radio telescopes around the world from disruptive interference from satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). Big constellations such as SpaceX's Starlink bring high-speed internet to people in r... More (Source: Space.com - Aug 21)
NEW NASA-ESA SEA LEVEL SATELLITE ARRIVES AT CALIFORNIA LAUNCH SITE - The Sentinel-6B satellite will soon start final preparation to ready it for launch later this year. After a trans-Atlantic journey on a cargo ship and a truck ride from Texas to California, the international sea level satellite Sentinel-6B arrived at a NASA facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base... More (Source: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Aug 21)
NASA INVITES MEDIA TO NORTHROP GRUMMAN CRS-23 STATION RESUPPLY LAUNCH - Media accreditation is open for the next launch to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. A Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft will launch to the orbital laboratory on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for NASA. The mission is known as NASA’s Nor... More (Source: NASA - Aug 20)
CHINESE ASTRONAUTS BEEF UP TIANGONG SPACE STATION'S DEBRIS SHIELD DURING 6.5-HOUR SPACEWALK - Chinese astronauts added more debris shielding to the Tiangong space station during a 6.5-hour spacewalk on Friday (Aug. 15), according to state media. Two astronauts from the three-person Shenzhou 20 mission ventured outside Tiangong to do the spacewalk, which concluded Friday at 9:27 a.m. EDT (... More (Source: Space.com - Aug 20)
NASA SETS COVERAGE FOR SPACEX 33RD STATION RESUPPLY LAUNCH, ARRIVAL - NASA and SpaceX are targeting 2:45 a.m. EDT, Sunday, Aug. 24, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. This is the 33rd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for NASA. Filled with more than 5... More (Source: NASA - Aug 20)
HIJACKED SATELLITES AND ORBITING SPACE WEAPONS: IN THE 21ST CENTURY, SPACE IS THE NEW BATTLEFIELD - As Russia held its Victory Day parade this year, hackers backing the Kremlin hijacked an orbiting satellite that provides television service to Ukraine. Instead of normal programing, Ukrainian viewers saw parade footage beamed in from Moscow: waves of tanks, soldiers and weaponry. The message was... More (Source: AP News - Aug 19)
SPACEX SENDS 24 STARLINK SATELLITES INTO ORBIT ON 100TH FALCON 9 LAUNCH OF THE YEAR - SpaceX sent another batch of its Starlink broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit today (Aug. 18), atop a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch, at 12:26 p.m. EDT (1626 GMT or 9:26 a.m. PDT local time) on Monday marked the company's 100th F... More (Source: Space.com - Aug 19)
CHINA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES NEW TEST SATELLITE - China on Sunday sent a new test satellite into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The Shiyan-28B 02 satellite was launched at 4:55 p.m. (Beijing Time) aboard a Long March-4C carrier rocket and entered its preset orbit successfully.... More (Source: www.gov.cn - Aug 18)
SPACEX SCHEDULES 10TH TEST FLIGHT FOR STARSHIP, DETAILS RECENT SETBACKS - SpaceX is once again gearing up for a launch of its massive Starship rocket from southern Texas. On Friday, it announced plans for the tenth flight of the fully integrated, two-stage rocket as soon as Sunday, Aug. 24, from its headquarters in Starbase. The test flight of the towering rocket is te... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 18)
NASA-ISRO'S $1.3 BILLION SATELLITE NISAR DEPLOYS ITS ANTENNA IN ORBIT - In a landmark moment for global Earth science and international space collaboration, the world's most expensive civilian Earth imaging satellite-the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)-has successfully deployed its massive radar antenna in orbit, marking a critical step toward delivering life... More (Source: NDTV - Aug 17)
FAA APPROVES STARSHIP FLIGHT 10 AFTER MISHAP PROBE, EYES AUGUST 24 LAUNCH - SpaceX has received clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct the 10th test flight of its Starship rocket, with a targeted launch date of August 24. The approval for Flight 10 comes after the closure of an investigation into anomalies during the vehicle’s previous miss... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Aug 16)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 28 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with a batch of 28 of its Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit during a mid-morning Thursday flight from Florida’s Space Coast. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 10-20 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened a... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 15)
THE PERFECTLY FINE, ALREADY-PAID-FOR SATELLITES TRUMP WANTS TO DESTROY IN A FIERY ATMOSPHERIC REENTRY - NASA is planning to decommission premier satellite missions that gather information on planet-warming pollution and other climate vital signs beginning as soon as October, sources inside and outside of the agency told CNN. The destruction of the satellites — which will be abandoned and allowed ... More (Source: CNN - Aug 15)
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION UNDERGOES CREW HANDOVER, CHANGE OF COMMAND - Expedition 73 aboard the International Space Station (ISS) continues to perform its scheduled science and maintenance activities on humanity’s premier orbiting outpost, now more than a quarter-century old. The Station has a new commander and a new set of crew members on the U.S. side of the comple... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Aug 15)
NEW SATELLITE LAUNCHED FOR CLIMATE ANALYSIS - A newly launched satellite will help with weather forecasting and climate analysis. UK Aerospace company Airbus, based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, built the MetOp-SG A1 under leadership from the European Space Agency (ESA). It was successfully launched into orbit on an Ariane 6 rocket from Eu... More (Source: BBC News - Aug 14)
CHINA LAUNCHES 8TH BATCH OF SATELLITES FOR 13,000-STRONG INTERNET MEGACONSTELLATION - China is ramping up construction of its national satellite-internet megaconstellation. A Long March 5B rocket lifted off from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the island of Hainan on Wednesday (Aug. 13) at 2:43 a.m. EDT (0643 GMT; 2:43 p.m. local time), carrying a batch of satellites aloft for the... More (Source: Space.com - Aug 14)
ULA LAUNCHES VULCAN ROCKET ON FIRST SPACE FORCE MISSION - United Launch Alliance fired off it’s first fully operational Vulcan rocket Tuesday, boosting two military satellites into space in the first Space Force-sanctioned flight of a new launcher that eventually will replace the company’s Atlas 5 and already-retired Deltas. Equipped with four solid... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 13)
SPACEX RIVAL AST SPACEMOBILE PREPARES TO DEPLOY NEARLY FIVE DOZEN SATELLITES - Satellite designer AST SpaceMobile said it’s preparing to deploy nearly five dozen satellites to power cellular-based broadband networks, a move that establishes the company as a rival to Elon Musk’s dominant SpaceX. The company, based in Texas, released its second-quarter earnings after the ... More (Source: MSNBC - Aug 13)
LAUNCH ROUNDUP: VULCAN AND ARIANE TO LAUNCH AHEAD OF STARLINK MISSIONS - After a week of weather delays across the U.S, launch cadence increases as providers strive to catch up with the backlog. A navigational technology satellite and a classified payload are expected to launch atop Vulcan, followed by an Ariane 6 carrying a weather satellite, and a Chinese Chang Zhen... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Aug 12)
