SATELLITES ARE PHOTOBOMBING ASTRONOMY DATA — COULD AI OFFER A SOLUTION? - Astronomers have developed a machine-learning algorithm that can detect satellite streaks in images of the night sky with high accuracy. The model makes data easier to interpret and could allow removal of the streaks, which are causing increasing problems in astronomy. The technology won’t solv... More (Source: Nature - Sep 27)
AMATEUR ASTRONOMER CATCHES FLEETING GLIMPSE OF SECRET SPY SATELLITE - An avid sky watcher from Austria photographed a top secret spacecraft launched by the Pentagon that’s like no other he’s seen before. Astrophotographer Felix Schöfbänker used a 14-inch Dobsonian telescope to capture the image of the satellite, which is known as USA 290. He shares his images... More (Source: Gizmodo - Sep 26)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 20 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE - SpaceX launched its latest Falcon 9 rocket on a Starlink mission as Tropical Storm Helene pushed back the launch of the next mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the Starlink 9-8 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 9:01 p.m. PDT (12:01 a.m. EDT, 04... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 26)
JIELONG-3 SEA LAUNCH SENDS 8 SATELLITES INTO ORBIT - China launched its fourth Jielong-3 solid rocket from a sea platform late Monday, putting eight remote sensing satellites into sun-synchronous orbit. The fourth Jielong-3 (Smart Dragon-3) lifted off at 10:31 p.m. Eastern, Sept. 23 (0231 UTC, Sept. 24) from a specially converted sea platform off t... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 25)
SOYUZ BRINGS TWO COSMONAUTS, NASA ASTRONAUT BACK TO EARTH AFTER RECORD-SETTING MISSION - Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, now the world’s most experienced spaceman, first-time flier Nikolai Chub and NASA veteran Tracy Dyson undocked from the International Space Station and returned to Earth Monday, closing out a record-setting mission with a picture-perfect landing in Kazakhstan. With the... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 24)
SPACEX'S CREW-9 ASTRONAUT FLIGHT FOR NASA LAUNCHES THIS WEEK. HERE'S HOW IT TURNED INTO A RESCUE MISSION - This week, NASA is sending up a rescue mission to the International Space Station. On Thursday (Sept. 26), NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia's space agency Roscosmos will launch to the International space Station (ISS) on SpaceX's Crew-9 mission. Two other NASA ... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 23)
CHINA LAUNCHES 4 TIANQI CONSTELLATION SATELLITES INTO SPACE - China launched four new satellites for the Tianqi constellation into space, state media reported on Saturday. A Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) carrier rocket, carrying the four satellites named Tianqi 29-32, blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan province on Friday... More (Source: Anadolu Ajansı - Sep 22)
ELECTRON LAUNCHES SECOND SET OF KINéIS SATELLITES - An Electron launched a second set of satellites for French startup Kinéis Sept. 20, putting that company on track to begin offering Internet of Things services. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 7:01 p.m. Eastern. The five satellites on board were dep... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 22)
2 RUSSIANS SET RECORD FOR LONGEST SINGLE STAY ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Two Russians on Friday set a record for the longest continuous stay on the International Space Station, according to Russia's space agency. Roscosmos said Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub broke the old record of 370 days, 21 hours and 22 minutes, which was set in September 2023 by Russians Sergei ... More (Source: Yahoo - Sep 22)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 20 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE - SpaceX sent 20 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit on a Friday morning Falcon 9 rocket departing from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Onboard the Starlink 9-17 mission were 13 satellites that include the Direct to Cell capability. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) happened at 6:50... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 21)
STARLINK SATELLITES ARE BLINDING ASTRONOMERS' VIEW OF SPACE - Efforts to study the universe are being hindered by radio waves emitted from the Starlink's extensive satellite network, according to a new study. The Starlink "constellation" consists of more than 6,300 working satellites orbiting the planet at 550km, accounting for more than half of all satelli... More (Source: DW - Sep 21)
CHINA LAUNCHES TWO BEIDOU NAVIGATION SATELLITES - China on Thursday launched two new satellites for the BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The two satellites, the 59th and 60th satellites of the BeiDou family, were launched at 9:14 a.m. (Beijing Time) by a ... More (Source: gov.cn - Sep 20)
NASA‘S ACS3 SATELLITE, BUILT BY NANOAVIONICS, SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOYS SOLAR SAIL - Engineers at NASA’s Langley Research Center test deployment of the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System’s solar sail. The unfurled solar sail is approximately 30 feet (about 9 meters) on a side. Since solar radiation pressure is small, the solar sail must be large to efficiently generate thrust.... More (Source: SatNews - Sep 20)
SPACEX CREW-9 ASTRONAUT LAUNCH DELAYED TO SEPT. 25 - The next space station astronaut mission will delay one day to Sept. 25. The delay in the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is "to complete prelaunch preparations and ensure separation between operations", NASA officials wrote in a Sept. 12 statement. If Crew-9 misses... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 19)
DEPARTURE PREPS UNDERWAY AS NEW CREW STEPS UP SCIENCE, MAINTENANCE - Two crews are nearing the end of their stay aboard the International Space Station while the orbital residents continue ongoing microgravity research and lab maintenance. Next week will see the departure of NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub. Th... More (Source: NASA - Sep 19)
MUSK'S SATELLITES 'BLOCKING' VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE - Radio waves from Elon Musk’s growing network of satellites are blocking scientists’ ability to peer into the universe, according to researchers in the Netherlands. The new generation of Starlink satellites, which provide fast internet around the world, are interfering more with radio telescop... More (Source: BBC - Sep 19)
ROCKET LAB’S ELECTRON ROCKET EXPERIENCES ABORT AS ITS RUTHERFORD ENGINES BEGAN FIRING, PRIOR TO LIFTOFF - Rocket Lab had to stand down from launching its 53rd Electron rocket on a mission for the France-based Internet of Things company, Kinéis. The rocket aborted prior to liftoff after the nine Rutherford engines began firing about two seconds prior. The mission, dubbed ‘Kinéis Killed the RadIOT ... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 19)
FRANCE PLANS LOW-ORBIT DEMONSTRATOR THAT CAN TARGET OTHER SATELLITES - France plans to launch a maneuverable satellite into low Earth orbit in the next two years that can target other satellites, something French Space Command said is necessary to show the country can take action to protect its space assets. French nanosatellite builder U-Space will supply the demon... More (Source: Defense News - Sep 18)
LAUNCH ROUNDUP: FALCON 9 AND ELECTRON TO EXTEND SATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS - This week’s manifest includes the delayed launches of a Falcon 9 with Galileo global positioning satellites and an Electron with a second batch of satellites for Kinéis. SpaceX will also launch one batch of Starlink satellites from California as the constellation increases to 6,000 operational sa... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 18)
