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)
SPACEX LAUNCHES EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S GALILEO SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched the latest pair of Galileo spacecraft for the European Union’s navigation satellite constellation. The mission marked the second time that Galileo satellites will launch from U.S. soil, following the so-called L-12 mission, which flew on another Falcon 9 rocket back in April 202... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 18)
RUSSIAN MILITARY SATELLITE(S) PAYLOAD IDENTITY HIGHLY UNCERTAIN TOP SECRET LAUNCH ON TUESDAY - On Tuesday, September 17th Russia’s Angara 1.2 rocket is launching a Russian military satellite(s) of unknown identity from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation at a cost of $31,000,000, weather permitting. The forecast calls for a temperature of 61°F, overcast clouds, 100% cloud cover and a w... More (Source: SatNews - Sep 17)
POLARIS DAWN CREW RETURNS TO EARTH WITH SPLASHDOWN IN GULF OF MEXICO - The Polaris Dawn crew closed out a record-setting commercial spaceflight and packed up Saturday for re-entry and a pre-dawn splashdown early Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico northwest of Key West, Florida. Flying along a southwest-to-northeast trajectory, the Crew Dragon capsule, carrying billionaire... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 15)
'WE JUST RAN OUT OF TIME': BOEING STARLINER ASTRONAUTS ON WHY THEIR SPACESHIP RETURNED TO EARTH WITHOUT THEM - Boeing's Starliner capsule might have been able to finish its mission as planned if time had been on its side. Starliner launched June 5 on its first-ever crewed flight, a trial run that sent NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station (ISS). The duo were su... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 15)
IRAN SAYS IT SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED A SATELLITE IN ITS PROGRAM CRITICIZED BY WEST OVER MISSILE FEARS - Iran launched a satellite into space Saturday with a rocket built by the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, state-run media reported, the latest for a program the West fears helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program. Iran described the launch as the second such launch to put a... More (Source: AP News - Sep 15)
NASA’S SPACEX CREW-9 TO CONDUCT SPACE STATION RESEARCH - NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are headed to the International Space Station for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission in September. Once on station, these crew members will support scientific investigations that include studies of blood clotting, effects of mois... More (Source: NASA - Sep 14)
AST SPACEMOBILE DEPLOYS FIRST PRODUCTION DIRECT-TO-SMARTPHONE SATELLITES - SpaceX launched the first five production satellites for AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-smartphone broadband constellation Sept. 11. A Falcon 9 carrying the Block 1 BlueBird spacecraft lifted off 4:52 a.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, and finished releasing all five sa... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 13)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 21 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM WEST COAST - SpaceX launched its latest batch of 21 Starlink satellites on a Thursday night Falcon 9 launch from California. The Falcon 9 rocket launch set a new record for Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking the first time that 31 orbital missions have taken off in a calendar year. Thirty of those launches ... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 13)
POLARIS DAWN ASTRONAUTS PERFORM SPACEWALK - Astronauts on the Polaris Dawn mission conducted the first spacewalk on a non-governmental mission Sept. 12, briefly emerging from their Crew Dragon spacecraft. Jared Isaacman, commander of the four-person crew, emerged from the hatch in the nose of the capsule at approximately 6:52 a.m. Eastern.... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 12)
NASA ASTRONAUT, 2 COSMONAUTS ARRIVE AT ISS ABOARD RUSSIAN SOYUZ CAPSULE - A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) this afternoon after a brief orbital chase. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA's Don Pettit and Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner of the Russian space agency Roscosmos docked with the ISS today at 3:3... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 12)
SOYUZ ROCKET LAUNCHES NEW US-RUSSIAN CREW OF 3 TO ISS - A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts launched toward the International Space Station today (Sept. 11). NASA astronaut Don Pettit joined Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which lifted off atop a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kaz... More (Source: Space.com - Sep 12)
BOEING PLOTS 2026 QUANTUM NETWORKING SATELLITE DEMO - Boeing plans to deploy a small satellite in 2026 to test technology needed for a quantum internet capable of connecting more advanced sensors and computers worldwide, the company announced Sept. 10. The microwave-sized Q4S satellite is being designed to demonstrate quantum entanglement swapping, ... More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 11)
ASTRONOMERS WORRIED BY LAUNCH OF FIVE NEW SUPER-BRIGHT SATELLITES - An unusually reflective prototype satellite that outshines almost every star in the sky will be joined by another five later this week. Astronomers warn the appearance of more and more bright objects in the night sky will severely hinder their work and could even limit our ability to spot asteroids ... More (Source: New Scientist - Sep 11)
SPACEX SURMOUNTS CHALLENGING WEATHER, LAUNCHES POLARIS DAWN ASTRONAUT MISSION - Despite some challenging weather at the opening of the launch window, SpaceX managed to send the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission up to low Earth orbit on the second of three available liftoff opportunities. The predawn launch began the journey for four astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew ... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 10)
