SPIRE GLOBAL HAS LAUNCHED 7 LEMUR SATELLITES VIA THE SPACEX TRANSPORTER-11 MISSION - Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR), a global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, successfully launched seven satellites on the SpaceX Transporter-11 mission, which launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on August 16, 2024 — this marks Spire’s third launch of... More (Source: SatNews - Aug 24)
CHINA LAUNCHES CHINASAT-4A COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE - China launched a new communications satellite towards the geostationary belt Thursday, but revealed very little information about the spacecraft. A Long March 7A lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island at 8:25 a.m. Eastern (1225 UTC) Aug. 22, rising into night skies abov... More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 23)
HERE’S HOW NASA WILL DEORBIT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Although it may seem hard to believe, the International Space Station (ISS) is nearing the end of its operational lifespan. Some readers might’ve even been born after the first section of the ISS was launched in 1998 and have never lived in a world without it soaring overhead. The ISS took years t... More (Source: Astronomy Magazine - Aug 23)
FCC APPROVES STARLINK FIRST GENERATION UPGRADE PLAN - SpaceX has secured permission to gradually replace first-generation Starlink satellites with larger spacecraft designed to provide more broadband capacity. The Federal Communications Commission Aug. 16 modified the license that permits SpaceX to operate up to 4,408 Gen1 satellites in low Earth or... More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 22)
SPACEX LAUNCHES NEW FALCON 9 ROCKET ON STARLINK MISSION FOLLOWING ‘WATER INTRUSION’ ISSUE - SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. A Falcon 9 rocket carried 22 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) happened at 9:20 a.m. EDT (1320 UTC), which was the e... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 21)
SA’S FIRST STATE SATELLITE LAUNCHED INTO ORBIT - Kanyini – the first state government-funded satellite in Australian history – is now in space. The South Australian owned and manufactured satellite was successfully launched on Saturday 17 August onboard a SpaceX rocket (pictured below) from the United States. Built by a local team of Sou... More (Source: WE ARE SA - Aug 20)
SPACEX PLANS TWO STARLINK SATELLITE LAUNCHES IN TWO DAYS AT TWO COASTS - On Tuesday, August 20, will launch a batch of 22 Starlink smallsat Group 10-5 satellites for the mega-constellation, space-based internet communication system. The launch will take place at Space Launch Complex 40 at 2:36 – 5:48 PDT where historically 256 rockets have launched, including 256 or... More (Source: SatNews - Aug 19)
ROBOTIC RUSSIAN PROGRESS 89 CARGO SHIP DOCKS AT ISS WITH TONS OF FRESH SUPPLIES - An uncrewed Russian cargo ship successfully docked at the International Space Station early Saturday (Aug. 17) to deliver tons of fresh gear, food and other vital supplies. The automated Progress 89 spacecraft linked up with the International Space Station (ISS) at 1:53 a.m. EDT (0553 GMT) at th... More (Source: Space.com - Aug 19)
FIRST UK MILITARY SPY SATELLITE LAUNCHED THAT CAPTURES DAYTIME IMAGES OF EARTH'S SURFACE - The first UK military satellite which can capture daytime images and videos of the Earth's surface has successfully launched into space. The "cutting-edge" satellite - named Tyche - is part of a Ministry of Defence (MoD) programme that aims to support military operations as well as natural disast... More (Source: Sky News - Aug 18)
NEW SATELLITE DEMONSTRATES THE POWER OF AI FOR EARTH OBSERVATION - ESA’s groundbreaking cubesat designed to revolutionise Earth observation with artificial intelligence, has launched. The cubesat embarked on its journey into space on 16 August at 20:56 CEST (11:56 local time) on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California,... More (Source: European Space Agency - Aug 18)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 116 PAYLOADS ON FALCON 9 RIDESHARE MISSION, TRANSPORTER-11 - SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, sending dozens of spacecraft into orbit with its latest rideshare mission launching from California. The rocket’s first stage booster touched down back near the launch site following stage separation, creating a sonic boom for t... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 17)
LONG MARCH 4B LAUNCHES EXPERIMENTAL YAOGAN-43 SATELLITE GROUP - China successfully launched the first of a new group of Yaogan satellites Friday to test technologies for a low Earth orbit constellation. A Long March 4B rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 3:35 a.m. Eastern, Aug. 16 (0735 UTC), rising into partially cloudy skies above the ... More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 17)
RUSSIA LAUNCHES 89TH PROGRESS CARGO SPACECRAFT TO ISS - Russia launched its 89th cargo craft to fly to the International Space Station on Wednesday (Aug. 14). The unpiloted Progress MS-28 freighter launched atop a Soyuz rocket from the Russia-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:20 p.m. EDT (0320 GMT and 8:20 local Baikonur time on Aug. 15). ... More (Source: Space.com - Aug 17)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 2ND PAIR OF MAXAR’S WORLDVIEW LEGION SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched a pair of Maxar Space Systems’ WorldView Legion satellites to a mid-inclination orbit Thursday morning. The 30 cm-class imaging satellites rode to space atop a Falcon 9 rocket launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) happen... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 16)
SENATE BILL WOULD CREATE CENTER TO STUDY SATELLITE INTERFERENCE WITH ASTRONOMY - Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would create a new center devoted to protecting astronomy from interference caused by satellite constellations even as existing efforts involving organizations and companies make progress. The Dark and Quiet Skies Act of 2024, introduced Aug. 1 by Sens. J... More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 15)
ISRO'S NEXT LAUNCH, AN EXPERIMENTAL SATELLITE RIDE ON A "SMALL" ROCKET - To celebrate India's Independence Day, a small rocket with big ambitions is set to fly. ISRO's baby rocket, called the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), will carry an experimental earth imaging satellite named EOS-8 and SR-0 Demo Sat made by a Chennai-based start-up with a cheeky name - Space R... More (Source: NDTV - Aug 15)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 23 STARLINK SATELLITES AFTER YESTERDAY’S LAST SECOND ABORT - Success after an abort yesterday as the SpaceX launch countdown stopped at the 46-second mark when an official said, “launch abort is running,” after the clock stopped ending the webcast. Then on Monday, August 12 at 6:37 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from ... More (Source: SatNews - Aug 14)
SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCHES FOR RECORD-TYING 22ND TIME, SENDING ARCTIC BROADBAND SATELLITES TO ORBIT - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched for a record-tying 22nd time on Sunday night (Aug. 11), sending aloft two satellites that will provide broadband coverage in the Arctic region. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the two spacecraft of the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) lifted off from Californ... More (Source: Space.com - Aug 13)
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ASTRONAUTS GET STUCK IN SPACE - We've all been there…stuck for hours on a broken-down train, abandoned in an airport because of a software update or – my most memorable – stranded in the Falkland Islands after an aircraft engine on an ageing air force transport plane caught fire. At least there were penguins to look at. ... More (Source: BBC - Aug 13)
