EUROPE'S SOLAR MISSION HIT BY SATELLITE BLACKOUT - ESA’s Proba-3 solar mission has lost contact with its Coronagraph spacecraft after a mid-February anomaly caused it to lose orientation and power. The satellite, part of a dual-spacecraft system to study the Sun’s corona, is now in survival mode with communications cut. Engineers are exploring using the healthy Occulter satellite to approach and assess the Coronagraph for possible recovery.   More
(Source: MSN - Mar 9)

SPACEX SCRUBS SATURDAY FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCH FROM VANDENBERG SFB, TARGETING SUNDAY - SpaceX scrubbed its planned morning Falcon 9 rocket launch on Saturday, March 7, from Vandenberg Space Force Base. It’s now aiming to fly on Sunday morning. The Starlink 17-18 mission will add 25 more broadband internet satellites to the company’s megaconstellation of more than 9,900 spacecraft in low Earth orbit. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is scheduled for 3:59:40 a.m. PDT (6:59:40 a.m. EDT / 1059:40 UTC). The rocket will fly on a southerly trajectory upon leaving the launch pad.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 8)

CONGRESS EXTENDS ISS AND TELLS NASA TO GET MOVING ON PRIVATE SPACE STATIONS - Two months ago, a key staffer for Sen. Ted Cruz said in a public meeting that she was “begging” NASA to release a document that would kick off the second round of a competition among private companies to develop replacements for the International Space Station. There has been no movement since then, as NASA has yet to release this “request for proposals.” So this week, Cruz stepped up the pressure on the space agency with a NASA Authorization bill that passed his committee on Wednesday.   More
(Source: Ars Technica - Mar 7)

JAPAN'S 1ST HTV-X CARGO CRAFT LEAVES THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Japan's new HTV-X cargo spacecraft departed the International Space Station today (March 6) after a four-month stay. The vehicle — known as HTV-X1, because it's the first of its kind — was released by the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm today at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT), right on schedule. The ISS was flying about 260 miles (418 kilometers) above the Pacific Ocean at the time, according to a NASA update.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 7)

IT’S TIME TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE UNCHECKED GROWTH OF SATELLITE MEGA CONSTELLATIONS - I remember the first time I saw a satellite. I was a teenager, standing in my mildly light-polluted suburban yard and doing my usual stargazing. The satellite was a faint “star” moving slowly and smoothly across the sky, and as I watched it, I felt a mix of awe and wonder that such a thing could be seen—and that humans could put an object into orbit at all. That was a lifetime ago, and I now look back on that evening with more discomfiture than nostalgia; my adolescent naivete feels almost embarrassing...    More
(Source: Scientific American - Mar 7)

ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES MYSTERY SATELLITE FOR 'CONFIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER' - An Electron rocket lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT; 12:53 p.m. on March 6 local time), kicking off a mission the company calls "Insight at Speed is a Friend Indeed." Rocket Lab announced the planned launch just a few hours before liftoff and provided few details, saying that it's "for a confidential commercial customer."   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 7)

TWO SATELLITES IN SES’S O3B MPOWER MEO CONSTELLATION COME ONLINE - The ninth and tenth satellites in SES’s mPOWER connectivity constellation in Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) are now operational, expanding the constellation’s capacity, the company announced on Thursday. O3b mPOWER provides connectivity services to the global market including governments, telcos, and cruise lines. Three additional satellites are scheduled to launch, completing the 13-satellite constellation, in the second half of this year. SES began delivering commercial service from the satellites in April 2024.   More
(Source: Via Satellite - Mar 6)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 600TH STARLINK SATELLITE OF 2026 DURING PREDAWN FALCON 9 ROCKET FLIGHT FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 rocket soaring from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during a pre-dawn liftoff on Wednesday with a batch of Starlink internet satellites onboard. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 5:52:20 a.m. EST (1052:20 UTC). The rocket flew on a north-easterly trajectory upon leaving the launch pad.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 5)

RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY SAYS IT'S REPAIRED DAMAGED BAIKONUR LAUNCH PAD AHEAD OF SCHEDULE - Engineers have repaired a badly damaged launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome, Russia's space agency said, averting a potentially longer-term problem for supplying the International Space Station. In a statement on March 3, Roscosmos said workers swapped out damaged wiring and other equipment at the pad -- known as Baikonur 31/6 -- ahead of schedule. The agency said a Progress cargo capsule was scheduled to blast off on March 22.   More
(Source: Radio Free Europe - Mar 4)

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