ULA LAUNCHES FINAL ATLAS 5 ROCKET SUPPORTING AMAZON LEO’S BROADBAND INTERNET SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - United Launch Alliance closed a big chapter in the company’s history. Thursday morning’s predawn launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in support of Amazon Leo’s satellite constellation was the final flight of an Atlas 5 rocket flying in a 551 configuration. The rocket carried 29 broadband internet satellites onboard as part of the Atlas 5 Amazon Leo 8 mission, which was also referred to as Leo Atlas 8 (LA-08) by Amazon.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 4)

LAST-MINUTE LAUNCH PROBLEM DELAYS SATELLITE RESCUE MISSION FOR NASA - A rush rescue mission to save a NASA space telescope remains grounded, this time because of a last-minute launch problem. Northrop Grumman ’s rocket-launching plane took off from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific on Thursday, following weather delays all week. But a software issue resulted in an abort, keeping the Pegasus rocket strapped to the plane’s belly, according to NASA. The problem has since been fixed, and another launch attempt was set for Friday.   More
(Source: AP News - Jul 3)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 24 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM VANDENBERG SFB - SpaceX kicked off the back half of 2026 with a Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday night. The Starlink 17-46 mission added another 24 broadband internet satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit constellation that consists of more than 10,700 satellites. SpaceX launched nearly 1,600 satellites during the first half of 2026.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 3)

PLANNED 1.7 MILLION SATELLITES 'DEVASTATING' FOR ASTRONOMY BY MAKING NIGHT SKY BRIGHTER - There are also concerns that huge amounts of space debris from satellites could increasingly crash into each other in a dangerous chain reaction known as "Kessler syndrome." The 1.7 million satellites that companies are aiming to launch into Earth's orbit in the coming years will have "devastating consequences for astronomy," new research warned on Wednesday.   More
(Source: Euronews - Jul 2)

ASTRONAUTS PREPARE TO EXIT STATION FOR ROBOTICS REPAIR SPACEWALK - Live coverage is underway as two NASA astronauts prepare for a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at about 8:35 a.m. EDT and last roughly six and a half hours. NASA astronauts Chris Williams and Jessica Meir will exit the station’s Quest airlock to replace a wrist joint that malfunctioned during normal Canadarm2 operations on May 27 after the arm drew elevated motor current and did not move as expected.    More
(Source: NASA - Jul 1)

NASA TO LAUNCH RESCUE MISSION JUNE 30 TO SAVE SWIFT SPACE TELESCOPE FROM BURNING UP IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE - An air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled to fly for the very last time early Tuesday morning (June 30), sending a private spacecraft on a rescue mission to save one of NASA's most iconic space telescopes from falling back to Earth. The Swift Boost mission will send the LINK satellite, built by Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies, to grapple NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and tow it to a stable orbit, saving it from impending destruction as its trajectory dips farther into the atmosphere.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 30)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 7.5-TON SIRIUSXM SATELLITE AS PART OF CONSTELLATION REFRESH - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Sunday carrying a multi-ton, radio-broadcasting satellite for SiriusXM’s to replace two aging satellites in geostationary Earth orbit. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 10:25 p.m. EDT (0225 UTC), the opening of a four-hour window. The rocket flew on an easterly trajectory upon leaving the launch pad.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 29)

CHINA PLANS TO DOUBLE THE SIZE OF ITS TIANGONG SPACE STATION WHILE THE ISS NEARS ITS END - China is set to expand its space station from three to six modules in the coming years and add a co-orbiting Hubble-class space observatory, even as the International Space Station approaches the end of its lifetime. The three-module, T-shaped Tiangong space station was assembled in orbit across 2021 and 2022 and has hosted numerous three-astronaut Shenzhou crews, but China is now set to expand the orbital outpost with new modules, citing growing research demands and more frequent crew and cargo missions.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 28)

A RUSSIAN MODULE CALLED ZVEZDA HAS BEEN VENTING THE SPACE STATION'S AIR THROUGH CRACKS SINCE 2019 — LOSING NEARLY 2 KILOGRAMS A DAY - The Zvezda service module, the Russian segment that has anchored the back end of the International Space Station since July 2000, has been quietly leaking air into space for nearly seven years. The cracks are in a narrow vestibule called the PrK tunnel, which connects Zvezda to an aft docking port where Russian Progress cargo ships arrive. Roscosmos first reported the leak in September 2019, and the station has been losing breathable atmosphere ever since.   More
(Source: Space Daily - Jun 28)

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