CHINA HAS 6 ASTRONAUTS IN SPACE FOR THE 1ST TIME - China currently has six astronauts in orbit for the first time as the country carries out a space station crew handover. Three astronauts launched aboard the Shenzhou 15 spacecraft on Tuesday (Nov. 29) and docked with the Tiangong space station 6.5 hours later. Chen Dong, commander of the three-person Shenzhou 14 crew already aboard the newly-completed Tiangong, opened the hatch between the space station and spacecraft at 6:33 p.m. EST (2333 GMT). More (Source: Space.com - Dec 2)
NASA TO PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE OF US SPACEWALKS OUTSIDE SPACE STATION - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will conduct a pair of U.S. spacewalks in December to install rollout solar arrays to increase electrical power in support of station operations and scientific research. NASA will provide live coverage of the first spacewalk beginning at 6 a.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 3 on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 7:25 a.m. and last about seven hours. More (Source: NASA - Dec 2)
VEGA C TO LAUNCH FIVE COPERNICUS SPACECRAFT - The European Commission awarded a contract to Arianespace Nov. 29 for launches of five Copernicus Earth observation spacecraft on Vega C rockets between 2024 and 2026. The contract, Arianespace Chief Executive Stéphane Israël said in a press conference, secures the position of the European Commission, which operates both Copernicus and the Galileo navigation constellation, as the launch provider’s top institutional customer. More (Source: SpaceNews - Dec 1)
SHENZHOU 15 ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT CHINA’S SPACE STATION FOR FIRST CREW HANDOVER - China has six astronauts aboard its recently-completed space station for the first time following the arrival of three crew members aboard Shenzhou-15. Shenzhou-15 launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 10:08 a.m. Eastern Nov. 29. Rendezvous and docking with the Tiangong space station was completed at 4:42 p.m., China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSA, confirmed. More (Source: SpaceNews - Nov 30)
SOYUZ-2.1B LAUNCHES FINAL GLONASS-M SATELLITE FROM PLESETSK - At 15:17 UTC on Nov. 28, a Soyuz-2.1b launched from Site 43/3 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, carrying the final GLONASS-M satellite to orbit, designated Kosmos-2564. This is the first of two planned launches from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in just three days, with a classified payload scheduled to launch onboard a Soyuz-2.1a on Wednesday, Nov. 30. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Nov 30)
NEW ERA BEGINS WITH CHINA’S LAUNCH OF CREWED MISSION TO ITS SPACE STATION - Three astronauts lifted off to China’s nearly completed space station on Tuesday, marking the beginning of the country’s long-term presence in space. It’s a major achievement for China’s ambitious space program, which has explored the far side of the moon and Mars. The milestone also means the aging International Space Station’s role as the sole venue for continuous human occupancy in Earth’s orbit is coming to an end. More (Source: CNN - Nov 30)
SPACEX SUPPLY SHIP DOCKS AT SPACE STATION - A day after launching from Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule approached the International Space Station for an automated docking Sunday with more than 7,700 pounds of supplies and experiments. The Dragon supply ship autonomously linked up with the zenith, or space-facing, docking port on the space station’s Harmony module at 7:39 a.m. EST (1239 GMT) Sunday to wrap up a 17-hour pursuit of the complex. The cargo capsule launched at 2:20 p.m. EST (1920 GMT) Saturday on top of a Falcon 9 rocket. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 29)
INDIA LAUNCHES SATELLITE FOR OCEAN MONITORING - India launched a satellite Saturday to measure ocean winds and water temperatures, adding a key data source for weather forecasters tracking tropical cyclone development around the world. The new ocean monitoring spacecraft, named EOS-06 or Oceansat 3, took off Saturday at 1:26 a.m. EST (0626 GMT) aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, India’s workhorse rocket. The PSLV launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on India’s east coast, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Chennai. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 29)
SPACEX LAUNCHES NEW CARGO DRAGON SPACECRAFT TO SPACE STATION - A brand new SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched a new cargo Dragon spacecraft Nov. 26, carrying supplies, experiments and new solar arrays for the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A at 2:20 p.m. Eastern. The rocket’s upper stage deployed the Dragon spacecraft into low Earth orbit 12 minutes later. The rocket’s first stage, making its first flight, landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. More (Source: SpaceNews - Nov 29)
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