RUSSIAN CARGO SHIP LAUNCHES ON FLIGHT TO SPACE STATION - Russia launched a Progress supply freighter Tuesday on a two-day trek to the International Space Station to deliver 5,556 pounds (2,520 kilograms) of cargo, fuel, water, and nitrogen to the orbiting research laboratory. A Soyuz-2.1a booster launched the Progress cargo ship at 8:20:09 p.m. EDT Tuesday (0020:09 GMT Wednesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The liquid-fueled rocket deployed the Progress MS-21 spacecraft into orbit about nine minutes later, and the supply ship unfurled solar panels and navigation antennas to begin the flight to the space station.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 26)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION DODGES SPACE DEBRIS FROM RUSSIAN ANTI-SATELLITE TEST - The International Space Station (ISS) just took evasive action to dodge a fragment of a satellite destroyed in a November 2021 Russian anti-satellite test. On Monday (Oct. 24) at 8:25 p.m. EDT (0025 GMT on Oct. 25), the ISS team fired the thrusters on Progress 81, a Russian cargo ship attached to the station, for a total of five minutes and five seconds to avoid the debris fragment, according to a NASA statement (opens in new tab).    More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 26)

RUSSIA LAUNCHES 4 SATELLITES TO ORBIT IN 5TH MISSION OF LAST 2 WEEKS - Russia launched four satellites to orbit on Saturday (Oct. 22), the nation's fifth liftoff in a two-week stretch. A Soyuz rocket topped with three satellites for the Gonets-M communications constellation and a demonstration spacecraft called Skif-D lifted off Saturday at 3:57 p.m. EDT (1957 GMT; 10:57 p.m. Moscow time) from Vostochny Cosmodrome, in far eastern Russia. All four satellites were deployed into their designated orbits as planned, according to Roscosmos, Russia's federal space agency.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 25)

NASA TO PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE OF SPACE STATION CARGO LAUNCH, DOCKING - NASA will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft carrying about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the multi-national Expedition 68 crew aboard the International Space Station. The unpiloted Progress 82 mission is scheduled to launch at 8:20 p.m. EDT (5:20 a.m. Baikonur time) Tuesday, Oct. 25, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Coverage will begin at 8 p.m. on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.   More
(Source: NASA - Oct 25)

CHINA LOOKED AT PUTTING A MONITORING SATELLITE IN RETROGRADE GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT VIA THE MOON - China appears to have considered boosting its space situational awareness capabilities by placing a satellite in a retrograde orbit out at the geostationary belt. A paper published in Nature Scientific Reports by authors from the Xi’an Satellite Control Center looks at using a lunar swingby to insert a satellite into a retrograde orbit out at the geostationary belt (GEO) for monitoring activities and debris warning.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Oct 24)

SOYUZ ROCKET LAUNCHES WITH DEMO SATELLITE FOR RUSSIAN INTERNET CONSTELLATION - A Russian Soyuz rocket launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome at 3:57 p.m. EDT (1957 GMT) Saturday with three Gonets data relay payloads and a demonstrator spacecraft for a proposed constellation of Russian broadband internet satellites. The three-stage Soyuz-2.1b rocket, topped by a Fregat upper stage, took off at 4:57 a.m. local time from Vostochny, Russia’s newest spaceport near the country’s border with China in the far eastern Amur Oblast.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 23)

ONEWEB RESUMES LAUNCHES WITH FIRST COMMERCIAL GSLV MK.III - OneWeb has resumed deployment of its satellite constellation with the launch of 36 satellites aboard India’s GSLV Mk.III rocket. The mission – which marks the first commercial launch for the GSLV – lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 12:07 AM local time on Sunday, Oct. 23 (18:37 UTC on Saturday, Oct. 22). The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.III (GSLV Mk.III), also known as LVM3, is India’s largest and most powerful rocket.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Oct 23)

FORGET YOUR MORNING COMMUTE — WE NOW HAVE SATELLITE TRAFFIC JAMS IN SPACE - Gone are the days of traffic jams solely being a problem for drivers on their way to work: we now have to consider satellite congestion in outer space, too. As it turns out, a growing number of active satellites is positively correlated to risks such as overlapping orbits and debris collision. And as impending launches draw closer, experts are exploring how LEO (or low Earth orbit) — the area around the Earth that has an altitude of less than 1,000 kilometers, or about 620 miles — can accommodate the increasing number of satellites the private sector is projected to deploy in a safe and sensible manner.    More
(Source: Discover Magazine - Oct 22)

ANOTHER BATCH OF STARLINK SATELLITES LAUNCH FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - Fifty-four Starlink internet satellites fastened to a Falcon 9 rocket blasted off Thursday from Cape Canaveral, continuing SpaceX’s deployments for a broadband network reaching into an ever-expanding market linking rural households, ships, commercial airplanes, and Ukrainian military forces in their fight against Russia. The 54 satellites launched at 10:50:40 a.m. EDT (1450:40 GMT) Thursday from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 21)

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