SPACEX CREW-4 UNDOCKS FROM THE ISS AHEAD OF RETURN TO EARTH - After living and working aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for close to six months, Crew-4 and its crew of international astronauts are preparing to undock from the orbiting laboratory and begin their return to Earth. The four-person crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Kjell N. Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, departed the ISS aboard Crew Dragon Freedom on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at 16:05 UTC. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Oct 14)
AMAZON’S SET TO LAUNCH ITS PROTOTYPE INTERNET SATELLITES EARLY NEXT YEAR - mazon is getting ready to launch two test satellites for its Project Kuiper satellite internet constellation, built to compete with services like SpaceX Starlink and OneWeb. In a press release on Wednesday, the company says the prototypes, charmingly named Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2, will be riding into orbit on a Vulcan Centaur rocket from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) in early 2023. More (Source: The Verge - Oct 14)
NASA INVITES MEDIA TO LAUNCH OF WATER-MONITORING SATELLITE - Media accreditation is now open for the upcoming launch of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, a pathfinder mission about Earth’s water that will use new technology to address climate change and its impact on our environment. NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Monday, Dec. 5, for launch of the Earth-facing satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. U.S. and international media interested in attending this launch must apply no later than 5 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 27. More (Source: NASA - Oct 14)
CHINA LAUNCHES ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE IN 3RD FLIGHT IN 6 DAYS - China sent its third rocket aloft in a week on Wednesday (Oct. 12), this time to launch a satellite intended for environmental monitoring. A radar satellite known as S-SAR01, nicknamed Huanjing-2E, flew to space atop a Long March 2C rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi province, according to Chinese state media. Liftoff happened at 6:53 p.m. EDT (2253 GMT Wednesday, or 6:53 a.m. local time on Thursday, Oct. 13). More (Source: Space.com - Oct 14)
NASA, SPACEX DELAY CREW CAPSULE RETURN TO WAIT FOR BETTER WEATHER - Four astronauts are preparing to ride a SpaceX Dragon crew capsule from the International Space Station back to Earth this week to close out a nearly six-month expedition, targeting splashdown off the coast of Florida. NASA and SpaceX officials waved off return opportunities Wednesday and Thursday due to unfavorable weather in the splashdown zones. Mission managers delayed the return of the Crew-4 mission from Wednesday and Thursday due to unfavorable weather in the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 13)
WATCH SPACEX CREW-4 MISSION DEPART SPACE STATION ON THURSDAY (OCT. 13) - SpaceX's Crew-4 mission will leave the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday morning (Oct. 13), and you can watch the action live. Crew-4's Dragon capsule, named Freedom, is scheduled to undock from the orbiting lab Thursday at 10:05 a.m. EDT (1405 GMT), NASA officials said in a blog post (opens in new tab) Wednesday (Oct. 13). This is a delay from Wednesday evening due to weather. You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency (opens in new tab). NASA warns the departure time is somewhat iffy. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 13)
JAPAN ORDERS SATELLITE-CARRYING ROCKET TO SELF-DESTRUCT AFTER FAILED LAUNCH - A Japanese rocket attempting to launch a satellite into space self-destructed after it failed to reach trajectory after liftoff on Wednesday. The Epsilon-6 rocket took off from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Wednesday. The rocket, though, deviated from its intended trajectory shortly after leaving the launching pad. Officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ordered the rocket to self-destruct. More (Source: UPI - Oct 13)
ANGOLA LAUNCHES ITS SECOND SATELLITE, ANGOSAT-2, TODAY - Angola has launched its second communications satellite, Angosat-2, today October 12, 2022. The satellite was launched aboard the Proton-M Blok DM-03 rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. It is a four-stage Russian heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Soviet Proton launch vehicle. By virtue of the launch, Angola has now launched two satellites, bringing Africa’s 2022 total to five, and Africa’s total satellite launches to 49. More (Source: Space in Africa - Oct 13)
AMAZON TO LAUNCH FIRST OF ITS KUIPER INTERNET SATELLITES ON ULA ROCKET - The first two satellites of Amazon’s space-based internet constellation will be launched early next year on the maiden flight of a new rocket being developed by one of the U.S. Space Force’s biggest contractors. In an announcement Wednesday, Amazon said it would hitch a ride on the new Vulcan rocket being developed by the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. More (Source: The Washington Post - Oct 13)
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