LARGEST COMMERCIAL SATELLITES UNFURL, OUTSHINING MOST OF THE NIGHT SKY - The dawn of annoyingly massive satellites is upon us, shielding our views of the shimmering cosmos. Five of the largest communication satellites just unfolded in Earth orbit, and this is only the beginning of a Texas startup’s constellation of cellphone towers in space. AST SpaceMobile announced today that its first five satellites, BlueBirds 1 to 5, unfolded to their full size in space. Each satellite unfurled the largest ever commercial communications array to be deployed in low Earth orbit, stretching across 693 square feet (64 square meters) when unfolded.   More
(Source: Gizmodo - Oct 28)

AST SPACEMOBILE UNFOLDS DEBUT PRODUCTION DIRECT-TO-SMARTPHONE SATELLITES - AST SpaceMobile successfully unfolded its first five production satellites after compacting them for their SpaceX launch to low Earth orbit (LEO) last month, the direct-to-smartphone broadband constellation developer announced Oct. 25. Each unfolded Block 1 BlueBird spans about 64 square meters, featuring the largest solar array commercially deployed to LEO and matching the size of AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker-3 prototype launched two years ago.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Oct 26)

ONE ASTRONAUT HOSPITALIZED IN PENSACOLA AFTER SPLASHDOWN; CREWMATES FLOWN BACK TO HOUSTON - Three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut returned to Earth early Friday, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico to close out an extended 235-day expedition to the International Space Station. But one crew member experienced a “medical issue” of some sort after splashdown and was hospitalized in Pensacola. The astronaut “is in stable condition under observation as a precautionary measure,” NASA said in a statement 10 hours after the Crew Dragon’s landing. “To protect the crew member’s medical privacy, specific details on the individual’s condition or identity will not be shared.”   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 26)

CHINA LAUNCHES NEW SET OF CLASSIFIED YAOGAN SPY SATELLITES - China has added a new batch of three spacecraft to a classified series of orbiting Yaogan satellites. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 9:09 p.m. EDT on Oct. 22 (0109 GMT and 9:09 a.m. Beijing time on Oct. 23), rising into overcast skies above the spaceport in southwestern China. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) revealed that the mission carried three Yaogan-43 (03) satellites, marking the third launch of the satellite series.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 26)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 4TH BATCH OF STARSHIELD SATELLITES FOR THE NRO ON ITS 100TH FALCON 9 ROCKET OF 2024 - SpaceX launch its fourth mission of the year for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) carrying satellites for its so-called “proliferated architecture,” which are believed to be Starshield satellites. The mission, dubbed NROL-167, added an unspecified number of satellites to the growing constellation. Liftoff happened at 10:13 a.m. PDT (1:13 p.m. EDT, 1713 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 25)

SPACEX CREW-8 ASTRONAUTS UNDOCK FROM ISS AFTER WEATHER DELAYS - SpaceX's Crew-8 quartet of astronauts departed the space station at last today (Oct. 23), following more than two weeks of weather-related delays. The Dragon spacecraft for SpaceX Crew-8, called Endeavour, undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) today at 5:05 p.m. EDT (2105 GMT), as the two spacecraft were flying 260 miles (418 kilometers) above the Pacific Ocean. Crew-8 is expected to splash down off the coast of Florida around 3:30 a.m. EDT (0730 GMT) on Friday (Oct. 25). NASA will livestream the splashdown on NASA+. A post-splashdown news conference is planned for later that morning.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 24)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 23 STARLINK BROADBAND SATELLITES TO ORBIT FROM FLORIDA - SpaceX launched 23 more of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast this evening (Oct. 23). A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today. SpaceX had been targeting Tuesday (Oct. 22) but called that try off due to weather concerns. The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff as planned, landing on the SpaceX drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean.   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 24)

SPACEX SCRUBS STARLINK MISSION DUE TO POOR BOOSTER RECOVERY WEATHER, PIVOTS TO WEDNESDAY LAUNCH ATTEMPT - SpaceX stood down from launching another batch of 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to low Earth orbit on Tuesday night. The company said poor weather conditions in the recovery area led to the decision. The Falcon 9 rocket launch comes on the heels of a week that saw the company launch a record six missions with four Falcon 9 rockets, one Falcon Heavy rocket and a Starship rocket, utilizing all four of its launch pads.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 23)

NASA, SPACEX ADJUST CREW-8 UNDOCKING DATE - Weather conditions near the multiple splashdown sites off Florida’s coast remain unfavorable for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission from the International Space Station. Forecasts remain marginal for an undocking on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and Wednesday, Oct. 23. If weather conditions improve, NASA and SpaceX will target no earlier than 9:05 p.m. EDT, Oct. 22, for undocking from the space station. Based on the current forecast, conditions are expected to improve as the week progresses.   More
(Source: NASA - Oct 23)

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