SATELLITES ARE PHOTOBOMBING ASTRONOMY DATA — COULD AI OFFER A SOLUTION? - Astronomers have developed a machine-learning algorithm that can detect satellite streaks in images of the night sky with high accuracy. The model makes data easier to interpret and could allow removal of the streaks, which are causing increasing problems in astronomy. The technology won’t solve the issue of Internet-communications satellites ‘photobombing’ observations, but it could help to reduce their impact on some telescope images. Researchers presented the work at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) general assembly last month in Cape Town.   More
(Source: Nature - Sep 27)

AMATEUR ASTRONOMER CATCHES FLEETING GLIMPSE OF SECRET SPY SATELLITE - An avid sky watcher from Austria photographed a top secret spacecraft launched by the Pentagon that’s like no other he’s seen before. Astrophotographer Felix Schöfbänker used a 14-inch Dobsonian telescope to capture the image of the satellite, which is known as USA 290. He shares his images on AstroBin, an image hosting platform for amateur astronomers.   More
(Source: Gizmodo - Sep 26)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 20 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE - SpaceX launched its latest Falcon 9 rocket on a Starlink mission as Tropical Storm Helene pushed back the launch of the next mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the Starlink 9-8 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 9:01 p.m. PDT (12:01 a.m. EDT, 0401 UTC). This was SpaceX’s 64th Starlink launch of the year.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 26)

JIELONG-3 SEA LAUNCH SENDS 8 SATELLITES INTO ORBIT - China launched its fourth Jielong-3 solid rocket from a sea platform late Monday, putting eight remote sensing satellites into sun-synchronous orbit. The fourth Jielong-3 (Smart Dragon-3) lifted off at 10:31 p.m. Eastern, Sept. 23 (0231 UTC, Sept. 24) from a specially converted sea platform off the coast of Haiyang city, in the Eastern province of Shandong. China Rocket, a subsidiary of CASC, the country’s state-owned main space contractor, announced the mission payloads following launch success. The launch was a rideshare mission and featured a diversity of satellites and customers.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 25)

SOYUZ BRINGS TWO COSMONAUTS, NASA ASTRONAUT BACK TO EARTH AFTER RECORD-SETTING MISSION - Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, now the world’s most experienced spaceman, first-time flier Nikolai Chub and NASA veteran Tracy Dyson undocked from the International Space Station and returned to Earth Monday, closing out a record-setting mission with a picture-perfect landing in Kazakhstan. With the Soyuz crew back home, NASA and SpaceX are gearing up to launch astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov to the station aboard a Crew Dragon capsule on Thursday, weather permitting. Liftoff from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is targeted for 2:05 p.m. EDT.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 24)

SPACEX'S CREW-9 ASTRONAUT FLIGHT FOR NASA LAUNCHES THIS WEEK. HERE'S HOW IT TURNED INTO A RESCUE MISSION - This week, NASA is sending up a rescue mission to the International Space Station. On Thursday (Sept. 26), NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia's space agency Roscosmos will launch to the International space Station (ISS) on SpaceX's Crew-9 mission. Two other NASA astronauts, Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, both mission specialists, were supposed to be aboard as well.    More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 23)

CHINA LAUNCHES 4 TIANQI CONSTELLATION SATELLITES INTO SPACE - China launched four new satellites for the Tianqi constellation into space, state media reported on Saturday. A Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) carrier rocket, carrying the four satellites named Tianqi 29-32, blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan province on Friday, the CGTN broadcaster said.   More
(Source: Anadolu Ajansı - Sep 22)

ELECTRON LAUNCHES SECOND SET OF KINéIS SATELLITES - An Electron launched a second set of satellites for French startup Kinéis Sept. 20, putting that company on track to begin offering Internet of Things services. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 7:01 p.m. Eastern. The five satellites on board were deployed into sun-synchronous orbits at an altitude of 643 kilometers a little more than an hour later. The launch is the second of five that Kinéis procured from Rocket Lab in 2021, after one in June. The five launches will deploy a 25-satellite constellation that Kinéis will use to provide IoT services globally.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 22)

2 RUSSIANS SET RECORD FOR LONGEST SINGLE STAY ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Two Russians on Friday set a record for the longest continuous stay on the International Space Station, according to Russia's space agency. Roscosmos said Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub broke the old record of 370 days, 21 hours and 22 minutes, which was set in September 2023 by Russians Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitry Petelin and American Francisco Rubio. Chub and Kononenko will add several days to their total before their scheduled return to Earth on Monday.   More
(Source: Yahoo - Sep 22)

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