BOEING OPTS TO HAUL STARLINER BACK TO HANGAR, DELAYS FLIGHT INDEFINITELY - Around-the-clock work to fix valve problems that derailed an Aug. 3 attempt to launch Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule on an unpiloted test flight was called off Friday, delaying another try until after NASA launches a higher-priority asteroid probe in mid-October. Despite the team’s eagerness to fly, “we have to have the maturity to stop, investigate and sit before flying again,” said Kathy Lueders, NASA’s chief of space operations. “And that is what we are doing. We fly when we are ready.”   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 15)

VEGA MISSION’S AIRBUS’ PLEIADES NEO 4 EO SATELLITE TO LAUNCH WITH FOUR AUXILIARY SPACECRAFT - Arianespace’s second Vega mission of the year will lift off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, with the optical observation satellite Pléiades Neo 4 and four auxiliary passengers. After liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport, the Vega launcher will fly for a little over six minutes, powered by the first three stages. The third stage will then separate from the upper composite, which comprises the AVUM upper stage, the Pléiades Neo 4 satellite and its four auxiliary passengers.   More
(Source: SatNews Publishers - Aug 13)

SPACE STATION SUPPLIES LAUNCHED WITH A PIZZA DELIVERY FOR 7 - Northrop Grumman’s latest space station delivery includes pizza for seven. The company’s Cygnus cargo ship rocketed away from Virginia’s eastern shore Tuesday. It should reach the International Space Station on Thursday. The 8,200-pound (3,700-kilogram) shipment includes fresh apples, tomatoes and kiwi, along with a pizza kit and cheese smorgasbord for the seven station astronauts.    More
(Source: Associated Press - Aug 12)

INDIAN ROCKET SUFFERS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE DURING LAUNCH, EARTH-WATCHING SATELLITE LOST - India's first launch of 2021 has ended in failure. An Indian rocket carrying a new Earth-observation satellite for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) suffered a catastrophic failure shortly after launching early Thursday (Aug. 12) from the country's Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island in eastern India. The liftoff occurred at 5:43 a.m. local time in India (8:13 p.m. EDT Aug 11/0013 GMT).   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 12)

NORTHROP GRUMMAN LAUNCHES COMMERCIAL RESUPPLY MISSION TO SPACE STATION - A successful launch from Virginia aboard an Antares rocket Tuesday kicked off Northrop Grumman’s 16th commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station, setting the stage for arrival of more than 8,000 pounds of cargo at the complex Thursday. The two-stage Antares launcher ignited its twin Russian-made RD-181 engines and took off from pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at 6:01:05 p.m. EDT (2201:05 GMT) to begin Northrop Grumman’s NG-16 cargo mission.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 11)

BLOBS IN SPACE AND OTHER COOL SCIENCE LAUNCHING TO THE SPACE STATION TUESDAY - Northrop Grumman's next Cygnus cargo ship will launch on a journey to the International Space Station tomorrow, carrying with it a bevy of research investigations and crew supplies for the astronauts of Expedition 65. The keg-like spacecraft will launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Tuesday (Aug. 10) at 5:56 p.m. EDT (2156 GMT) packed with more than 8,200 lbs. (3,700 kilograms) of crew supplies, research investigations and hardware — including a new mounting bracket for the station's upgraded solar arrays.   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 10)

SPACEX IS BUYING SATELLITE DATA START-UP SWARM, IN A RARE ACQUISITION BY ELON MUSK’S SPACE COMPANY - SpaceX is acquiring satellite data start-up Swarm Technologies, in a rare deal by Elon Musk’s space company that expands the team — and possibly the technological capabilities — of its growing Starlink internet service. Swarm, which has 120 of its tiny SpaceBEE satellites in orbit, reached an agreement with SpaceX on July 16 to merge, according to an Aug. 6 filing with the Federal Communications Commission.   More
(Source: CNBC - Aug 10)

NASA, BOEING STARLINER LAUNCH TO ISS ON HOLD AS SPACECRAFT INVESTIGATION CONTINUES - Boeing is hoping to launch its Starliner crew capsule for a second time in an attempt to dock with the International Space Station. Boeing's first try way back in December 2019 failed to reach the correct orbit but gave it valuable data. The company seemed ready to try again, but its launch attempt was scrubbed Tuesday -- the second delay in less than a week. Engineers "detected unexpected valve position indications in the propulsion system" during a health check of the spacecraft after Monday's electrical storms in the region, Boeing said Tuesday. It's uncertain if the storms were responsible for the technical issue.   More
(Source: CNET - Aug 9)

MEASAT TO DE-ORBIT MEASAT-3 AFTER CONFIRMING TOTAL LOSS OF SATELLITE - Malaysian satellite operator Measat was unable to salvage the Measat-3 satellite after it suffered an anomaly in late June. The company announced Friday that it is now in the process of de-orbiting the satellite, which will take place over the next few weeks. Measat still does not know the cause of the anomaly and said it is still conducting an investigation with the satellite’s builder, Boeing Satellite Systems. “Despite maintaining continuous telemetry and command control of Measat-3, further testing and recovery efforts found that the satellite could not re-enter service,” the operator said.   More
(Source: Via Satellite - Aug 8)

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