SOYUZ ROCKET LAUNCHES NEW US-RUSSIAN CREW OF 3 TO ISS - A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts launched toward the International Space Station today (Sept. 11). NASA astronaut Don Pettit joined Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which lifted off atop a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today at 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 GMT; 9:23 p.m. local Baikonur time). The trio will join the Expedition 71 crew for a half-year mission aboard the ISS.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 12)

BOEING PLOTS 2026 QUANTUM NETWORKING SATELLITE DEMO - Boeing plans to deploy a small satellite in 2026 to test technology needed for a quantum internet capable of connecting more advanced sensors and computers worldwide, the company announced Sept. 10. The microwave-sized Q4S satellite is being designed to demonstrate quantum entanglement swapping, a communication technique that transfers information between particles without physically moving them across a distance.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 11)

ASTRONOMERS WORRIED BY LAUNCH OF FIVE NEW SUPER-BRIGHT SATELLITES - An unusually reflective prototype satellite that outshines almost every star in the sky will be joined by another five later this week. Astronomers warn the appearance of more and more bright objects in the night sky will severely hinder their work and could even limit our ability to spot asteroids heading for Earth. Texas-based AST SpaceMobile launched its first BlueWalker 3 satellite in 2022 and immediately drew criticism from astronomers who discovered that it was brighter than all but seven stars in the night sky.   More
(Source: New Scientist - Sep 11)

SPACEX SURMOUNTS CHALLENGING WEATHER, LAUNCHES POLARIS DAWN ASTRONAUT MISSION - Despite some challenging weather at the opening of the launch window, SpaceX managed to send the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission up to low Earth orbit on the second of three available liftoff opportunities. The predawn launch began the journey for four astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, named ‘Resilience.’ The Falcon 9 rocket supporting the flight lifted off Tuesday at 5:23 a.m. EDT (0923 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 10)

ESA PERFORMS TARGETED REENTRY OF CLUSTER SATELLITE - The European Space Agency successfully deorbited the first of four Cluster space science satellites Sept. 8, performing a first-of-its-kind “targeted reentry” over the South Pacific. The satellite, called Cluster 2 or “Salsa,” reentered a 2:47 p.m. Eastern in the South Pacific west of Chile. Spacecraft controllers had targeted this area to minimize the risk from debris surviving reentry. “Salsa’s reentry was always going to be very low risk, but we wanted to push the boundaries and reduce the threat even further, demonstrating our commitment to ESA’s Zero Debris approach,” Rolf Densing, director of operations at ESA, said in a statement.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 10)

A FIERY SATELLITE WILL PLUMMET BACK TO EARTH THIS EVENING - An aging satellite made partly by UK scientists will plunge back to Earth tonight. The European satellite Salsa is due to reenter our atmosphere at 7.48pm UK time, where it will burn up, leaving a fiery trail and giving rare clues about how we can reduce space debris in future. Some pieces of it may reach the surface, but luckily they are unlikely to hit anyone because they will be coming down over the ocean in the South Pacific. This isn’t a lucky coincidence: the return is the first-ever ‘targeted’ re-entry for a satellite, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.   More
(Source: MSN - Sep 9)

SHOEBOX-SIZED SATELLITE DETECTS A GAMMA-RAY EXPLOSION - BurstCube, a shoebox-sized satellite designed by NASA, has made a historic breakthrough by detecting its first gamma-ray burst, one of the most powerful explosions in the universe. This achievement marks a significant step forward in the study of these cosmic phenomena, demonstrating the incredible potential of small satellite missions in space exploration.   More
(Source: Earth.com - Sep 9)

NASA REAFFIRMS DECISION TO CANCEL OSAM-1 - NASA is proceeding with plans to shut down a satellite servicing mission at the end of the month after rejecting a proposal to revise the mission to meet a 2026 launch date. In a statement posted online Sept. 5, NASA announced it would proceed with closing out the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) project, ending work on the mission at the end of the current fiscal year, which concludes Sept. 30.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 8)

STARLINER LANDS SAFELY IN NEW MEXICO - Leaving its crew behind in orbit, Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station Friday and chalked up a successful unpiloted return to Earth, closing out a disappointing test flight with an on-target and apparently problem-free New Mexico touchdown. Despite NASA’s concerns about earlier thruster problems and multiple helium leaks in the ship’s propulsion pressurization system, the Starliner had no trouble undocking and moving away from the station at 6:04 p.m. EDT and executing a critical 59-second deorbit braking maneuver at 11:17 p.m. to drop out of orbit.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 7)

Previous Next