SPACEX ROCKET TO LAUNCH NEW STARLINK SATELLITE FLEET ON SEPT. 5 AFTER DELAY - SpaceX will launch a new batch of its Starlink satellites into orbit on Thursday (Sept. 5) after a one-day delay due to weather and you'll be able to watch it live online. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 21 Starlink internet satellites to space from the company's Space Launch Complex 40 pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 8:35 a.m. EDT (1235GMT). You can watch it live on SpaceX's X account (formerly Twitter), starting about five minutes before liftoff.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 5)

ASTRONAUTS STUCK ON SPACE STATION WILL BE BROUGHT BACK HOME BY SPACE FORCE GUARDIAN - A Space Force officer will command a mission later this month to safely bring home two astronauts who have been unexpectedly stuck aboard the International Space Station, or ISS, marking the first time a Guardian will launch into space for such a high-profile operation. Col. Nick Hague, an active-duty Space Force Guardian, will be joined by Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for NASA's Crew-9 mission.    More
(Source: Military.com - Sep 5)

ESA SCRUBS SWAN SONG LAUNCH OF ITS VEGA ROCKET DUE TO “ELECTRICAL ISSUES” - The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing to complete its transition to its Vega-C rocket with the final launch of its first-generation Vega rocket. The mission, dubbed VV24, will carry an Earth-imaging satellite to a sun-synchronous orbit.
Update 6:41 p.m. EDT: Arianespace announced that the mission is scrubbed for a Tuesday night launch attempt and is working towards an opportunity on Wednesday, Sept. 4.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 4)

LAUNCH ROUNDUP: VEGA SET TO BE RETIRED; POLARIS DAWN SET FOR NEW LAUNCH ATTEMPT - This week, rockets will launch from all over the globe. To start the week, China’s CASC is sending a Chang Zheng 4B on what could be its 50th successful mission. The final launch of Arianespace’s Vega rocket is set to take place on Tuesday, and Polaris Dawn is expected to launch four private astronauts to low-Earth orbit, during which the world’s first private EVA out of Crew Dragon will take place.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 3)

FINAL JOURNEY FOR FINLAND’S FIRST SATELLITE: AALTO-1’S HISTORIC MISSION COMES TO AN END - Finland’s pioneering satellite, Aalto-1, is set to make its final pass over the country today, marking the end of a remarkable seven-year journey in space. The satellite, which was the first to be registered in Finland’s space registry, will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up, closing a chapter that began a new era in Finnish space exploration. Launched on Midsummer’s Eve in 2017, Aalto-1 was a groundbreaking project led by students and researchers from Aalto University.    More
(Source: Helsinki Times - Sep 3)

SPACEX LAUNCHES BACK-TO-BACK FALCON 9 ROCKETS WITHIN 65 MINUTES AND ACES 2 LANDINGS DAYS AFTER A FAILED BOOSTER TOUCHDOWN - SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets in just over an hour early Saturday (Aug. 31) and nailed back-to-back booster landings three days after a recent failure. The two Falcon 9 launches — which lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, respectively — delivered a total of 42 Starlink internet satellites into orbit, with each rocket's first stage acing an offshore landing. The successful SpaceX landings followed a failed Falcon 9 rocket landing on Aug. 28 during a booster's 23rd flight, a record for SpaceX.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 2)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 21 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 RETURN TO FLIGHT MISSION - After shuffling the launch schedule a bit, SpaceX kicked off back-to-back launches from both coasts in the span of a little more than an hour. The company first launched the Starlink 8-10 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, before it launched another flight of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The launch will add another 21 Starlink satellites to SpaceX’s growing megaconstellation in low Earth orbit. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) happened at 3:43 a.m. EDT (0743 UTC), the end of the Saturday launch window.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 1)

NASA BUMPS TWO ASTRONAUTS FROM SPACEX FLIGHT TO MAKE ROOM FOR STARLINER CREW - NASA has bumped two female astronauts, including the commander, from the next SpaceX crew rotation flight to the international space station, freeing up two seats to give the agency’s Starliner astronauts a ride home next February. Crew 9 commander Zena Cardman, a space rookie, and veteran Stephanie Wilson will remain behind when the Crew Dragon ferry ship takes off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sept. 24 carrying crewmate Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 31)

BOEING'S 1ST CREWED STARLINER TO RETURN TO EARTH WITHOUT ASTRONAUTS ON SEPT. 6 - Boeing's Starliner capsule now has a homecoming date. NASA announced this evening (Aug. 29) that Starliner will depart the International Space Station (ISS) no earlier than next Friday (Sept. 6), provided the weather cooperates and no technical issues pop up. If all goes according to plan, the capsule will undock at 6:04 p.m. EDT (2204 GMT) on Sept. 6 and land under parachutes six hours later in White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 31)

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