ULA LAUNCHES FIRST PRODUCTION AMAZON KUIPER SATELLITES ON ATLAS 5 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - Against the setting Sun, United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket thundered off the pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force State to begin the flight of the first production satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite internet constellation. Five solid rocket boosters helped propel the rocket and the 27 satellites on board from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at 7:01 p.m. EDT (2301 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 29)

AMAZON TO LAUNCH 1ST SATELLITES INTO ORBIT: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT PROJECT KUIPER - Amazon is preparing to launch its debut batch of satellites into orbit as it seeks to establish its own internet service for customers worldwide. Project Kuiper, a subsidiary of billionaire Jeff Bezos' online commerce behemoth, is meant to one day rival the satellite constellation that SpaceX founder Elon Musk's Starlink has been building in orbit for years.   More
(Source: USA Today - Apr 28)

LONG MARCH 3B LAUNCHES TIANLIAN-2 (05) SATELLITE TO BOOST SPACE DATA RELAY NETWORK - China added a new satellite to its geostationary Tianlian data tracking and relay communications satellite series Sunday with its latest launch. A Long March 3B lifted off at 11:54 a.m. Eastern (1554 UTC) April 27 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, southwest China. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced the success of the launch around an hour after liftoff. The previously undisclosed payload was confirmed as Tianlian-2 (05) data tracking and relay communications satellite.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Apr 28)

SPACEX DELAYS STARLINK LAUNCH FROM CALIFORNIA - SpaceX delayed by a day the Starlink 11-9 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base with 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites onboard. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is now targeting Monday, April 28 at 1:39 p.m. PDT (4:39 p.m. EDT, 2039 UTC). Assuming Firefly Aerospace is able to launch its Alpha rocket Sunday morning, this Falcon 9 flight will be the 18th orbital launch of the year from VSFB.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 28)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 23 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Sunday night carrying 23 Starlink satellites, including 13 capable of direct to cell phone service. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 came at 10:09 p.m. EDT (0209 UTC). It was SpaceX’s 48th Falcon 9 launch of 2025.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 28)

SPACEX TO LAUNCH 27 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM VANDENBERG SFB - SpaceX is preparing to launch back-to-back Falcon 9 rockets on Sunday from both California and Florida. Up first is the Starlink 11-9 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base with 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites onboard. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is targeting 3:41 p.m. PDT (6:41 p.m. EDT, 2241 UTC). Assuming Firefly Aerospace is able to launch its Alpha rocket Sunday morning, this Falcon 9 flight will be the 18th orbital launch of the year from VSFB.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 27)

RUSSIAN SATELLITE LINKED TO NUCLEAR WEAPON PROGRAM APPEARS OUT OF CONTROL, U.S. ANALYSTS SAY - The secretive Russian satellite in space that U.S. officials believe is connected to a nuclear anti-satellite weapon program has appeared to be spinning uncontrollably, suggesting it may no longer be functioning in what could be a setback for Moscow's space weapon efforts, according to U.S. analysts. The Cosmos 2553 satellite, launched by Russia weeks before invading Ukraine in 2022, has had various bouts of what appears to be errant spinning over the past year, according to Doppler radar data from space-tracking firm LeoLabs and optical data from Slingshot Aerospace shared with Reuters.   More
(Source: Reuters - Apr 26)

SHENZHOU-20 CREWED SPACECRAFT ARRIVES AT TIANGONG SPACE STATION - Three Chinese astronauts arrived at the Tiangong space station Thursday aboard the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, hours after launching from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Shenzhou-20 docked with the radial port of the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station at around 11:49 a.m. Eastern (15:49 UTC) April 24, according to the the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO).    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Apr 26)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 28 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched another 28 optimized Starlink V2 Mini satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday night. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-74 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 9:52 p.m. EDT (0152 UTC). The rocket followed a south-easterly trajectory once it left the pad.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 25)

Previous Next