ROBOTIC RUSSIAN CARGO SHIP DELIVERS TONS OF SUPPLIES TO SPACE STATION - An uncrewed Russian cargo ship linked up with the International Space Station Sunday (Nov. 18) to deliver nearly 3 tons of supplies for the orbiting lab. The resupply ship, called Progress 71, docked at the space station at 2:28 p.m. EST (1928 GMT) as both spacecraft sailed 252 miles (405 kilometers) over Algeria. Progress 71 launched into orbit Friday (Nov. 16) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.   More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 20)

SPACEX POSTPONES RIDESHARE LAUNCH FROM CALIFORNIA - SpaceX has ordered additional inspections on a Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California set to launch 64 small satellites, a decision that is expected to keep the launcher grounded for several days until after the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said Saturday. The Falcon 9 was supposed to take off Monday from Vandenberg — a military base around 140 miles northwest of Los Angeles — but SpaceX announced the postponement in a tweet Saturday.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 19)

ELON MUSK’S SPACEX TO PUT 12,000 SATELLITES IN ORBIT - SpaceX got the green light this week from US authorities to put a constellation of nearly 12,000 satellites into orbit in order to boost cheap, wireless internet access by the 2020s. The SpaceX network would vastly multiply the number of satellites around Earth. Since the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was launched in 1957, humanity has sent just over 8,000 objects into space, according to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.   More
(Source: Livemint - Nov 18)

ANTARES ROCKET LAUNCHES CARGO RUN TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo carrier climbed into orbit Saturday from Wallops Island, Virginia, in pursuit of the International Space Station with more than 7,200 pounds of research hardware and provisions, the second supply ship launch to the space station in less than 24 hours. The unpiloted commercial cargo ship rode the 139-foot-tall (42.5-meter) Antares rocket away from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a facility owned by the state of Virginia on the Atlantic coastline at Wallops Island.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 18)

PROGRESS RESUPPLY CRAFT LIFTS OFF FROM KAZAKHSTAN, HEADS FOR SPACE STATION - A Russian Progress freighter loaded with nearly three tons of supplies, water and fuel lifted off on top of a Soyuz rocket Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a two-day trek to the International Space Station, clearing the way for the next Soyuz launch Dec. 3 with the next station-bound crew. Liftoff from Launch Pad No. 1 at Baikonur, the same departure point used by Yuri Gagarin on the first human space mission in 1961, occurred at 1814:08 GMT (1:14:08 p.m. EST) Friday as the space station sailed around 250 miles (400 kilometers) above southern Kazakhstan.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 18)

NOAA’S GOES-17 SATELLITE REACHES FINAL LOCATION, SENDS BACK AWESOME IMAGES - In order to make accurate weather predictions, NOAA needs weather satellites in orbit to peer down at Earth. Until recently, the agency was making do with very old hardware from the 1990s, but it has since started launching the much improved GOES-R satellites. GOES-17 launched in March of this year, and it sent back a few images shortly after that. Now, it’s finally reached its final destination over the Pacific Ocean, and it’s beaming back some stunning images and lots of atmospheric data. GOES-17 reached orbit with the help of a ULA Atlas-V rocket. After launch, the satellite was at an altitude of 22,300 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers), but it was looking down on central and South America.    More
(Source: ExtremeTech - Nov 17)

WATCH SPACEX LAUNCH A SATELLITE EVEN AMATEURS CAN USE - The next launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set for Thursday at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket will carry a payload designed to take amateur radio to new heights. Elon Musk's space company will reportedly launch the reusable "Block 5" booster that was used in July's Telstar 19V mission. This time around, however, it will carry Qatar's Es'hail-2 satellite to geostationary orbit. Es'hail-2 was designed and built by Mitsubishi Electric in Japan to "boost broadband delivery, broadcasting and global connectivity in Qatar, the entire region and beyond," according to the Qatar Satellite Company.    More
(Source: CNET - Nov 16)

SPACEX LAUNCHES QATARI COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket powered by a previously flown first stage Thursday, lifting Qatar's Es'hail 2 communications satellite into orbit in the California rocket-builder's 18th launch so far this year. In an increasingly routine feat, the booster's first stage fell away and flew itself back to a pinpoint touchdown on an off-shore drone ship, the company's 31st successful recovery. The stage first flew last July when it helped boost a Telstar communications satellite into orbit. The booster is one of six "block 5" stages launched so far by SpaceX featuring a variety of upgrades to improve performance and enable multiple flights.   More
(Source: CBS News - Nov 15)

BAD WEATHER FORCES NASA, NORTHROP GRUMMAN TO DELAY CARGO LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION - The launch of a Northrop Grumman rocket carrying NASA's next cargo flight to the International Space Station has been delayed at least one day to Friday (Nov. 15) due to bad weather expected to pummel the mission's seaside launch site in Virginia. A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket was scheduled to launch an uncrewed Cygnus cargo ship early Thursday, but forecasts predicted a 90-percent chance that bad weather would prevent the flight, NASA officials said today (Nov. 14). The launch is now scheduled for early Friday at 4:23 a.m. EST (0923 GMT).   More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 15)

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