CHINA LAUNCHES QUEQIAO-2 RELAY SATELLITE TO SUPPORT MOON MISSIONS - China launched its Queqiao-2 relay satellite Tuesday to support upcoming lunar far side and south polar missions. A Long March 8 rocket lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 8:31 p.m. Eastern, March 19 (0031 UTC March 20). The China National Space Administration (CNSA) confirmed the Queqiao-2 satellite was on a trajectory towards the moon around 40 minutes after launch. CNSA stated Queqiao-2 had deployed its solar arrays and was in its predetermined orbit with a perigee of 200 kilometers and an apogee of 420,000 kilometers.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 21)

10 SMALL RESEARCH SATELLITES TO FLY TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - NASA selected 10 small research satellites across eight U.S. states to fly to the International Space Station as part of the agency's efforts to expand education and science opportunities, support technology advancement, and provide for workforce development. These small satellites, called CubeSats, use a standard size and form measured in units. CubeSats encourage greater collaboration across government, industry, and academia because they are modular and inexpensive to build and launch.   More
(Source: RTTNews - Mar 21)

SOYUZ MS-25 SET TO LAUNCH TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION WITH CREW FROM RUSSIA, BELARUS, AND NASA - The fourth human spaceflight — and third orbital human flight — of the year is being readied for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station (ISS). Soyuz MS-25 is scheduled to fly on Thursday, March 21, at 13:21 UTC from Site 31/6 at the spaceport. Mission commander Oleg Novitsky, representing Roscosmos, NASA’s Tracy Caldwell Dyson, and Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya will be on board.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Mar 21)

NASA, SPACEX READY TO LAUNCH 30TH CARGO MISSION TO ISS ON MARCH 21 - Welcome back to Pad-40! SpaceX and NASA are moving toward the launch of company's 30th commercial resupply services mission (CRS-30) to the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying an uncrewed SpaceX Cargo Dragon is scheduled for Thursday, March 21, at 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT) from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) AT Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 21)

INTELSAT EXPANDS ONEWEB LEO PARTNERSHIP - Geostationary satellite operator Intelsat has bought at least five times more capacity from Eutelsat’s OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation to strengthen its multi-orbit broadband strategy. The companies announced March 19 that Intelsat has made a firm commitment to buy $250 million worth of LEO capacity over six years starting mid-2024. Intelsat also has the option to acquire an extra $250 million worth of capacity under their deal, which would extend the length of the contract by a year to 2031.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 20)

USSF-124 LAUNCH: DELIVERING A SIX-SATELLITE PAYLOAD - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched at 5:30 p.m. ET from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida as part of the USSF-124 mission, to deliver six satellites into orbit under the National Security Space Launch Program (NSSL). This was the 11th launch for SpaceX under the NSSL program and the last of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 0 satellites scheduled for launch.   More
(Source: The Aerospace Corporation - Mar 20)

NASA SETS COVERAGE FOR CREW LAUNCH; TRIO TO JOIN EXPEDITION 70 - Three crew members will blast off on Thursday, March 21, to support Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station. NASA will provide full coverage of launch and crew arrival at the microgravity laboratory. NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus, are scheduled to lift off on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:21 a.m. EDT (6:21 p.m. Baikonur time).   More
(Source: NASA - Mar 20)

SPACEX LAUNCHES FALCON 9 ROCKET ON SUNSET STARLINK FLIGHT FROM VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE - SpaceX kicked off another busy week following the third test flight of its Starship rocket on Thursday and three Falcon 9 missions. The company notched a Monday launch with 22 Starlink satellites from its pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on the Starlink 7-16 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at 7:28 p.m. PT (1028 p.m. ET, 0228 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 19)

MAXAR EYES SPRING LAUNCH OF LONG-DELAYED WORLDVIEW LEGION SATELLITES - After years of delays, Maxar Technologies is finally on the home stretch to launching the first two satellites of its next-generation WorldView Legion Earth-imaging constellation. The company announced March 18 that the first two of six planned high-resolution WorldView Legion satellites have arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, paving the way for liftoff as soon as April aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This marks a crucial milestone for the WorldView Legion program, which has suffered repeated setbacks since Maxar started developing the spacecraft in 2017.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 19)

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