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)

NASA, SPACEX CARGO RESUPPLY MISSION TO ISS SCHEDULED TO LIFTOFF FROM CAPE CANAVERAL MARCH 21 - New research and technology demonstrations for NASA are set to launch aboard the agency’s SpaceX 30th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. The launch is targeted for 4:55 p.m. EDT Thursday, March 21, lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Live launch coverage will air on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Tuesday, March 19. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms.   More
(Source: Space Coast Daily - Mar 18)

CHINA PREPARES TO LAUNCH RELAY SATELLITE QUEQIAO-2 - The combination of the relay satellite Queqiao-2 and the Long March-8 Y3 carrier rocket was vertically transferred on Sunday to the launching area at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China's Hainan Province. The satellite is projected to be launched at an appropriate time within the next few days, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).   More
(Source: China Military - Mar 18)

ELON MUSK'S SPACEX IS BUILDING A NETWORK OF SPY SATELLITES FOR U.S. INTELLIGENCE, REPORT SAYS - SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space company, is building a new network of spy satellites in a classified project for an American intelligence agency, according to a new report. Reuters, citing unnamed sources familiar with the classified contract, reports that the new network will involve hundreds of spy satellites. The revelation comes as military and intelligence agencies in the U.S. and elsewhere are increasingly reliant on SpaceX and its network of Starlink satellites.   More
(Source: Quartz - Mar 17)

DEBRIS FROM BURNING SATELLITES COULD BE AFFECTING EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD - The environmental impacts of spaceflight are becoming increasingly clear as more and more spacecraft are launched into Earth's orbit. The growing number of satellites burning up in Earth's atmosphere has concerned scientists for years, and now a new paper explores how the emerging shell of "conductive dust" around the planet that results from satellite re-entries may affect Earth's protective magnetic field.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 16)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 6,000TH STARLINK SATELLITE ON FRIDAY NIGHT FLIGHT - SpaceX tied its rocket-reuse record on Friday (March 15), while placing its 6,000th Starlink internet satellite into Earth orbit. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 more of the company's Starlink satellites launched at 8:21 p.m. EDT (0021 GMT March 16) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the 19th liftoff for this Falcon 9's first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description. That tied a mark set this past December and matched for the first time last month.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 16)

NASA RESTRUCTURES EARTH SYSTEM OBSERVATORY TO REDUCE COSTS - NASA is revamping a major series of Earth science missions, delaying some and relying more on international partners for others to reduce costs. As part of NASA’s fiscal year 2025 budget proposal released March 11, the agency said it was restructuring the Earth System Observatory line of missions. Those missions are intended to collect data on “designated observables” identified by the Earth science decadal survey in 2018.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 16)

THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM: SPACEX’S MASSIVE STARSHIP REACHES SPACE - SpaceX has successfully conducted a test launch of its massive Starship rocket. The rocket took off from the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, at 9:25 a.m. ET. The liftoff was smooth, as all 33 of the Starship’s “Super Heavy” booster engines fired in synchrony. The giant rocket lumbered off the pad, climbed out over the Gulf of Mexico and then the Starship separated cleanly from the booster and proceeded to orbit, where it began a series of in-flight tests.   More
(Source: WPR - Mar 15)

SURPRISE CHINESE LUNAR MISSION HIT BY LAUNCH ANOMALY - A pair of Chinese spacecraft, apparently intended for lunar orbit, have potentially been lost following an issue with a Long March rocket’s upper stage on Wednesday. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 8:51 a.m. Eastern (1251 UTC) March 13. There was no official acknowledgement of the launch until early Thursday, when Chinese state media Xinhua announced the DRO-A and B spacecraft had not been inserted accurately into their designated orbit by the rocket’s Yuanzheng-1S upper stage.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 15)

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