OCEAN EXPERTS RAISE CONCERNS OVER DEORBITING THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - NASA is faced with the challenge of safely deorbiting, in one fell swoop, over 400 tons of space hardware in a few years. As of now, the agency plans on deorbiting the International Space Station in early 2031 by dragging it back toward Earth and dumping it into an isolated patch of the Pacific Ocean — an idea that has scientists and environmental watchdogs ringing alarm bells. As recently reported by the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG), the orbital outpost is plagued by ongoing wear-and-tear issues, such as cracks and air leaks, after decades of use.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Oct 11)

X-37B BEGINS NOVEL SPACE MANEUVER - The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-7) will begin executing a series of novel maneuvers, called aerobraking, to change its orbit around Earth and safely dispose of its service module components in accordance with recognized standards for space debris mitigation. Since December 28, 2023, the United States Space Force, supported by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, has conducted radiation effect experiments and has been testing Space Domain Awareness technologies in a Highly Elliptical Orbit.   More
(Source: United States Space Force - Oct 10)

NASA “REALLY LOOKING FORWARD” TO NEXT STARSHIP TEST FLIGHT - As SpaceX prepares for the test flight of its Starship vehicle, NASA is closely watching as it waits for the company to achieve the next milestones on development of the lunar lander version of the vehicle. SpaceX announced late Oct. 7 that it was preparing to launch Starship on its fifth integrated test flight as soon as Oct. 13, pending regulatory approval. The mission will be similar to the fourth mission in June, with the Starship upper stage flying a suborbital trajectory targeting a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Oct 10)

DRAGON'S-EYE VIEW: ASTRONAUT CAPTURES AMAZING SHOTS OF HURRICANE MILTON FROM SPACE - NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick has given us dramatic, Dragon's-eye views of Hurricane Milton churning its way toward landfall. Dominick posted a timelapse video on X (formerly Twitter) today, showing Hurricane Milton through the window of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour, which is docked to the International Space Station (ISS).   More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 8)

NASA IS WORKING ON A PLAN TO REPLACE ITS SPACE STATION, BUT TIME IS RUNNING OUT - The next year is crucial for the future of NASA and its plans to extend human activity in low-Earth orbit. For the first time in decades, the US space agency faces the not-too-distant prospect of failing to have at least one crew member spinning around the planet. Over the next several months, NASA will finalize a strategy for its operations in low-Earth orbit after 2030.   More
(Source: Ars Technica - Oct 7)

BRIGHTNESS OF FIRST CHINESE BROADBAND CONSTELLATION SATELLITES ALARMS ASTRONOMERS - The first satellites of a Chinese broadband constellation are significantly brighter than those of Western systems, posing a new challenge for astronomers. In a paper posted on the arXiv preprint server Sept. 30, a group of observational astronomers reported on observations of a set of 18 Qianfan, or “Thousand Sails,” satellites launched in August. The satellites are the first of a constellation that may ultimately consist of more than 14,000 satellites.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Oct 7)

ULA LAUNCHES SECOND VULCAN FLIGHT, ENCOUNTERS STRAP-ON BOOSTER ANOMALY - United Launch Alliance fired off a next-generation Vulcan rocket Friday in the second of two “certification” test flights needed before the new launcher can be used to carry high-priority national security payloads for the U.S. Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office. One of two solid-propellant strap-on boosters provided by Northrop Grumman suffered an anomaly of some sort during the climb out of the lower atmosphere, but the Vulcan managed to continue on into orbit.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 7)

SPACEX RESOLVES MISHAP MOVES STARLINK LAUNCH INTO ONEWEB 20 SLOT POSTPONING ONEWEB - A batch of 20 microsatellites for the OneWeb satellite constellation, which is intended to provide global Internet broadband service for individual consumers, was scheduled to launch on Tuesday, October 8 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 11:49 PM – 12:23 AM PDT however as of October 1 the FAA schedule indicates otherwise.    More
(Source: SatNews - Oct 3)

ASTRONAUTS STRANDED IN SPACE ARE NOW ONE STEP CLOSER TO RETURNING HOME - On Saturday afternoon, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral for a mission that marked the first human spaceflight to lift off from the company's Space Launch Complex-40. The mission, however, will likely be remembered for something different. In August, NASA determined that SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission would be the solution to a months-long space drama that turned astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore’s eight-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS) into eight months.   More
(Source: Smithsonian Magazine - Oct 3)

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