NASA Space Flight

Numerous Raptor 2 engines are now being put through their paces at SpaceX’s test center in McGregor, involving static fire testing at the five test bays, ahead of the evolved engine being shipped to Starbase to be involved in future launches. While Booster 4 and Ship 20 remain at the launch site, Boosters 7 and 8 and future Ships are continuing their build-up processing at the Production Site. Forward Path: See Also SpaceX Super Heavy/Starship Section L2 SpaceX Section Click here to Join L2 Following milestone testing with the Chopsticks on the Launch Tower’s Mechazilla system, the prospect of the arms […]

After a month-long stay at the International Space Station, NASA and SpaceX are ready to support the return of the CRS-24 Cargo Dragon back to Earth. Currently, ground controllers are targeting 10:40 AM EST (15:40 UTC) on Sunday, January 23, for the undocking of the Dragon spacecraft from the Harmony module’s zenith – or space-facing – port. Once the spacecraft undocks from the Station, it will perform a series of maneuvers to lower its orbit and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. This will set it up to splash down off the coast of Florida at approximately 12:44 AM EST on Monday, January 24. […]

United Launch Alliance will carry out an Atlas V launch Friday with the third pair of GSSAP satellites for the US Space Force. Flying in its never-before-used 511 configuration, Atlas will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 2:00 PM EST (19:00 UTC) for a lengthy mission that will inject the satellites into a near-geostationary orbit. The GSSAP (Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program) is a US Space Force project using small satellites to inspect other spacecraft operating in geostationary orbit. Friday’s launch, which is designated USSF-8 (US Space Force 8), is carrying the fifth and sixth satellites in this […]

Two Russian cosmonauts are conducting a spacewalk at the International Space Station (ISS) to fully configure and integrate the outpost’s newest module to support future operations.  The two spacewalkers, Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, began their spacewalk at 12:17:31 UTC and are scheduled to spend about seven hours outside the station, mainly working on cables, handrails, and antennas. Spacewalk procedures Russian EVA-51 is being performed by cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov, wearing Russian Orlan spacesuits. Both have conducted Extravehicular Activities (EVAs, or spacewalks) before, and Dubrov will wear the suit with the blue stripes while Shkaplerov will wear the suit with […]

At 7:04 PM EST on January 18 (00:04 UTC on January 19), SpaceX will launch another batch of 49 Starlink satellites to orbit aboard a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This will be the third mission for SpaceX in 2022, as the company has already launched the Starlink Group 4-5 and Transporter-3 missions this month. In addition, this mission will mark a quick turnaround for LC-39A, as Starlink Group 4-5 also launched from the same pad on January 6. This launch is also following a similar trajectory to the last Starlink launch, […]

China successfully kicked off 2022 with the launch of the classified Shiyan-13 payload from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) aboard a Chang Zheng 2D (internationally called the Long March 2D).  The launch occurred at 10:35 AM local time (02:35 UTC) on January 17 with the Shiyan-13 payload inserted into a 468 x 493 km Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) with an inclination of 97.44 degrees.  This particular orbit is often used for imaging and weather satellites, as it ensures that the illumination angle stays the same for the satellite as it passes over different areas.  As usual with the Shiyan satellites – […]

NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime launch processing contractor Jacobs are performing final installations, functional checks, and buttoning up the Artemis 1 vehicle in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida before rolling it out to its seaside launch pad for the first time. Rollout to Launch Pad 39B will be no earlier than mid-February after an engine computer needed to be replaced at the end of the year. In addition to finishing functional checks and closing the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage engine compartment out for launch, EGS and Jacobs are […]

Exoplanets all over the universe come in different sizes, compositions, colors, and temperatures. However, they typically don’t come in different shapes, as nearly every single planet ever discovered is thought to be spherical in shape — except for one. New data from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Characterising Exoplanets Satellite (CHEOPS) space observatory, as well as data collected by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, has revealed the shape of an exoplanet that features many extreme characteristics. The CHEOPS data is the first time astrophysicists have ever detected the deformation of an exoplanet and provides valuable information […]

Having conducted the first series of Mechazilla catch and stack systems tests, SpaceX’s Starship program has come one step closer to seeing another fully stacked Starship on the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM). Several tests were conducted with the chopsticks, paving the way for the first lift of a booster and a ship’s potential stacking following the previous full-stack operation conducted by a crane. Chopsticks Tested: Testing the chopsticks began the night of January 2, when they were raised a few feet before being lowered onto their resting blocks. This was the first time the chopsticks were moved vertically, with the only […]

Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne and its 747 carrier aircraft “Cosmic Girl” are scheduled to launch the US Defense Department’s STP-27VPB mission along with three commercial satellites. The launch is scheduled for Thursday, January 13th at approximately 2:00 PM PST (22:00 UTC). Cosmic Girl will take off from the Mojave Air and Space Port before flying out to the launch zone near the Channel Islands off the southern California coast. The LauncherOne vehicle, making its fourth orbital flight attempt, and the second overall orbital launch of 2022, will be carrying 11 satellites to a 500-kilometer circular orbit inclined 45 degrees to the Equator. […]

SpaceX is all set for their second orbital launch of the year, named Transporter-3. The liftoff is currently scheduled for the opening of a 29 minute launch window at 10:25 AM EST (15:25 UTC) on Thursday, January 13, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This is the third dedicated rideshare mission operated by SpaceX, which will deliver 105 satellites to a 525-kilometer altitude Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). Making its tenth trip to space, the Falcon 9 booster supporting this mission is B1058-10, having previously supported SpaceX’s first crewed flight (Demo-2), the launch of […]

SpaceX has provided some interesting context into its plans to launch vast numbers of next-generation “Gen2” Starlink satellites on its Starship launch system, in response to questions from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Commission filed a series of questions to SpaceX last month, which the company has now addressed. In May 2020, SpaceX requested a permit from the FCC to operate nearly 30,000 satellites in a new generation Starlink constellation they called “Gen2.” This new constellation, as SpaceX explained, would be used to augment the capabilities of the first one and be able to serve more people at higher bandwidth […]

The pioneering Imaging X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE) telescope, the first observatory in space to perform detailed polarimetry of some of the highest-energy objects the universe has to offer, has ended its highly-successful commissioning phase just over 30 days after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center on December 9, 2021, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. As commissioning comes to an end and project leads turn their attention to the calibration of IXPE’s first-of-their-kind instruments with the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, NASASpaceflight spoke with Principal Investigator Dr. Martin Weisskopf about the status of the mission and how the first-of-its-kind telescope will […]

At 18:17 UTC on January 8, 2022, the joint NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) successfully deployed the starboard wing of its massive 6.5-meter mirror — marking the end of the observatory’s intense and critical deployment sequence. The feat capped an impressive series of engineering accomplishments, with all major critical deployments that could have ended the mission outright passing without major issue. Final mirror deployment followed the successful unfurling of the massive sunshield — a first-of-its-kind operation that saw Northrop Grumman’s decades of work on the project come to fruition. James Webb […]

While many cultures celebrated their respective holiday traditions on Earth, the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) carried on with their busy schedules high above. December 2021 saw three major visiting vehicle movements, one spacewalk, and many of the research and maintenance tasks that allow the ISS to function as one of the world’s most important scientific laboratories. The Expedition 66 crew currently aboard the station is commanded by Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, who is joined by cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov along with NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and the European Space Agency’s Matthias […]

SpaceX is gearing up to launch another batch of Starlink satellites to the fourth shell of the constellation. Teams are currently targeting January 6 at 21:49 UTC (16:49 EST) for the first global orbital launch attempt of the year. Lifting off from historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), the Starlink Group 4-5 mission will lift 49 Starlink v1.5 satellites southeastward from Kennedy into a 210 x 339 km low Earth orbit with an inclination of 53.22 degrees. Following payload separation, the satellites will slowly raise their orbit until they are in their operational altitude of 540 km. This process takes several months […]

As 2022 begins, the ASU (Arizona State University)-led team for the NASA Psyche spacecraft is preparing to conduct thermal vacuum testing in preparation for launch. Psyche is a first-of-a-kind mission set to orbit an M-Type asteroid, scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster this August. Following a three-and-a-half-year transit through the inner solar system, Psyche will enter into orbit of the main asteroid belt object, 16 Psyche. Its sister mission, Lucy, is continuing to its first flyby on Earth despite a solar array issue; both missions operate under NASA’s Discovery program. Psyche overview: Psyche was selected as a finalist […]

SpaceX’s Starship program is set to take its next leap in the coming year, following a 2021 that included numerous test flights and widescale groundwork at its launch and production facilities. With the success of Ship 15’s 10 kilometer launch and landing, SpaceX has refocused towards a full-stack launch to orbital velocity as the opening salvo to a year of test flights. Starship testing in 2021: Starbase entered 2021 soon after Starship SN8, the first full-scale Starship prototype, had just suffered a failure on landing due to low header tank pressure. SN9, a similar but slightly improved vehicle, was installed onto […]

After the successful launch of three new Mars missions in the summer of 2020, Mars exploration was looking to have a  groundbreaking year in 2021. Astonishingly, all three missions — NASA’s Mars 2020, China’s Tianwen-1, and the United Arab Emirates’ Hope orbiter — successfully arrived at Mars in February, and have already sent back amazing data and images of the red planet. Furthermore, missions like NASA’s Curiosity rover and InSight lander celebrated various milestones on Mars this year and sent back amazing results and findings that helped further our knowledge of Mars’ past and future. While new missions were landing on […]

The ISS, now in its twenty-first year of continuous human occupation, has had a busy year of operations. Two new modules were added and 18 visiting vehicles were at the Station throughout the year. In total, 23 humans called the orbiting outpost home in 2021. Russian Orbital Segment expansion This year marked the completion of the Russian Orbital Segment – shortened to ROS – with the arrival of Nauka and Prichal, the first of which replaced the Pirs module. Pirs, also known as Docking Compartment-1, arrived at the ISS on September 17, 2001. It served as the primary airlock module for […]

Iran’s Simorgh rocket appears to have suffered another failure during a previously-unexpected launch Thursday. Iranian media has reported that the rocket lifted off from the Imam Khomeini Space Centre at 03:30 UTC (07:00 local time) Thursday morning with three payloads aboard, and although a successful launch was announced, no objects have been detected in orbit. Iran made its first successful satellite launch in February 2009, using a Safir rocket to deploy the Omid spacecraft into low Earth orbit. Derived from the Shahab-3 missile – itself a descendent of the Soviet R-17 family of missiles known in the West as the Scud […]

The year 2021 has been a historic one for China’s space program. The country achieved a successful landing on Mars, started on-orbit assembly of the modular Chinese Space Station, and has a wide range of orbital-class launch vehicles entering service and under development. Looking back at the launch statistics of 2021, China managed an average cadence of launching more than once a week for the first time in its orbital spaceflight history. 55 orbital launches have taken place – with most of these using rockets of either the legacy Chang Zheng 2, 3, and 4 family, or the next-generation Chang Zheng […]

China concluded its busy 2021 launch manifest Wednesday with the successful launch of a Chang Zheng 3B, which lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 16:43 UTC. Wednesday’s launch, which carried the Tongxin Jishu Shiyan Weixing 9 (TJSW-9) satellite into geostationary transfer orbit, marked China’s 55th and final orbital launch of the year – the most that China has accomplished in a single year and more than any other country during 2021. The exact purpose of the TJSW series of satellites has not been made public, but they are referred to as “communication technology test satellites” for radio, TV, […]

China has launched the Tianhui 4 cartography satellite onboard a Chang Zheng 2D today. Liftoff occurred at 11:13 UTC from the Jiuquan launch site in China. The target orbit for the payload was a polar orbit. The satellite will be used for Earth observation and mapping for civil and military uses. The weight and structure of the payload are not known at this point. The satellite was developed by the Chinese Association of Science and Technology (CAST) which is a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Cooperation (CASC). This is the first satellite of the Tianhui 4 series. A […]

Having launched 31 orbital Falcon 9 missions and four suborbital Starship tests, 2021 was the most active year for SpaceX to date. These launches included a number of new reuse records, including flying a booster for the eleventh time, flying the same booster twice in under a month, flying a fairing half for the fifth time, and setting a turnaround record for Dragon. Falcon 9 Boosters 2021 brought only two new Falcon 9s into the fleet: B1067 and B1069, which first flew on the CRS-22 and CRS-24 missions, respectively.  All of the other 29 Falcon 9 missions were flown on flight-proven […]

Following a launch on December 25 atop an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket, the joint NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is currently traveling toward the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2 (L2), where it is expected to orbit and perform future science observations. Liftoff occurred at 12:20 UTC from the ELA-3 launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. James Webb successfully separated from the Ariane 5 upper stage 27 minutes and seven seconds after liftoff, beginning its journey to the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrange point after Ariane 5 successfully put the observatory on the correct trajectory to enter the Lagrange point […]

At 13:10 UTC (08:10 EST) on December 27, Starsem, Arianespace, and Roscosmos will launch a Soyuz 2.1b for OneWeb flight 12 from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch is also known as ST-37 by both Arianespace and Starsem. Starsem is a joint French-Russian company that commercializes Soyuz launches. This year, a total of five OneWeb missions were launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia, and another two launched from Baikonur. Vostochny is the newest cosmodrome for Russia, while Baikonur is the oldest and originated from the Soviet era. The last OneWeb launch from Baikonur occurred on […]

The Shenzhou-13 crew has conducted the second EVA of its mission, with taikonauts Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu exiting the Tianhe core module to conduct a six-hour spacewalk. Meanwhile, Wang Yaping stayed inside the station to assist, over a month after she became the first Chinese woman to walk outside her spacecraft. During the EVA, the taikonauts were to deploy an external camera known as “panoramic camera C,” install a foot restraint platform, and test various methods of translation (movement) of objects outside the station. These objectives appear to have been successfully conducted. The EVA started at 10:44 UTC on December […]

China has deployed a new Earth resources observation satellite Sunday via its Chang Zheng 4C rocket. The Ziyuan-1 02E satellite, along with an amateur radio CubeSat, lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 03:11 UTC (11:11 Beijing Time). Ziyuan (ZY), meaning Resource, is a series of remote-sensing satellites which China uses to acquire high-resolution images that can be used for surveying Earth resources, disaster management, and ecological and land use monitoring. The first Ziyuan satellite, Ziyuan-1 01, was launched in 1999 in a partnership between China and the Brazilian national space agency, INPE. Six of the nine Ziyuan satellites […]

It is a mission more than 25 years in the making. The revolutionary JWST (James Webb Space Telescope)—a partnership between NASA, the ESA (European Space Agency), and the CSA (Canadian Space Agency)—is atop its Ariane 5 rocket on launchpad ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre in South America. Liftoff of James Webb is slated for a 32-minute-long window that opens on Saturday, December 25 at 12:20 UTC (7:20 am EST) with backup opportunities available nearly every day thereafter. Ariane 5 will not take JWST to an Earth orbit but will instead place the telescope into a 30-day transfer trajectory to the […]

Russia is scheduled to launch the third and final demonstration flight of the Angara A5 rocket on Friday, December 24, at 15:00 UTC. Angara is being developed and built by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and is intended to replace several existing launch vehicles. Angara will attempt to place its 2,400 kg mass simulator in a near geostationary orbit (GEO) using a new Persei upper stage. After a few hours, the Persei upper stage will perform two burns to place the payload in a graveyard orbit, a few hundred kilometers above GEO. Development History To ensure Russia’s ability […]

China launched a pair of satellites called Shiyan-12-01 and Shiyan-12-02 on board a Chang Zheng 7A rocket at 10:12 UTC. The pair of satellites launched to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in China. The purpose of the satellites is spatial environment detection and testing. Each of them has a weight of 3 tons. The development was executed by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), which has developed other payloads of this kind before, including the Shiyan-9 and Shiyan-11 payloads. See Also Shiyan 12 Updates China Forum Section L2 Resources Click here to Join […]

On December 17, NASA announced a delay of the launch of the Artemis 1 mission until no earlier than March 2022.  Artemis 1 will be the first launch of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to the Moon. The latest delay was caused at least in part by efforts to resolve a problem with an RS-25 engine controller on the rocket’s Core Stage.  The issue first occurred in late November; after four weeks of troubleshooting, NASA decided to replace the controller, which will take place over the next few weeks. An updated forecast […]

Japan is set to launch the Inmarsat-6 Flight 1 (I-6 F1) satellite Wednesday as a part of Inmarsat’s next-generation satellite broadband service. I-6 F1 will launch aboard an H-IIA 204 rocket during a two-hour launch window that opens at 11:33:52 PM Japan Standard Time (16:33:52 UTC). Designated H-IIA F45, Wednesday’s launch is Japan’s third orbital flight of 2021 and H-IIA’s second mission of the year, marking the 45th flight of the H-IIA vehicle overall. Rocket and Payload Overview H-IIA is Japan’s flagship and currently largest rocket operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Since H-IIA’s […]

NASA and SpaceX have launched the Commercial Resupply Services 24 (CRS-24) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) early Tuesday morning aboard a SpaceX Cargo Dragon 2 vehicle. Liftoff occurred at 5:07 AM EST (10:07 UTC) on Tuesday, December 21, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following launch and separation, the Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft will dock to the IDA-3 zenith (upward-facing) docking port located on the Harmony module the following day, on December 22. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predicted a 30% chance of acceptable weather at the time of liftoff. […]

NASA and SpaceX are set to launch the Commercial Resupply Services 24 (CRS-24) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) early Tuesday morning aboard a SpaceX Cargo Dragon 2 vehicle. Liftoff is currently scheduled for 5:06 AM EST (10:06 UTC) on Tuesday, December 21, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following launch and separation, the Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft will dock to the IDA-3 zenith (upward-facing) docking port located on the Harmony module the following day, on December 22. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predicts a 30% chance of acceptable weather at […]

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and Japanese spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano are preparing to conclude their short, 12-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Soyuz MS-20 – which will carry the trio home – is scheduled to undock from the Station’s Poisk module on December 19 at 23:50 UTC. The crew will then land in Kazakhstan on December 20 at 03:13 UTC. Soyuz MS-20 The crew of Soyuz MS-20 launched on a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on December 8. After six hours of navigating to the ISS, the spacecraft docked to the […]

Following a successful Starlink mission from Vandenberg, California, SpaceX is now prepared to launch two more Falcon 9 missions from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The second of these three missions in just three days will carry the Turksat-5B communications satellite to GTO (geostationary transfer orbit). The launch is slated to occur Saturday evening on December 18th within a launch window from 10:58 PM to 12:28 AM EST (03:58 to 05:28 UTC). Falcon 9 will lift off from SLC-40 (Space Launch Complex 40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The 45th Weather Squadron of Space Launch Delta 45 at Patrick Space Force […]

In the company’s third-to-last launch of 2021, SpaceX will deploy another group of Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit early on Saturday morning. The Starlink Group 4-4 mission will launch 52 Starlink satellites into a 53.22° inclination orbit at 4:41 AM PST (12:41 UTC) Saturday morning. The mission will lift off from SLC-4E (Space Launch Complex 4 East) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. But despite launching from the west coast, the mission is targeting the 53.2° shell – SpaceX’s first launch to a non-polar orbit from Vandenberg. The Starlink Group X-Y nomenclature was introduced after SpaceX completed their first […]

The prospect of Starship making its mark on the Space Coast entered another level this week when NASA revealed it would conduct environmental assessments on LC-49 to support Starship launch and landing operations. With SpaceX already confirming they will restart work on a Starship pad inside 39A, the potential of a second site at LC-49 could provide a considerable increase in Starship launch cadence from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Starship East Coast: See Also SpaceX Super Heavy/Starship Section L2 SpaceX Section Click here to Join L2 SpaceX has always held ambitions of launching from KSC, with 39A cited as the […]

At 02:00 UTC, or 10:00 am local time Wednesday, ExPace unsuccessfully launched a Kuaizhou-1A rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. The vehicle was launched from Site 95 at Jiuquan. The launch failure was confirmed by Chinese state media and stated that “abnormal performance was detected during the flight of the rocket.”  Xinhua stated that an investigation into the launch failure has been opened. The cause of the launch failure has not yet been confirmed. The Kuaizhou-1A was carrying two satellites, called GeeSAT-1A and GeeSAT-1B. These two payloads were commercial navigation satellites. See Also GeeSAT-1A & 1B Updates China […]

On December 14, 2006, a Delta II rocket launched from VAFB (Vandenberg Air Force Base) SLC-2 (Space Launch Complex 2) on the NROL-21 mission. This launch marked the first mission for ULA (United Launch Alliance) and the beginning of its 15-year history. The Delta rocket family has three more launches before being phased out with the Vulcan-Centaur rocket. Delta has seen an extensive history with operations of nearly 65 years and operating in two different countries. Delta started its life in two different rockets during the late 1950s. Vanguard and Thor-Delta: Delta began from the Thor and Vanguard rockets. Thor was […]

Super Heavy Booster 4 has returned to the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM), this time for an expected series of Static Fire tests. Having previously taken up its place on the OLM for fit checks, including the first-ever integration with Ship 20 to complete an impressive full-stack, the latest move is set to pave the way for a series of tests – including on the Ground Support Equipment (GSE) – required ahead of flight. Booster 4 and Future Vehicles: See Also SpaceX Super Heavy/Starship Section L2 SpaceX Section Click here to Join L2 Booster 4 had been sat patiently on a stand […]

China has launched the second satellite for the Tianlian II tracking and data relay series. This satellite enables communications between spacecraft and is part of the new series of Tianlian satellites, after the initial launch of the first Tianlian II in March of 2019.  The liftoff occurred at 00:09 local time on December 14 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The launch vehicle was a Chang Zheng 3B/E and the launch was confirmed a success by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The target orbit for the Tianlian satellites is a Geostationary Orbit (GEO). The Tianlian satellites are used to provide […]

Russia’s Proton-M rocket will launch a pair of communications satellites Monday, in a rare outing for Russia’s heavy-lift launch vehicle. Monday’s launch is expected to take place at 12:07 UTC (17:07 local time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with the mission lasting 18 hours from liftoff to final spacecraft separation. Proton’s payload is made up of Ekspress-AMU3 and AMU7, a pair of communications satellites to be operated by the state-owned Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC), also known as the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Space Communications.” Both spacecraft were constructed by ISS Reshetnev, based on the Ekspress-1000N platform, and are bound […]

Blue Origin is planning to launch a crew of six people on board a New Shepard rocket on Saturday, December 11 from the company’s West Texas facility at Corn Ranch. The current target for liftoff is 8:45 am CST at the launch site, or 14:45 UTC. This flight will be the third crewed undertaking of Blue Origin since their first flight in July. This flight will be performed with the same capsule as the first two flights, called RSS First Step. NS-19 The NS-19 mission of the New Shepard system will mark the company’s sixth overall suborbital flight of the year […]

Humanity’s next steps in space exploration are focused on exploring like we never have before: returning to the Moon to establish a permanent, sustainable base as we move on to stepping foot on Mars — all of which the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is actively participating in. While the contribution to the upcoming Lunar Gateway in the form of — among other things — Canadarm3 has been in work for over a year at this point, the first flight contribution from Canada for the lunar settlement initiative is scheduled to come in the form of the Lunar Leap Accelerator Program (LEAP) […]

A Long March 4B reportedly carrying a pair of Chinese Shijian-6 Group 05 satellites has launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s Inner Mongolia region. The launch took place at 00:11 UTC (08:11 Beijing time) on Friday, December 10, from Site 9401 (SLS-2). Satellite launches from Jiuquan normally take place from this launch pad, using Long March 2, Long March 4, and Long March 11 launch vehicles. The nearby SLS-1 is the site used for Shenzhou crewed launches on Long March 2F rockets. The Long March 4B, which made its first flight in 1999, has flown forty-five missions, […]

NASA and SpaceX are set to launch the revolutionary Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) space observatory from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Thursday morning atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The 90-minute launch window opens at 1:00 a.m. EST (06:00 UTC), with a backup opportunity available on Friday, December 10 within the same 90-minute launch window. IXPE is a 325 kg, three-telescope polarized x-ray observatory. A joint venture between NASA and the Italian Space Agency, IXPE will help the astronomical community better understand the physics behind — and formation of — black holes, neutron stars, supernova remnants, magnetars, […]

Rocket Lab is gearing up for its final orbital launch of the year, “A Data With Destiny.”  Liftoff of the Electron rocket is targeted at the beginning of a two-hour and five-minute long launch window that opens at 6:45 PM EST on December 8, 2021 (23:45 UTC) from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand. This mission would be the company’s fastest turnaround between launches, scheduled just less than 3 weeks after the launch of the “Love at First Insight” mission, which occurred in mid-November.  The payload for the mission is two Earth observation satellites for […]

The ESA (European Space Agency) has taken a major step towards developing reusable rockets with the completion of a series of tanking tests for its Themis vehicle, which will serve as a testbed for the agency to experiment with launch and landing operations. After initially announcing plans for a reusable rocket – Ariane Next – to succeed the Ariane 6 rocket currently in development, as well as the potential to incorporate reusability into Ariane 6 itself, the ESA has been working quietly on the project. While the initial announcements outlined hop tests of a pathfinder vehicle, Themis, the agency has recently […]

Roscosmos and Space Adventures are set to the launch Soyuz MS-20 space tourism mission to the International Space Station for a 12-day stay. The crew of three—including two Japanese space tourists—will fly onboard the Soyuz spacecraft, with liftoff currently targeted for 7:38 UTC (2:38 a.m. EST) Wednesday, December 8, 2021, from Site 31/6 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Soyuz MS-20 crew Onboard the Soyuz will be Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese billionaire known for starting online businesses Start Today and Zozo. In addition to his Soyuz mission, he has a circumlunar flight aboard SpaceX’s Starship—called “dearMoon”—booked for no earlier than 2023. Maezawa […]

The Chinese private spaceflight company Galactic Energy has made the second flight of its Ceres-1 rocket, carrying five satellites into orbit, including a satellite known as Golden Bauhinia-1-03. The launch took place at 04:12 UTC on Tuesday, December 7th (12:12 Beijing time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Ceres-1 is a four-stage rocket, using three solid-fueled stages with a hydrazine-fueled fourth stage to complete orbital insertion and refinement. Ceres-1 is capable of launching a payload of up 400 kilograms to low Earth orbit, or up to 230 kilograms into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 kilometers. Also known […]

When NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime processing contractor Jacobs have configured the Artemis 1 Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle for launch day, they expect to have one-week periods to get the mission to the Moon off the ground. Between propellant consumption of the two liquid SLS stages and a 20-day long period where the range safety system is validated for use, up to three attempts could be conducted to tank the vehicle and launch within that week’s time before teams would have to stand down. EGS, Jacobs, and the Orion and SLS teams are continuing testing and checkout […]

Elon Musk has confirmed Starship will add another chapter in Launch Complex 39A’s incredible history at the Kennedy Space Center. Although plans have always involved the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), early work on a pad for Starship at 39A has been mothballed since 2019, as SpaceX placed its entire focus on Starbase in Texas. However, with one tweet, Musk confirmed construction work has returned to 39A for the rocket that is set to land humans on the lunar surface decades after Apollo 11 launched from the same launch site. Setting the Stage: See Also SpaceX Super Heavy/Starship Section L2 SpaceX Section […]

ULA (United Launch Alliance) is preparing for the 90th launch of an Atlas V rocket and their fifth and final mission of 2021. Launching from SLC-41 (Space Launch Complex 41) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the STP-3 mission will loft two experimental satellites for the United States Space Force. The mission will also test several new technologies onboard the company’s Atlas V launch vehicle during the longest duration mission for an Atlas rocket to date. Liftoff is currently scheduled for December 5 at 4:04 AM EST (9:04 UTC). Payload Overview STP-3 marks the third dedicated launch for the U.S. Space Force’s Space […]

Arianespace is set to launch another two Galileo FOC (Full Operation Capability) global navigation satellites for Europe. The two satellites will be launched by a Soyuz ST-B Fregat on the VS26 mission. Liftoff is planned for December 3, 2021, at 21:23 Kourou time (Dec 4, 00:23 UTC; Dec 3, 7:23 pm EST). The launch of VS26 will be the 150th Arianespace mission for European institutions and the 13th mission for Arianespace. This will be the first Soyuz launch from the Guiana Space Center in 2021. Payload and rocket overview: Soyuz ST-Fregat is Arianespace’s medium-lift launch vehicle. The Soyuz ST-Fregat is a […]

November was an eventful month for the International Space Station (ISS) and its crew members. From spacecraft departures and arrivals, new modules, science experiments, and close calls with orbital spacecraft debris, the Expedition 65 and 66 crews stayed busy aboard the orbiting laboratory. The ISS and its crew kicked off November with the docking of the Roscosmos Progress MS-18 cargo vehicle on October 30. Cargo vehicles — such as the Progress, Cygnus, and Cargo Dragon — regularly visit the ISS and deliver food, water, oxygen, science experiments, and personal items for the crew. Progress vehicles are also routinely used to adjust […]

Kicking off a busy end to the company’s 2021 launch campaign, SpaceX is poised to launch a group of Starlink satellites from Florida on Wednesday evening. The Group 4-3 mission, carrying 48 Starlink satellites and two rideshare payloads to low Earth orbit, will lift off from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:12 PM EST (23:12 UTC). The 45th Weather Squadron at Patrick Space Force Base forecasts a greater than 90% chance of favorable weather for launch. Should the launch need to be delayed for any reason, a backup opportunity exists on Friday, with another greater than 90% […]

Rocket Lab has provided a significant update in the progress of their Neutron rocket, a vehicle aimed primarily at the small-scale interplanetary and low Earth orbit mega-constellation markets at first.  Among the major updates announced by Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck were a complete switch of propellants, a firm Return To Launch Site landing plan with the elimination of down-range ocean landings, reveal of the building materials, and introduction of the new 1 Meganewton Archimedes engine. As previously announced Neutron was revealed earlier this year on March 1 as a 40 m tall medium-lift launcher with a 4.5 m diameter payload fairing […]

Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have begun a planned 6.5-hour spacewalk (or Extravehicular Activity — EVA) to replace a failing component of the station’s communication system.  The spacewalk got underway at 11:15 UTC when NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron took their spacesuits to battery power — the event that marks the start of a US EVA. Overview The objective of US EVA-78 is to replace a faulty S-Band Antenna Subassembly (SASA). The ISS uses an S-band communication system to provide command and control capability of all the station’s systems, relay live telemetry, and provide voice communications […]

With less than one year to launch, France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and NASA are completing the final spacecraft assembly of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft. SWOT is a joint NASA and CNES mission with contributions by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA). The SWOT mission will be the first-ever global surveyor of all of Earth’s water and study how bodies of water change over time. SWOT will launch on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. […]

SpaceX is lining up a fleet of vehicles for an ambitious 2022 test campaign, opening with the first orbital velocity test in January or February, followed by the potential of around 12 flights during the year. Backing up that ambition is the production cadence at Starbase, with sections for Ship 24 recently spotted while numerous additional vehicle sections – such as a herd of nosecones – are amassing inside the production tents. Setting the Stage: See Also SpaceX Super Heavy/Starship Section L2 SpaceX Section Click here to Join L2 The current plan is to fly Booster 4 with Ship 20 on […]

Continuing a recent streak, Friday saw the fourth successful orbital launch from China in one week. This time, the Zhongxing-1D (ChinaSat-1D) satellite was inserted into orbit by a Chang Zheng 3B rocket launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The ChinaSat (Zhongxing) series of satellites, built by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), fall under the communications category. The ChinaSat-1 series is specifically designed for military communications, with the first of this type launched in 2011. Two types of military communications satellites are used, with Friday’s launch exhibiting the Feng Huo-2, used for tactical communications providing Chinese forces […]

The private Chinese launch company ExPace, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), has successfully launched the Shiyan-11 technology satellite from Site 95 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia, central China. The ExPace Kuaizhou-1A rocket began its 13th launch — and its 12th successful flight — on November 25 at 07:41 Beijing time (23:41 UTC on November 24), launching Shiyan-11 into a sun-synchronous polar orbit. This marks the third ExPace and the third Kuaizhou-1A launch of 2021. The Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A), also known as the Fei Tian 1, is an […]

At 01:09 UTC, or 4:09 A.M. local time in Moscow, a Soyuz 2.1b rocket launched carrying the Tundra 15L early warning satellite for the Russian Ministry of Defense. The launch occurred from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. Plesetsk is located in the Arkhangelsk oblast. The Cosmodrome has been in operation since 1957 and is predominately used for Russian military launches. The last launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome was the launch of a Nudol missile on Nov. 14-15. The missile intercepted and destroyed a defunct Soviet Tselina-D ELINT satellite, designated Kosmos 1408, creating space debris and threatening the Expedition 66 crew […]

Roscosmos is set to launch a new docking node module to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, November 24 at 13:06 UTC / 8:06 am EST.  Launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the module will add additional docking ports to the Russian Segment of the station to provide options for future expansion. Background The original design for the Russian Segment of the ISS called for a Universal Docking Module (UDM) to expand the Russian Segment’s available docking ports for the addition of future modules. This module was canceled early in the ISS program due to budget issues. However, out […]

SpaceX is preparing to launch NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirect Test) mission onboard a Falcon 9 rocket. DART is a demonstration mission to determine the effects of an intentional impact on an asteroid. DART’s collision with the asteroid moon Dimorphos is set for October 2022. The launch of the small spacecraft from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for November 23rd at 10:21 Pacific Time (6:21 UTC on November 24th). This launch, the third flight of Falcon 9 first stage B1063, will be the 26th Falcon 9 launch of 2021. It will mark the start of a surge of […]

China has launched a second Gaofen 3 C-band satellite, used for remote sensing and Earth observation. The launch was conducted on November 22 at 23:45 UTC from launch pad SLS-2 (South Launch Site-2) of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC). The Gaofen-3 satellites are based on the CS-L3000B bus, built for a lifetime of up to eight years. They are equipped with a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and a data transmission system and utilize Control Moment Gyros (CMGs) for orientation in space. The Gaofen 3 series are built and developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), which is part […]

This December, an Ariane 5 rocket will launch from Kourou, French Guiana carrying the most complicated telescope ever developed — the joint NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. However, when the telescope launches, it will not immediately be ready for scientific observations. In fact, the telescope won’t perform any observations until about six months after launch. Following separation from the Ariane 5 second stage, James Webb will spend the next month deploying all of its instruments, mirrors, and structural systems that will be used for scientific observations. Once the telescope reaches its orbit at Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 2 (L2), it will spend […]

Keeping up a rapid pace of launches this year, China deployed the Gaofen 11-03 satellite Saturday using its Chang Zheng 4B rocket. The launch took place from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 01:51 UTC (09:51 Beijing Time) and marks China’s forty-fourth orbital mission of 2021. Gaofen 11-03 is the third in a series of high-resolution optical imaging Gaofen 11 satellites, part of the wider Gaofen series which aims to provide China with a global high-definition Earth-imaging capability for civil applications. Gaofen means “high resolution,” and the Gaofen constellation is unrelated to the smaller commercial Jilin-1 Gaofen satellites. China launched the […]

It is a lesson the U.S. space program has had to learn many times over: don’t voluntarily give up a space capability without having a successor ready to go or already operational. But for the ISS (International Space Station), a gap in LEO (low Earth orbit) scientific research capability will likely not occur when the iconic outpost ends its career, whenever that may be. And that is in large part due to Axiom, a private space organization with private funding that will begin adding modules to the ISS in 2024 — with the goal that those added modules will then be […]

Smallsat launch startup Astra Space is slated to make another attempt at achieving orbit as early as Thursday night. The launch window for LV0007 opens at 9:00 PM PST on November 18 (05:00 UTC on November 19). A backup opportunity exists on November 19 PST (November 20 UTC). The launch is to be conducted from LP-3B at the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska. Similar to the last attempt, the only payload onboard is a test payload for the United States Space Force’s (USSF) Space Test Program which will not be deployed. The USSF designation for the mission is STP-27AD2. LV0007 […]

When the Axiom-1 mission lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center early next year, it will take with it four humans on the first-ever all-private astronaut flight to the ISS (International Space Station). At its core, the mission focuses on science and education, and the four-person crew will conduct 25 experiments with more than 100 hours of hands-on, human-tended research during the mission’s eight-day stay aboard the outpost. While a relatively short flight, Axiom-1 will feature three crew customers in Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, and Eytan Stibbe, with a research focus based on their individual scientific goals and partnerships with various […]

The arrival of the second Orion European Service Module (ESM) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in October signified the beginning of months of final assembly of the first crewed Orion spacecraft that will fly four people on the Artemis 2 mission. Following the delivery of the ESM from prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space to Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin, the two primary elements of the Artemis 2 Orion Service Module are now being bolted together. Lockheed Martin is processing Orion flight hardware for Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 as a part of their Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) […]

Arianespace’s Vega rocket is set to launch on its third mission of the year with the Capacité de Renseignement Électromagnétique Spatiale (CERÉS) 1, 2, and 3 satellites for the French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Vega will lift off on November 16, at 6:27 AM Kourou time (09:27 UTC). This mission will be Vega’s 20th overall and Arianespace’s 12th flight of the year. This mission will mark the 300th launch of Arianespace’s family of rockets. Payload and Launch Vehicle Vega is a four-stage rocket and the smallest vehicle operated by Arianespace. It can lift 2,300 kg to low Earth […]

Russia’s Kosmos 1408 satellite was destroyed in orbit earlier on Tuesday in what appears to have been a demonstration of Russia’s Nudol anti-satellite missile. While the Russian government has not yet acknowledged the cause of the satellite’s breakup, concerns about debris from the satellite have already disrupted operations aboard the International Space Station and could pose a threat to other spacecraft in low Earth orbit for some time to come. Breakups of satellites in orbit happen from time to time and can have several different causes. These can range from intentional destruction of a spacecraft – either by an anti-satellite (ASAT) […]

With a significant milestone under its belt, Ship 20 awaits the next steps in preparing for an orbital velocity flight test, likely watching on as Super Heavy Booster 4 undergoes a more ambitious ground test campaign.  The continued preparations with Ship 20 and Booster 4 continue amid a traffic jam of vehicles back at the Production Site, with parts for Booster 7 and Ship 23 being spotted. At the same time, the new “Wide Bay” – required for the increasing processing cadence – rises out of the ground. Ship 20 and Booster 4: See Also SpaceX Super Heavy/Starship Section L2 SpaceX […]

When the joint NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope launches atop an Ariane 5 rocket this December, it will carry with it one of the largest telescopic mirrors ever developed. Considerably larger than the Hubble Space Telescope’s 2.4 m mirror, James Webb’s mirror will be a massive 6.5 diameter mirror, made up of 18 hexagonal, gold-plated beryllium mirror segments. Furthermore, the mirror of James Webb will be one of the most complex spacecraft systems ever launched, and — to no surprise — it takes an expert team, lots of development, and a plethora of testing to prepare the mirror of James Webb […]

April 14, 1981. The orbiter Columbia rested on a runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, having completed the first-ever Space Shuttle mission. Now a daunting task lay ahead. Something that had never been attempted before would now have to become reality. Columbia would have to be turned around for a second mission. No longer would a U.S. crewed spacecraft be used only once. Ferried back across the country, Columbia arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on April 28, where teams removed her from the back of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a heavily modified Boeing 747, and returned her to the […]

SpaceX is set to resume Starlink launches from the East coast as the company plans to deliver 53 second-generation satellites aboard to orbit, according to the hazard notice posted by Space Launch Delta 45. The launch is currently scheduled for 7:40 AM EST on Friday, November 12, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Named Starlink 4-1, this is the first launch of the satellites which will be stationed in the fourth shell of the Starlink constellation. The booster supporting this launch is B0158-9, which has previously flown eight times to space. It has […]

Crew Dragon Endurance is scheduled to dock to the International Space Station (ISS) at 6:33 PM EST (23:33 UTC) following 22 hours of free flight after launching from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. The astronauts of Crew-3 consist of Raja Chari (Commander), Thomas Marshburn (Pilot), and Kayla Barron (Mission Specialist 2) from NASA as well as Matthias Maurer (Mission Specialist 1) of the European Space Agency (ESA). Marshburn is the only member of the crew with previous flight time, having flown on two previous missions: STS-127 onboard Shuttle Endeavour and Soyuz TMA-07M. Endurance and her crew lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space […]

The Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket for NASA’s Artemis 1 mission are assembled, the Mobile Launcher is reconnected to the vehicle, and the processing team at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is resuming pre-launch testing and checkouts in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) ahead of the first rollout to the pad. The agency’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime launch processing contractor Jacobs started the final stretch of integrated testing and checkout (ITCO) in early November and are aiming to complete the remaining work in the VAB to enable the first trip to the pad around the […]

Following a hiatus of several months, Rocket Lab is preparing to return to launch operations with its 22nd overall mission on Thursday. An Electron rocket will lift off from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand at 04:25 UTC (17:25 local time). Named “Love at First Insight,” Thursday’s mission aims to loft two satellites for geospatial intelligence company BlackSky, as well as complete the third ocean splashdown of an Electron first stage as Rocket Lab continues to work towards reusability. Love at First Insight is the second in a series of launches that Rocket Lab is conducting for BlackSky. […]

SpaceX and NASA are readying to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station as part of the Crew-3 mission. They will take flight onboard a Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon Endurance from Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A no earlier than Wednesday evening, November 10, at 9:03 PM EST (02:03 UTC on November 11). At the station, the four will spend approximately six months onboard as part of Expedition 66/67. They will take the places of the four Crew-2 astronauts, who safely returned to Earth on November 8. On its maiden flight, Crew Dragon Endurance (C210) will carry a crew of […]

SpaceX is preparing for the third static firing of the Raptors on board Ship 20 later this week. This is underlined by a series of road closures and a Notices to Mariners (NOTMAR) in place. This test series might be the first of the Starship program to involve up to six engines, including three Raptor Vacuum engines. The third test is currently expected to occur no earlier than this week. Ship 20 is, at the moment, expected to launch on top of Booster 4 for the first orbital test flight in a few months. On October 21, Starship 20 performed a […]

Japan is working to finally launch its small satellite launcher Epsilon to deliver nine satellites to orbit. Notably, this includes the RAISE-2 technology demonstrator. Previously delayed due to weather and a scrub, the launch from Uchinoura Space Center is scheduled for 00:48 UTC on November 9. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) RAISE-2 is the primary payload aboard the Epsilon rocket for this launch. It is joined by eight small satellites – four microsatellites and four CubeSats – on its ride to space. Once in orbit, the nine satellites will carry out an array of scientific and technology demonstration missions. The […]

On November 7, Chinese taikonauts Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping conducted the first spacewalk for the Shenzhou-13 mission at the Chinese Space Station. The extravehicular activity (EVA) was the first for a Chinese woman and successfully installed new hardware on the exterior of the Tianhe core module. The extravehicular activity began when Wang Yaping and Zhai Zhigang exited the airlock, located on the zenith node on the Tianhe core module. During the extravehicular activity, Ye Guangfu remained inside the space station, where he monitored critical systems. The forward node on the Tianhe core module was used as the airlock. Yaping’s historic […]

NASA and SpaceX teams are set for the return of the Crew-2 mission from the International Space Station (ISS) with four astronauts on board. Crew Dragon Endeavour is currently planned to undock from the ISS at 12:05 p.m. EST (5:05 p.m. UTC) Sunday, with a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean the following day at 7:14 a.m. EST. Crew-2’s mission began with a launch to the ISS atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on April 23. Crew Dragon Endeavour docked to the ISS the following day. The splashdown of Endeavour will conclude a 199-day mission at the ISS for the Crew-2 astronauts. The […]

China launched three more reconnaissance satellites Saturday, via a Chang Zheng 2D launch out of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Lifting off at 03:00 UTC (11:00 Beijing Time), Chang Zheng deployed three Yaogan 35 satellites into low Earth orbit. Yaogan Weixing – meaning “remote sensing satellite” and usually shortened to Yaogan – is a name that China gives to many of its military satellites, akin to the “Kosmos” and “USA” designations used by Russia and the United States. The individual spacecraft under the Yaogan umbrella carry out different surveillance and national security missions for the Chinese government, although officially they are […]

In a series of newly released papers from a science team on NASA’s Juno mission, new data is helping researchers discover how Jupiter’s atmosphere functions underneath the planet’s thick upper cloud layer. The papers were published in the journals of Geophysical Research: Planets as well as Geophysical Research Letters and shine light on the gas giant’s inner atmosphere, cloud belts, polar cyclones, and its iconic Great Red Spot. “Each paper sheds light on different aspects of the planet’s atmospheric processes – a wonderful example of how our internationally-diverse science teams strengthen understanding of our solar system,” said Lori Glaze, director of […]

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the main driving force behind China’s space program, has successfully launched a Chang Zheng 6 (CZ-6) rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi Province. Liftoff took place at 02:19 UTC/10:19 am China standard time on Friday morning. The rocket carried a civilian Earth observation satellite named SDGSAT-1 as the payload. This was the 107th orbital launch attempt of the year and the 43rd such attempt for the nation of China. It was also the 3rd mission flown by the Chang Zheng 6 vehicle in 2021 and the 8th flight total since […]

The construction of NASA’s second Space Launch System Mobile Launcher (ML-2) has been delayed after NASA ran out of near-term funding. ML-2 is required due to the increase in height for the Block 1B version of the rocket, making it incompatible with the billion-dollar ML-1. However, some planned work will continue, such as testing umbilicals that have arrived at KSC at the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF). SLS already has a Mobile Launcher (ML-1), converted from its role with the defunct Ares-I rocket. It now hosts the Artemis 1 SLS – stacked on the ML – inside the Vehicle Assembly Building […]

China launched a pair of military satellites aboard its CZ-2C (Chang Zheng 2C) rocket Wednesday, November 3. Lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 07:43 UTC (3:43 EDT), the CZ-2C deployed the two Yaogan 32-02 spacecraft into sun-synchronous orbit following a short ascent. Wednesday’s launch had originally been slated for mid-September. While the reason for its lengthy delays has not been announced, reports around the time of the original launch date suggested that an issue had arisen with valves on the rocket, necessitating repairs before the launch could proceed. Yaogan 32 Group 02, or 32-02, consists of two satellites. […]

Thirty-one years after its launch, and 12 years after its most-recent servicing mission, the NASA/ European Space Agency (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope remains in safe mode on orbit as operators work to determine why the iconic observatory ceased science operations at 02:38 EDT on October 25. The latest safe mode event continues to publicly show the telescope’s age as its systems gradually deteriorate without servicing — all while NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) prepare for the December launch of a successor to Hubble in the James Webb Space Telescope. The safe mode event on October 25 was preceded […]

When the flight hardware and ground systems are finally ready for the inaugural Artemis 1 launch to the Moon, NASA will also have to synchronize the timing of the flight with unique celestial mechanics. The Orion and Space Launch System (SLS) Programs in the Exploration Systems Development (ESD) division are working together to calculate when the Earth, Moon, and sometimes the Sun are all in the right positions to support the agency’s requirements for this first joint Orion-SLS test flight. In general, NASA will have daily opportunities to launch this first Artemis mission to the Moon in an approximately “two weeks […]

With the maiden orbital flight of Starship approaching, Orbital Launch Pad A in Starbase, Texas, is being built up to launch readiness. Over a year of construction has brought the complex’s various elements to the verge of launching the most powerful rocket in history. Assembly Timeline SpaceX started construction of the orbital launch pad on June 22, 2020, when teams began to install the concrete rebar for the six pillars of the orbital launch mount. After building up steel rebar for reinforcement, a steel cylinder was sleeved over the rebar and each pillar was filled with concrete, covered, then left to cure. […]

ArianeGroup and the European Space Agency are carrying out preparations for the maiden launch of the Ariane 6 rocket next year. Ariane 6 represents the next generation of the Ariane family of rockets, intended to allow its customers lower-cost access to space. The rocket and launch pad still have an extensive test program ahead of them, with a current target launch date in the second half of 2022. Ariane 6 is the sixth member of the Ariane family of rockets, whose development began in the 1970s to allow the ESA (European Space Agency) to place its own satellites–and commercial payloads–into geostationary […]

Fifty years ago, a small rocket lifted off from the Australian Outback on a mission of contradictions. While the launch of Black Arrow R3 with the Prospero satellite aboard would be Britain’s first successful satellite launch, it also marked the end of the country’s ambitions to be a major player in the space industry. Over the following decades, the British space industry has re-grown and now stands ready to reach again for the stars. Deploying Prospero was the last in a series of four missions for the Black Arrow program, which included two suborbital tests and a failed orbital launch attempt […]

Roscosmos is gearing up for the third Progress cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for 2021. The flight, known as Progress MS-18, is scheduled to lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan from Site 31/6 at 00:00:32 UTC on Thursday, 28 October 2021.  Due to phasing requirements for the upcoming 31 October launch of the Crew-3 mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Progress MS-18 will employ a two-day, 36 orbit rendezvous profile, arriving for docking at 01:34 UTC on Saturday, 30 October. The Progress MS-18 mission is the second flight in a period of increased International […]