SSI News
Antares 230+ rocket launches Cygnus NG-19 cargo craft to ISS on its final flight (Corrected)
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent war between the nations has had ramifications for launches. The most obvious ones were removals of western-built satellites from Russian Soyuz or Proton launches, either as part of retaliatory sanctions or because of...
India launches PSLV-CA carrying seven satellites for Singapore (Corrected)
An Indian PSLV-CA (Core Alone) variant rocket lifted off from the Sriharikota launch site at 0101 GMT on 30 July 2023. Aboard were seven satellites. The main payload was the DS-SAR - a 352 kg radar satellite which is operated by DS Engineering for the Singaporean...
She’s a bigger bird and no mistake: Falcon Heavy launches record-breaking Echostar 24/Jupiter 3
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy (v1.2FT Block 5) rocket launched what is, to date, the heaviest ever communications satellite on its way to geostationary orbit: Echostar 24/Jupiter 3 on behalf of Echostar - Hughes Network Systems. The launch, which had been delayed for a few...
Boeing’s losses on Starliner programme reach US$1.5 billion as its delays persist
The Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) - the first crewed mission of CST-100 Starliner, Boeing’s partially reusable spacecraft - was supposed to fly two NASA astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore (spacecraft commander) and Sunita Williams (pilot) on a week long test flight to the...
SpaceX Falcon 9 launches 22 v2 Mini Starlink sats for 2nd generation constellation Group 6-7
SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA at 0401 GMT on 28 July 2023. The vehicle was carrying Starlink Group 6-7, a total of 22 v2 Mini Starlink satellites for the second generation constellation. The B1062...
Orders: Astranis signs deal with Philippines for GEO broadband satellite order
US newspace company Astranis signed a deal to provide dedicated service to the Philippines by selling a small broadband geostationary orbit satellite to a telco in the country. The satellite, which will be the first dedicated to provide internet connection services...
Chinese Yaogan 36 SIGINT reconnaissance trio launched
Launching at 2002 GMT on 26 July, a Chinese Long March 2D (CZ-2D) rocket has carried three satellites into LEO. This mission lifted-off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China. The satellites make up Yaogan 36 Group 05 and consist of two optical and one radar...
Nuclear Thermal Rockets are on! NASA and DARPA award contracts for first DRACO demo spacecraft
While Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTR) concepts (e.g. the NERVA project) have been considered for space missions since the 1960s, their lack of suitable application combined with their technical risk has held back their actual use - until now. Seeing that a human...
Two Chinese launches in two days carrying multiple small sats to LEO & VLEO
Launching on 22 and 23 July 2023 two rockets from China carried a total of six satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) or very low Earth orbit (VLEO). The first mission lifted-off at 0507 GMT on 22 July and saw commercial Chinese company Galactic Energy using its...
Shenzhou 16 crew completes first EVA
On 20 July 2023, two Chinese astronauts (taikonauts) Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu of Shenzhou 16 began their first spacewalk from the Chinese Space Station (Tiangong) at approximately 0540 GMT when they exited the Wentian lab module. Crewmate Gui Haichao assisted with...
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