SSI News
BADR-8 comsat is launched by a Falcon 9 into a super-synchronous transfer orbit
The Arabsat-owned communications satellite BADR-8 aka Arabsat-7B was launched by a Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 from Cape Canaveral at 0430 GMT on 27 May 2023. The 4,500 kg uses the Airbus DS-built Eurostar-NEO satellite bus design which will use its electric propulsion...
Another TROPICS satellite pair is launched by Electron for NASA from Mahia, New Zealand
At 0346 GMT on 26 May a Rocket Lab Electron KS rocket launched itself on a mission for NASA from the Mahia pad 1B in New Zealand. On board were a pair of TROPICS spacecraft: TROPICS SV-03 and TROPICS SV-07. The spacecraft were deployed into a 556 x 537 km orbit at...
Virgin Galactic carries humans into near space again after two year hiatus
While its one-time stablemate Virgin Orbit may have gone bust, Virgin Galactic is determined not to go the same way as it got back into the sub-orbital launch business with a flight on 25 May. The launch was the first in two years after a previous crewed test flight...
South Korea celebrates KSLV-II launch success – but one satellite gets stuck
The Korean Aerospace and Research Institute (KARI) successfully launched the KSLV-II (NURI) from Naro Space Center, South Korea at 0924 GMT on 25 May 2023. The vehicle was carrying NEXTSat-2 plus seven other satellites to a 550 x 540 km Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit...
Soyuz 2-1a launches Progress MS-23 cargo freighter to ISS
At 1256 GMT on 24 May 2023, a Soyuz-2-1a rocket was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam, Kazakhstan. Aboard was the Progress MS-23 on mission ISS-84P, cargo ship heading with its 2.5 metric ton cargo of food, fuel and other supplies for the International...
End of the line: Virgin Orbit’s assets are sold off
The Sir Richard Branson initiated Virgin Orbit project, having been in bankruptcy protection, is now formally at an end with the sale of its assets being announced. The four-engine Boeing 747-400 carrier aircraft, dubbed Cosmic Girl, has been bought by Stratolaunch...
China launches trio of sats into LEO for two universities
At 0800 GMT on 21 May China successfully launched a Long March 2C (CZ-2C) rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The mission placed three satellites into LEO for two Chinese universities: Luojia 2-01, a SAR microsatellite for Wuhan University and Aomen...
Axiom Space puts first Arab woman in ISS with its second private astronaut mission to the station
SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 2137 GMT on 21 May, carrying the Crew Dragon - Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2), a private astronaut mission, to the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew Dragon spacecraft...
New orders: Five UAE SAR satellites order goes to Finland’s Iceye
Finland's ICEye firm has been awarded an order to develop and build five synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) equipped satelites for geospatial imagery firm Bayanat and the communications satellite operator Yahsat - both based in UAE. The plan is to build a national...
SpaceX launches five Iridium-NEXT and fifteen OneWeb sats plus a OneWeb test spacecraft called Joey-Sat for its competitors
SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 rocket from Vandenberg, California, USA at 1316 GMT on 20 May 2023. The launch vehicle was carrying five Iridium-NEXT satellites (174, 177-179, & 181), fifteen OneWeb satellites (621-635) and a single OneWeb...
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