SSI News
Arianespace hails successful Ariane 5 launch of EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS comsat
An Ariane 5 ECA+ successfully launched a 6.4 metric ton communications satellite called EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS at 2145 GMT on flight VA258 on 7 September. The launch took place from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Thales Alenia Space built EUTELSAT...
Analysis: Change of UK Prime Minister – so what did Boris Johnson get right? Space!
As Boris Johnson left Downing Street on his last day as UK Prime Minister he was keen to use his final speech to note his achievements. These included "getting Brexit done" after Theresa May's failure to do so, the generally successful Covid-19 vaccination programme,...
On a Sadder Note: Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev is mourned as a world peacemaker but military space was one of his levers
The death of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on 30 August at the age of 91 prompted tributes to him from around the world in his role as a peacemaker and promoter of democratic freedoms during the Cold War. After Leonid Breznev finally died, followed by short...
Two Chinese launches in two hours: Kuaizhou-1A and Long March 2D
China has reportedly conducted two launches within just two hours of each other during the morning of 6 September, from different launch sites. The first mission saw a Kuaizhou-1A light launch vehicle lift-off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre at 0224 GMT and...
Space Norway orders SSTL MicroSAR to develop maritime radar satellite system
The Norweigan government, through Space Norway, has ordered its first 300 kg MicroSAR satellite from British company Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) to start work on a radar satellite system for maritime surveillance. The order, announced by SSTL on 26 August,...
SpaceX conducts Starlink rideshare mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 0209 GMT on 5 August. Carried by the rocket were 51 Starlink satellites of Group 4-20 destined for the constellation’s “Shell 2” located at 540 km, inclined at 53.2 degrees. However, marking the...
Cosmonauts fix unfinished ISS business in Russian Spacewalk 54A
Cosmonauts commander Oleg Artemyev and flight engineer Denis Maveev opened the hatch of the Poisk module on the International Space Station (ISS) at 1325 GMT on 2 September to complete a series of outstanding tasks which were abandoned after their aborted EVA on 17...
China launches Long March 4C rocket with Yaogan 33-2 radar Earth observation satellite aboard
The Chinese successfully launched a Long March 4C (CZ-4C) launch vehicle from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, China at 2344 GMT on 2 September. The vehicle was carrying Yaogan 33-2, a 2.7 metric ton Chinese military radar Earth observation satellite. Despite its...
SLS is delayed again by a hydrogen leak but repair allows another go…but when?
Having had its previous launch attempt on 29 August scrubbed by an engine temperature sensor issue, a second attempt to launch the giant SLS rocket carrying the Orion capsule on an uncrewed Artemis I test flight was delayed again on 3 September. This time it was a...
Shenzhou 14 Taikonauts complete first EVA spacewalk…later Wentian module is moved to make Chinese Space Station an “L” shape
Shenzhou 14's mission commander Chen Dong, and crew member Liu Yang began their first spacewalk after opening the airlock cabin of the Chinese Experiment Module 1 Wentian at 1026 GMT on 1 September. Fellow astronaut Cai Xuzhe provided support work from within the...
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