Soyuz ST-B launches Galileosats 27 and 28 from Sinnamary, Kourou
After weather delays, a Russian-built Soyuz ST-b/Fregat MT launch vehicle on flight VS-26 operated by Arianespace and commissioned by ESA, lifted off with the pair of 715 kg Galileo navigation satellites from Sinnamary, near Kourou, French Guiana at 0019 GMT on 5...
SpaceX launches Starlink mission with two BlackSky rideshares
Marking the first launch of December a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX has lifted-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 2312 GMT on 2 December. The mission carried a reduced Starlink count of 48 satellites - compared to the previous mission to this orbital shell which had...
NASA chooses three commercial LEO space station designs to back as possible replacements for ISS
NASA has signed agreements with three U.S. companies to develop designs of space stations and other commercial destinations in low Earth orbit (LEO). The idea is that NASA will part fund a commercial economy in low-Earth orbit after the retirement of the International...
Debris delayed-spacewalk goes ahead as astronauts replace faulty antenna
After a previous spacewalk attempt on 30 November 2021 was cancelled due to a space debris hazard warning, NASA astronauts Kayla Barron and Thomas Marshburn ventured outside the International Space Station (ISS) on 2 December on an extra vehicular activity (EVA)...
Ukrainian company Lunar Research Service contracts to include payload on maiden launch of RFA ONE rocket
A prospective Ukrainian Lunar exploration company Lunar Research Service (LRS) has contracted to manifest a payload on the maiden launch of a German micro launcher. The Kiev-based company signed the contract with Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) on 18 November. It...
China launches Chinasat 1D on a Long March 3B-G3 from Xichang
China has successfully launched the Chinasat 1D (aka Zhongxing 1D aka Feng Huo 2D) communications satellite on a Long March 3B-G3 (CZ-3B-G3) launch vehicle from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, China, at 1640 GMT on 26 November. While never admitting its military...
Small satellites ordered from Tyvak and BCT by AFRL
Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems (Tyvak) has received an order from the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for a spacecraft to conduct research in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). The contract was specifically awarded by the Space Vehicles directorate of the AFRL and was...
Russia launches missile early warning satellite to Molniya orbit
Russia launched the fifth satellite in its EKS (Tundra) series of missile early warning satellites at 0109 GMT, 25 November. The mission utilised a Soyuz 2-1B rocket equipped with a Fregat upper-stage from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The satellite was deployed into a...
Kuaizhou-1A launches mysterious SHIYAN 11 small satellite for China
A Kuaizhou-1A rocket from ExPace Technology has launched a small satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China. The mission took place at 2341 GMT on 24 November and orbited the Shiyan 11 spacecraft. It is unclear as to capabilities of this satellite but...
Christmas Space Crossword
The first correct solution to this crossword we receive - email a copy to info@seradata.com - will win a £50 Amazon voucher. Across 1 – Abbreviation for treatment of data aboard a satellite (3) 3 – Attractive quantity (4) 5 – Neil Armstrong took a small one (4) 9 –...