SSI News
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...
Falcon 9 launches Starlink Group 6-6 of 22 v2 Mini Starlink comsats
At 0050 GMT on 24 July a Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 rocket successfully launched 22 Starlink v2 Mini satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as Group 6-6 for SpaceX's second generation Starlink constellation. The pad used was Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40). The 22...
Kuaizhou-1A rocket carries four Tianmu-1 meteorological sats into LEO
At 0320 GMT on 20 July, a Kuaizhou-1A rocket lifted-off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, North-western China, carrying four satellites in to LEO. The satellites are believed to be GNSS occultation units for meteorological purposes for Chinese entity Xiyong...
Stay Informed with Seradata
Stay informed on the latest news, insights, and more from Seradata by signing up for our newsletter.