SSI News
Smaller orders: launches for Haven-1 space station and its Vast-1 mission, for EWS-1 prototype; sat contracts for Zeno and Orbit Fab
Commercial space station operator Vast has signed a contract with SpaceX for the launches of its first space station and a crew mission (announced on 10 May). A Falcon 9 will launch the space station module called Haven-1 in the late summer of 2025. A second launch...
Hakuto-R lunar lander crash was caused by computer software design error
I-Space (Japan) has reported the results of its investigation into the landing failure of its HAKUTO M1 lunar lander on 25 April 2023. At 1533 GMT the Hakuto M1 Lunar lander moved to a 25 x 100 km orbit and at perilune around 1627 GMT it began a braking burn to...
Long March 2F launches “Taikonaut” trio to Chinese Space Station on Shenzhou 16
A Long March 2F/G (Y16) launched Shenzhou 16 with three Chinese astronauts ("Taikonauts") on board on their way to the China Space Station "Tiangong". The launch took placed at 0131 GMT on 30 May 2023 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. The astronauts were...
GSLV Mk II puts up NVS-01 navsat
An Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) GSLV Mk II rocket (GSLV 2 CUSP 4) was successfully launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India at 0512 GMT on 29 May 2023. It carried NVS-01, a replacement satellite for IRNSS-1G. The 2,232 kg NVS 01 is, in...
Russia launches Kondor-FKA radar satellite
On 2114 GMT on 26 May 2023, a Soyuz 2-1a/Fregat launched a Kondor-FKA No 1 satellite for Roscosmos. The 1,050 kg Kondor-FKA No. 1 is used for radar imaging. The launch took place from the Vostochniy spaceport in far eastern Russia. The spacecraft was apparently...
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...
Stay Informed with Seradata
Stay informed on the latest news, insights, and more from Seradata by signing up for our newsletter.