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  1. zikalify
    TWIRL 116: China to send people to space and SpaceX to resupply ISS by Paul Hill We have several launches coming up this week including China’s crewed Shenzhou 16 mission to the Chinese Space Station and SpaceX sending a resupply mission to the International Space Station. Be sure to check out the mammoth recap section too. Monday, May 29 On Monday, India will launch a GSLV Mk.II rocket will carry the NVS-1 navigation satellite to a geostationary orbit. It’s the first next-gen in the NaVIC constellation and will replace a satellite called IRNSS 1G. The mission will take off at 5:12 a.m. UTC from Sriharikota. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) provides positioning and timing services to India and the surrounding areas. Tuesday, May 30 We have several launches on Tuesday, first, China will launch a Long March 2F/G rocket carrying the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft to the Heavenly Palace space station. It will be a manned mission carrying three unknown astronauts. The mission is due for launch at 1:31 a.m. UTC from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. The Shenzhou 15 crew are set to come back to Earth sometime in May too. The second and final launch on Tuesday will be a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying 22 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. The satellites will beam internet connectivity down to Earth for customers. The launch will occur at 10:42 a.m. UTC from Cape Canaveral. If you want to watch it, head over to SpaceX’s website at that time and date, where it will be streamed if there are no delays. Saturday, June 3 The week of launches will end on Saturday with SpaceX sending up another Falcon 9 carrying a Dragon 2 spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is a cargo delivery mission so nobody will be aboard. The launch is set for 4:34 p.m. UTC from Florida. As with the last Falcon 9 launch, this one will also be streaming on SpaceX’s website. Recap The first launch last week was a Long March 2C carrying Macao Science and LuoJia satellites. It took off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. Next was a Falcon 9 launch carrying Axiom astronauts to the ISS. Here you can see the astronauts entering the ISS. On Wednesday, Russia launched a Soyuz rocket carrying the Progress MS-23 spacecraft to the ISS on a resupply mission. South Korea performed the third launch of its Nuri rocket which carried eight satellites to a Sun-synchronous orbit. Virgin Galactic sent a crew up to the edge of space on its VSS Unity craft in the final flight before it begins its commercial service. On Friday, Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket launched NASA’s TROPICS satellites. Then we got another Soyuz launch from Russia, this time carrying a Kondor-FKA satellite. Finally, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying the Arabsat BADR-8 satellite. That’s all for this week, check in next time!
  2. zikalify
    TWIRL 115: SpaceX and Axiom Space to send astronauts to ISS for a week by Paul Hill We have a super busy week ahead of us in rocket launches. You can peruse the schedule at your own leisure below but I would recommend taking a look at the Falcon 9 launch on Sunday as it will be a manned mission to the ISS and an interesting one at that. Sunday, May 21 Kinetica 1 The first launch this week is CAS Space’s Kinetica 1 rocket. This launch was meant to happen last week but got delayed. If the launch goes ahead, it will be the second time the Kinetica 1 rocket has ever flown and will be carrying the Fucheng 1 and Luojia 2-01 satellites to orbit. The mission is set to take off at 8:40 a.m. UTC from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. It’s not expected that there will be a stream of the event but we should have footage in next week’s recap. Falcon 9 Next up, also taking place on Sunday, is the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying the Ax-2 Crew Dragon. The company is working with Axiom Space to send several astronauts to the International Space Station for a week. The crew includes Axiom astronaut Peggy Whitson, Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni, and private astronaut John Shoffner. The mission will blast off at 9:37 p.m. UTC from Florida and will be streamed live. Monday, May 22 Falcon 9 On Monday morning at 3:25 a.m. UTC, SpaceX will launch another Falcon 9, this time carrying the Arabsat 7B communications satellite. It’s being launched for the Saudi Arabian company Arabsat, into a geostationary orbit. The satellite will be launched from Cape Canaveral and will provide communications coverage across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The launch will take place from Cape Canaveral and will be broadcast on SpaceX’s website. Electron Later on Monday, at 5:30 a.m. UTC, Rocket Lab will launch an Electron rocket carrying NASA’s TROPICS satellites. Rocket Lab orbited two other TROPICS satellites a few weeks ago, but these are additional satellites. The event should be streamed on the company’s website closer to the event. As the name suggests, these satellites will be used to measure the environmental and inner-core conditions of tropical cyclones around the world. Wednesday, May 24 Nuri The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) is up first on Wednesday with the launch of its Nuri rocket carrying eight satellites to orbit. The mission is set to launch at 9:24 a.m. UTC from the Naro Space Centre and the launch will be streamed on YouTube. The launch will orbit several satellites including NEXTSat 2 and four satellites developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute codenamed SNIPE. There will also be secondary payloads, mainly CubeSats. Soyuz 2.1a The final launch on Wednesday is Roscosmos’ Soyuz 2.1a which will carry the 84th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. This mission is set for 12:56 p.m. UTC from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It’s not clear whether there will be a live stream of the event but there should be a recap video next week. Friday, May 26 Soyuz 2.1a The final launch of the week is yet another Roscosmos Soyuz 2.1a rocket. This time it will be launching the Kondor-FKA radar Earth observation satellite for the Russian Ministry of Defence. There are also going to be several secondary payloads launched that will be managed by Glavkosmos. The Kondor-FKA satellite is a civilian radar Earth observation satellite and has an expected life expectancy of five years. Recap The first launch we got last week was a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites to a low Earth orbit. The first stage of the rocket also landed on a droneship ready for reuse. Next up, China launched one of its Long March 3B rockets carrying a backup BeiDou-3 navigation satellite that phones around the world could connect with to find their location. On Friday, SpaceX launches set another batch of Starlink satellites atop a Falcon 9. The last mission we got was a third Falcon 9, this time carrying OneWeb and Iridium satellites to space. OneWeb satellites will be used to beam internet connectivity to the Earth. That’s all for this week, check in next time.
  3. zikalify
    TWIRL 114: Here are all the SpaceX launches coming up this week, and more by Paul Hill We have several launches coming up this week, but the majority are from SpaceX. It will perform two Starlink launches before sending up Iridium and OneWeb satellites. Additionally, China's CAS Space will launch the Kinetica 1 rocket on its second launch carrying two satellites into orbit. Sunday, May 14 The first launch in the coming week takes place at 5:03 a.m. UTC on Sunday morning. SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 56 second-generation Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit. They’re equipped with anti-reflective coatings to help astronomers. This mission, which launches from Cape Canaveral in Florida, has been delayed from April, May 8 and May 12. Hopefully, it gets a break and manages to launch successfully on Sunday. To watch the launch, just head over to SpaceX’s website where you should find a live stream around the time of the event. Monday, May 15 On Monday, we’ll have the launch of CAS Space’s Kinetica 1 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. It’s the second time the rocket has flown and will be carrying the Fucheng 1 and Luojia 2-01 satellites into orbit. The Kinetica 1 rocket is allegedly based on the DF-31 missile but was adapted by CAS Space to launch satellites. Thursday, May 18 The third mission of the week is another one from SpaceX. From Cape Canaveral again, SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 carrying even more Starlink satellites, but only 21 this time. This mission takes off at 4:26 a.m. UTC and should be streamed on SpaceX’s website as well at the time. Friday, May 19 The final launch will see a SpaceX Falcon 9 carry several satellites for Iridium and OneWeb. Five satellites for the Iridium NEXT mobile communications constellation will be launched alongside 15 first-generation and one second-generation OneWeb satellites. This mission will take off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at an unspecified time. It should be available to watch on the SpaceX website. Recap The first launch this week was the Long March-7 Y7 carrying the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft which headed to China’s Heavenly Palace space station. Later that day, Tianzhou-6 successfully docked with the Heavenly Palace. Finally, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket on the same day carrying 51 Starlink satellites. That’s all for this week, be sure to check in next time.
  4. zikalify
    TWIRL 113: Cargo mission soon to head to the Heavenly Palace space station by Paul Hill We have a number of missions coming up This Week in Rocket Launches. Rocket Lab will orbit NASA’s TROPICS satellites, SpaceX will launch more Starlink satellites, and China is going to send a cargo mission up to its Heavenly Palace space station. Monday, May 8 The first launch this week will be a Rocket Lab Electron rocket carrying two satellites as part of NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission. The two satellites, TROPICS 3 and 4 will be used to measure the temperature, moisture profiles, and precipitation in tropical systems “with unprecedented temporal frequency.” The mission is due for launch between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. UTC from New Zealand. You will find a stream on Rocket Lab’s website. Tuesday, May 9 At 5:08 a.m. UTC, from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 56 second-generation Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit. It was reported earlier today that Starlink now has more than 1.5 million customers worldwide. The service is especially useful in more remote areas where a broadband connection isn’t feasible. By launching more satellites, SpaceX can expand the strength and coverage of Starlink. The launch will be shown on SpaceX’s website. Wednesday, May 10 The first of Wednesday’s two launches is a Long March 7 rocket carrying the sixth cargo craft for China’s Heavenly Palace space station. It will be carrying around 7.4 tonnes of supplies, including 70 kg of fruit. The Long March 7 will take off at 1:23 p.m. UTC from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre in China. The second mission takes place several hours later at 9:44 p.m. UTC from California. SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 carrying 51 Starlink satellites to a polar low Earth orbit. Like the launch earlier in the week, you can catch this one on SpaceX’s website. Recap There was only one launch last week, that’s it, you guessed it, a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites. Fittingly, it took off on Star Wars Day, May 4. That’s all for this week, check in next time.
  5. zikalify
    TWIRL 112: SpaceX to try again with Falcon Heavy launch after delays by Paul Hill This week, SpaceX will try and launch its Falcon Heavy following delays last week and a Falcon 9 which will carry Starlink satellites. Last week, we saw the attempted landing of the HAKUTO-R M1 Lunar Lander on the Moon but it ultimately failed. You can find coverage of that in the recap. Sunday, April 30 The first launch this week comes from SpaceX. It will launch the Falcon Heavy carrying the ViaSat 3 Americas and Arcturus communications satellites. It was meant to launch on April 26 but experienced delays. According to the new schedule, it will launch between 11:29 p.m. and 12:26 a.m. UTC from Florida. The event will be streamed on SpaceX’s website. Tuesday, May 2 The second and final launch of the week takes place on Tuesday at 8:20 a.m. UTC. SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying around 56 Starlink satellites to a low Earth orbit. Starlink satellites make up an expansive constellation that provides internet connectivity on Earth where customers can get connected with special receivers. Recap The first notable event last week was the attempted landing of the HAKUTO-R M1 Lunar Lander. Unfortunately, the team lost connection to it which suggests it could have crashed. Next up, we got a foggy launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites to orbit. The first stage of the rocket also performed a landing so it can be reused. The third and final launch was also a Falcon 9 but was carrying the SES O3b mPOWER 3 and 4 satellites. There was also another landing of the first stage. That’s all for this week, be sure to check in next time!
  6. zikalify
    TWIRL 111: SpaceX dominates the flight schedule with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches by Paul Hill We have three launches coming up next week, there are two Falcon 9 launches planned and one Falcon Heavy launch. Each of the launches will be viewable by visiting SpaceX’s website. You can find out the details of each of these missions below. Also, be sure to check the recap section for launches you may have missed this week. Now let's crack on with This Week in Rocket Launches #111. Tuesday, April 25 The first launch we have next week is a Falcon 9 from SpaceX. This will be a run-of-the-mill Starlink satellite launch to help boost the broadband satellite constellation. There’s a little bit of confusion about the number of satellites being sent up on this mission, but it could be 46 satellites. Similar to other Starlink satellites, these will be coated with anti-reflective coatings to lessen disruption to astronomers. The mission will launch between 1:02 p.m. and 2:48 p.m. UTC from Vandenberg AFB in California. It will be viewable on SpaceX’s website. Wednesday, April 26 The day after the Falcon 9 launch, SpaceX will send up a Falcon Heavy carrying the ViaSat 3 Americas, Arcturus, and G-Space 1 communications satellites to orbit. The Falcon Heavy is a derivative of the Falcon 9 but has two side boosters which should make it a bit more interesting to watch. Apparently, all of the boosters and the centre core in this mission will be expended. Once in orbit, ViaSat 3 will provide broadband services. The launch will take place at 11:29 p.m. UTC and the launch window will stay open for an hour. It will take off from Florida this time. To view the launch, just head over to SpaceX’s website. Friday, April 28 Lastly, we have another SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission will take off at 9:12 p.m. UTC carrying two O3b mPOWER broadband satellites into a Medium Earth Orbit for SES. This mission too will be streamed by SpaceX. Recap The first launch we got last week was the Long March 4B caring the FengYun-3G satellite from the Juiquan Satellite Launch Centre in China. The satellite is will provide services for weather forecasting, disaster prevention and mitigation, climate change response, and ecological conservation. Next up we saw the launch of a Falcon 9 carrying 21 Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit. The third launch was the big launch of the week that you’ve probably already seen, SpaceX’s launch of Starship atop the Super Heavy booster. If you’ve not watched the launch yet, keep your eyes peeled for the great shot of the thrusters underneath the rocket while it’s flying. The final launch was a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from India. It was carrying the TeLEOS-2 and Lumelite-4 satellites. That’s all we have for you this week, be sure to check in next time!
  7. zikalify
    Starship performs stunning launch before exploding at an altitude of 30 Km by Paul Hill After a several-year wait, SpaceX finally launched its interplanetary rocket Starship atop the Super Heavy booster. The rocket is a massive 5,000 tonnes and for a few seconds after 30 of the 33 raptor engines ignited, the rocket did not move. Eventually, it began its slow ascension. The rocket managed to reach an altitude of 39 Km before SpaceX attempted a flip and the detaching of the Super Heavy booster. This is where things went awry. As the rocket performed the flips, it lost about 9 Km in altitude before going up in a fiery blaze, thus ending the mission. SpaceX has many failures like this but it usually does a good job of taking note of what happened and rectifying the issue – after all, it’s private money on the line and not an endless stream of tax revenue. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk congratulated his team on the “exciting test launch of Starship” and said there will be another test launch in just another couple of months. Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months. pic.twitter.com/gswdFut1dK — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023 If you don’t normally follow this type of news, SpaceX wants to build a rocket that can ferry people back and forth to the Moon and Mars. In a trailer video from several years ago, Starship was also demonstrated as a fancy airplane that could transport people around the Earth in a much quicker time than any jet. It’s unclear if Earth-to-Earth transportation is still on the table in 2023, however.
  8. zikalify
    TWIRL 110: SpaceX will launch its Super Heavy rocket carrying Starship by Paul Hill We have a big week coming up with SpaceX preparing to launch its Super Heavy rocket in its first suborbital flight. It will be carrying Starship which is expected to do a lap of the planet before splashing down in the sea near Hawaii. The company is also planning a Falcon Heavy and a Falcon 9 launch. Sunday, April 16 The first launch this week will be a Long March 4C taking off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre at 1:36 a.m. UTC. It will be carrying the Fengyun 3G meteorological satellite to a polar orbit. Like other Chinese launches, there may not be live footage of this launch but there should be a recap video next week. Monday, April 17 With any luck, SpaceX will be able to launch its Super Heavy rocket in its first suborbital test flight on Monday. The launch window is between 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. UTC and it’ll take off from Orbital Launch Pad 1 at the Starbase in Texas. The Super Heavy rocket will be carrying a Starship prototype and the mission will see SpaceX attempt one full orbit of the planet. Afterwards, Starship will perform a re-entry and splashdown near Hawaii. You can check out SpaceX’s website at the designated time to watch the launch. Tuesday, April 18 Just a day later and SpaceX will be launching its Falcon Heavy rocket, this time carrying the ViaSat 3 Americas, Arcturus, and G-Space 1 communications satellites into orbit. The ViaSat satellite will provide broadband communications from a geostationary orbit. This flight is due for take-off from 11:29 p.m. UTC in Florida and should be available on the SpaceX website as well. Wednesday, April 19 Completing a hat trick, SpaceX will perform its third launch of the week. This time is a Falcon 9 carrying several Starlink internet-beaming satellites to orbit. To help keep the cost of launches down, SpaceX typically lands the first stage of the rocket so that it can be reused in the future. Additionally, Starlink satellites now go to space with anti-reflective coatings to minimize disruption to astronomers. This mission will take off at 1:33 p.m. UTC from Cape Canaveral. Saturday, April 22 Finally, on Saturday, India will launch its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to launch the TeLEOS 2 SAR satellite for AgilSpace Singapore. This satellite will perform Earth observation tasks. It will take off at 9:00 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Recap The first launch this week was an Ariane 5 rocket carrying the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission. You can see footage of the launch below. The final launch was a Falcon 9 rocket performing the Transporter-7 mission, a rideshare that delivers 51 payloads into space for various entities. That’s all we have this week, be sure to check in next time.
  9. zikalify
    TWIRL 109: European Space Agency to send JUICE to Jupiter and its moons by Paul Hill There’s not too much going on this week in terms of rocket launches but of most interest is the launch of the JUICE spacecraft which is heading to the Jovian system to explore the gas giant Jupiter and three of its icy moons; Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto. Wednesday, April 12 The first launch of the week will be a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying several smallsats as part of the Transporter-7 rideshare mission. The satellites will be placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit and will perform a whole host of missions of their own. This mission will take off at 6:45 a.m. UTC from Vandenberg AFB in California. It should be available on the SpaceX website to live stream. Thursday, April 13 The final launch of the week, and most exciting, is the launch of Arianespace’s Ariane 5 ECA+ rocket. The launch itself is not what’s special, but the payload. It will be launching the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft which will be heading off to investigate Jupiter and three of its moons; Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa – all of which have oceans that could contain life. After the launch, which is due at 12:15 p.m. UTC from French Guyana, we’ll have to wait until July 2031 until the craft reaches our closest gas giant. If you want to watch, tune into ESA Web TV at the time of launch. Recap The first launch last week was a Falcon 9 carrying the Tranche 0 mission for the Space Development Agency (SDA). The satellites will be used for communications, data, and missile warnings. Next, we saw the maiden flight of the Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-2. It carried the Love Space Science remote-sensing satellite into a Solar-synchronous orbit. Next up was another Falcon 9, this time carrying the Intelsat IS-40e satellite with NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution instrument aboard. Below is a video of the satellite’s deployment. The final launch was that of iSpace’s Hyperbola-1 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. The launch was done to test measures taken after a prior failed launch. That’s all for this week, check in next time!
  10. zikalify
    TWIRL 108: SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch demo satellites for US Space Development Agency by Paul Hill We have a fairly busy launch schedule next week to cover in This Week in Rocket Launches. We’ll see SpaceX launch a couple of rockets, the maiden launch of Space Pioneer’s Tianlong 2 rocket, and iSpace will launch its Hyperbola SQX-1. A third private Chinese company, ExPace, is also set to launch its Kuaizhou 1A rocket carrying an unknown payload. Sunday, April 2 Sunday is the busiest day of the week this time, with three launches planned. The first mission is Space Pioneer’s Tianlong 2 rocket which is launching on its first flight carrying several CubeSats, including one called Jinta. The Jinta CubeSat will have remote sensing capabilities and will be used to verify important technologies. The mission will launch at 2:50 a.m. UTC from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. The second launch of the day comes from another private Chinese company called iSpace. It will be launching its Hyperbola SQX-1 rocket with an unknown payload, also from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, but a few hours later at 5:00 a.m. UTC. Lastly, SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 carrying 10 Tranche 0 demo satellites for the US military’s Space Development Agency. These demo satellites will lay the foundations of a future satellite constellation of military missile tracking and data relay satellites. This mission will launch from Vandenberg AFB at 2:29 p.m. UTC. Wednesday, April 5 We have just one mission locked in on Wednesday and it’s from a private Chinese company called ExPace. It will be launching a Kuaizhou 1A rocket with an unknown payload. It’s due to take off at 4:00 a.m. UTC from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. Friday, April 7 The last launch of the week is another Falcon 9 from SpaceX, this time carrying the Intelsat 40e communications satellite for Intelsat. It will provide coverage across North and Central America to Intelsat customers so they can benefit from in-flight connectivity and mobile communications services. The mission takes off at 4:39 a.m. UTC from Cape Canaveral. Recap The first mission last week was the launch of a GSLV Mk-III rocket carrying 36 OneWeb satellites to space where they’ll provide internet connectivity on Earth. Next, Israel launched a Shavit-2 rocket carrying the Ofek-13 satellite from the Palmachim Airbase. The satellite will provide metre observation capabilities and enable all-weather Earth observation for the country’s Ministry of Defence. On Wednesday, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying 56 Starlink satellites which will beam internet to Earth. It also landed the first stage of the Falcon 9. Next, we saw the launch of a Long March 2D carrying four PIESAT-1 satellites. They will provide commercial remote sensing data services. The final launch was a Long March 4C carrying a Yaogan-34 remote sensing satellite which will help to do land surveys, urban planning, crop yield estimations, and disaster prevention and mitigation. That’s all for this week, check in next time!
  11. zikalify
    TWIRL 107: Space Pioneer set to launch Tianlong 2 rocket for the first time by Paul Hill This Week in Rocket Launches is full this week with interesting events. Notably on Wednesday, the Chinese company, Space Pioneer, will launch the Tianlong 2 on its maiden flight. If you check the recap section, you’ll also be able to see footage of the Terran 1 rocket which launched for the first time. Sunday, March 26 The first launch this week will see NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) launch an LVM3 rocket carrying 36 OneWeb satellites to space. For those not aware, OneWeb’s satellites beam internet back down to the planet similar to SpaceX's Starlink. Unlike SpaceX, OneWeb doesn’t have the capability to launch its satellites so has to depend on other companies and governments. It was previously relying on Russia but since the war began, OneWeb has sought other partners. This mission is due for launch at 3:30 a.m. UTC and will be streamed on YouTube. Monday, March 27 Next up is the Chinese company ExPace which will be launching its Kuaizhou-1A rocket. This launch is a bit mysterious because we don’t know what it’s carrying into space. The only details are that it will take place at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 2:30 a.m. UTC. Wednesday, March 29 The third launch of the week is a bit interesting, it’s from a Chinese company called Space Pioneer which hasn’t been mentioned much, if ever, in previous TWIRL editions. It will be launching its Tianlong 2 rocket on its maiden flight carrying several CubeSats to space. This mission is also due to launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and will blast off at 7:00 a.m. UTC. Thursday, March 30 Thursday is set to be busy with three launches. The first of these is a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying 10 Tranche 0 demo satellites for the US military’s Space Development Agency. These demo satellites will lay the foundations of a future satellite constellation of military missile tracking and data relay satellites. It’s not known what time the mission will launch but it’ll take off from Vandenberg AFB in California. The second launch on Thursday is another one from SpaceX. The company will be sending yet another Falcon 9 but this time carrying 21 Starlink satellites. As you probably know by now, these will join the Starlink constellation which beams internet back down to Earth. Starlink was criticized by astronomers because they were reflective and disrupting astronomy but now SpaceX has applied an anti-reflective coat to the satellites so they won’t be as much of a problem. The time for this mission is still unknown but it’ll launch from Cape Canaveral. The final launch is a Long March 2D from China carrying several satellites including Zhongyuan 1 & Hebi 1-3. It’s unclear what these satellites will be tasked to do but common uses for satellites is remote sensing where they help to track changes on land or in the sea so they could be doing things like that. The launch time is unclear but the site will be the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Recap The first launch last week was a Kuaizhou-1A rocket carrying four Tianmu-1 meteorological satellites. It took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and the satellites have entered their planned orbits. Next, we finally got the first launch of Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket which was delayed the other week. On Friday, Rocket Lab launched an Electron rocket from New Zealand carrying two BlackSky observation satellites. Finally, a SpaceX Falcon 9 carried 56 Starlink satellites to space and the first stage of the rocket landed for reuse. That’s all for this week be sure to check in next time.
  12. zikalify
    TWIRL 106: Rocket Lab, Relativity Space, and SpaceX ready launches by Paul Hill We have a less busy week ahead of us. Rocket Lab, Relativity Space, and SpaceX all have missions planned this week concerning the orbiting of satellites. Relativity Space will launch the Terran 1 rocket on its first flight after it was aborted last week. Wednesday, March 22 The first launch this week will be an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab. The mission will carry two BlackSky satellites into orbit and will be called “The Beat Goes On”. The company is also going to try to recover the first stage of the rocket by having it land in the ocean carried down with the aid of parachutes. The satellites will perform Earth observation with 1m resolution images. You’ll be able to tune in to the launch on Rocket Lab’s website and it’s due to take off at 8:45 a.m. UTC from New Zealand. The second launch on Wednesday is Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket which will launch on its first test flight. This mission was pushed back from earlier this month after the launch was aborted. As part of the test flight, the rocket will carry a 3D-printed mass simulator. The rocket will also only launch with a nose cone but no fairing. Relativity Space will be streaming the event on YouTube and take off is expected between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Friday, March 24 The final launch of the week will be a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX. It will launch 21 Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit. These satellites will beam internet back to Earth as part of the Starlink constellation. Luckily, these newer Starlink satellites are covered with anti-reflective coatings so they won’t interfere as much with astronomy. There’s no assigned time for the launch just yet but check SpaceX’s website if you want to watch when it does happen. Recap The first attempted launch last week happened on Sunday. Relativity Space attempted to launch its Terran 1 rocket but had to abort it. On Monday, China launched a Long March-2C rocket carrying the Horus-2 satellite. As you can guess from the name, the satellite is Egyptian and will perform remote sensing. On Wednesday, SpaceX launched the CRS-27 mission using a Falcon 9 topped with a Dragon spacecraft which docked at the International Space Station carrying cargo for the astronauts aboard the station. The first stage of the Falcon 9 landed back on a drone ship. Next up, China launched its Long March-11 rocket carrying the Shiyan-19 satellite which will be used for land resource surveys, urban planning, disaster prevention and mitigation, and more. Thursday saw the launch of an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab. In a mission dubbed “Stronger Together”, the company launched two Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites for Capella Space. On Friday, China sent up a Long March-3B carrying the Gaofen-13 02 satellite. This will be used for things like land surveys, crop-yield estimation, environmental governance, weather warnings and forecasting, and disaster prevention and mitigation. On the same day, SpaceX also launched 52 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket. It also launched the first stage of the Falcon 9. The final launch of the week was another Falcon 9 this time carrying the SES-18 and SES-19 communications satellites from Florida. That’s all we have this week, check in next time!
  13. zikalify
    TWIRL 105: SpaceX, China, Russia, and India all planning rocket launches this week by Paul Hill We have a packed schedule this week. Russia is planning to launch a possible snooping satellite, SpaceX is going to send cargo to the space station, and India is planning to launch a new satellite for positioning purposes. Also, check out Japan’s H3 rocket in the recap section. Long-time readers of This Week in Rocket Launches (TWIRL) may be wondering why the schedule begins on a Sunday and ends on Saturday; this is so TWIRL can be published each Saturday with regularity. Sunday, March 12 The first launch of the upcoming week is a Russian Proton-M rocket carrying the second Olimp-K satellite. Apparently, the aim of this satellite will be to get up close to other space satellites and eavesdrop on the contents being sent from them. The satellite could also provide navigation correction signals for the GLONASS system, but it’s all speculation as its mission isn’t disclosed. The rocket will take off at 10:12 p.m. UTC from Kazakhstan. Wednesday, March 15 On Wednesday, we’ll see two launches. The first is a Falcon 9 carrying the Dragon 2 spacecraft which will take operational cargo to the International Space Station. The mission is part of the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA and should be streamed on the SpaceX website. The launch will take place at 12:30 a.m. UTC from Florida. The next launch will be a Long March CZ-11 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 11:44 a.m. UTC. The payload is unknown at the time of writing so nothing more can be said about this mission. Friday, March 17 The only launch on Friday will also be coming from China. The government will launch a Long March CZ-3B/E rocket carrying the Zhongxing 6E communications satellite. The satellite will be operated by China Satcom to provide users with an uplink and downlink for radio and TV stations. The mission is due to launch at 10:00 a.m. UTC from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Saturday, March 18 The first launch on Saturday will be an Indian GSLV rocket carrying the NVS 1 navigation satellite. The satellite will replace the IRNSS 1G satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System which provides positioning services for the Indian subcontinent. This mission will launch from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh but the time of the launch isn’t known. The launch will be a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SES 18 and SES 19 communications satellites. The rocket will fly at 12:35 a.m. UTC from Cape Canaveral and can be viewed on SpaceX’s website live. Recap The first launch we got last week was Japan’s H3 rocket carrying the Daichi-3 Earth observation satellite. While we got to see the rocket taking off, a destruct command had to be sent and the mission was ultimately a failure. Next, a Falcon 9 carried OneWeb satellites to orbit where they will provide internet services from space. You can see the launch below and the landing of the rocket’s first stage. The final launch we saw last week was of a Long March-4C carrying the TianHui-6 A/B satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. They will be used for Earth observation tasks. That’s all for this week, check in next time!
  14. zikalify
    TWIRL 104: Relativity Space preparing for Terran 1's first test flight, JAXA to launch H3 by Paul Hill We have an exciting week ahead as we’ll see the first flight of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3 rocket and Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket launch in its first test flight. We should also see SpaceX launch several satellites for its rival OneWeb. Tuesday, March 7 The first launch we have is a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3 rocket launching on its first flight. It will be carrying the Daichi 3 Earth observation to orbit where it will take high-resolution, wide-swatch pictures. By capturing images of the planet’s surface, the data can be used for disaster management, land use, urban sprawl, scientific research, and coastal and vegetation environmental monitoring. The launch will occur from the Tanegashima Space Center between 1:37 a.m. and 1:44 a.m. UTC. Wednesday, March 8 The second launch of the week will be Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket which will have its first test flight which the company has named #GoodLuckHaveFun (#GLHF). This flight has been delayed continually since late 2020, hopefully, the company will get a successful launch this time. Interestingly, the Terran 1 is made with several 3D-printed parts and will be carrying a 3D-printed mass simulator during the test flight. The flight is due between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. UTC from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and can be viewed on YouTube. Thursday, March 9 The third and final flight will be a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX launching 40 OneWeb satellites into orbit. This is a mission that was meant to launch this week but suffered a delay. OneWeb’s satellites do the same thing as SpaceX’s Starlink satellites; beam internet back down to the planet. OneWeb was originally sending its satellites into orbit with the help of Russia but since the war in Ukraine, OneWeb has looked for alternative routes to space. Recap The first launch we saw this week was a Falcon 9 carrying 21 Starlink satellites to space where they’ll beam internet back to Earth. The second launch was also a Falcon 9 but this time it was launching the Endeavour Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA, Roscosmos, and UAE astronauts to the International Space Station. Below, you can see the astronauts entering the ISS. The final launch was another Falcon 9 this time carrying 51 Starlink satellites to orbit. That’s all we have for this week, check in next time!
  15. zikalify
    TWIRL 103: SpaceX to dominate this week's schedule with Falcon 9 launches by Paul Hill We’re nearing the end of February so This Week in Rocket Launches is back as promised at the end of the last edition. This week, we have several launches, all SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets. The missions involve taking people to space, orbiting more Starlink satellites, and helping OneWeb get more of its internet-beaming satellites to space. Monday, February 27 The first launch on Monday is a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft which will head to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) and will ferry NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, UAE astronaut Sultan Al-Neyadi, and Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev to the ISS. This mission was brought forward from March but was delayed from February 15, 19, and 26. It’ll launch at 6:45 a.m. UTC from Florida and will be available to watch on SpaceX’s website. The second launch on Monday is due between 6:37 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. UTC from Cape Canaveral where SpaceX will launch another Falcon 9, this time carrying Starlink satellites. This batch of 20-30 Gen2 Starlink “Mini” satellites will be known as Starlink Group 6-1 and can be found on satellite tracking apps under this designation. As mentioned previously, these satellites are covered in anti-reflective paint which should make them less of a hindrance to astronomers. Use the link to SpaceX’s website above to watch this launch too. The third and final launch on Monday is yet another Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites. Included in this batch are 49 Block 1.5 Starlink satellites, rather than the “Mini” variants, however, these will also come with an anti-reflective coating. This launch will take place in California, the other side of the U.S., at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The launch will occur around 12 hours after the other two at 7:31 p.m. UTC and will be available to stream in the same place on SpaceX’s website. Wednesday, March 1 The final launch of the week takes place on Wednesday. It’ll be yet another Falcon 9 taking off from Cape Canaveral, this time at 7:44 p.m. This mission will see 40 OneWeb satellites sent into orbit and is designated OneWeb L17. The launch should be available to stream on SpaceX’s website and possibly OneWeb’s website too. Recap The first launch we had this week took place on Thursday. A Long March 3B rocket took off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province carrying the ChinaSat 26 which is described as a high-throughput satellite with a capacity of more than 100 Gbps. The second and final launch we saw took place on Friday when Russia launched a Soyuz 2.1a carrying Soyuz MS-23 to the space station. The mission was uncrewed but was transporting provisions for the astronauts aboard the ISS. Soyuz MS-23 will return to Earth later this year with Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin, and Frank Rubio. That’s all for this week, be sure to check in next time!
  16. John Callaham
    Starlink starts inviting some users to try a new $200 a month Global Roaming service by John Callaham Want to connect to the internet from almost anywhere on the planet with a land mass? That's what the SpaceX-owned Starlink service is claiming to offer in a new program. Reddit posters (via Ars Technica) have posted emails sent to current and waiting Starlink users, announcing the Global Roaming service. The email states this program will use Starlink's connections to other Starlink satellites to make this new service work (the email actually uses the term "space lasers" to describe those connections.) The price for joining the new plan is $200 a month, not including the one time $599 price tag for the required hardware receiver and other devices. The invite email does point out that because this is a new service from Starlink, it may not work correctly 100 percent of the time. Users can expect to encounter "brief periods of poor connectivity". Starlink already offers a way to connect to its service via campers, RVs, and similar large vehicles. It launched in May 2022 for $135 a month, again not counting the one-time hardware costs. The normal Starlink subscription is $110 a month. While this service is being advertised as a global extension, the email does hint strongly that users should still be in countries and territories where Starlink is authorized to operate. It also says that if people who sign up for Global Roaming are not happy, they can get a full refund from the $599 hardware fee within 30 days of signing up. Source: Reddit via Ars Technica
  17. zikalify
    TWIRL 102: SpaceX to launch the Amazonas Nexus satellite and anti-reflective Starlink sats by Paul Hill This week SpaceX will launch some Starlink satellites and the Amazonas Nexus communications satellite for Hispasat. Russia is also planning the launch of its Elektro-L weather satellite, which it has had to delay a number of times since 2019. Tuesday, January 31 The first mission next week is the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying 54 Starlink satellites. Like last time, these are new “Mini” satellites equipped with anti-reflective coatings to make them less of a nuisance to astronomers. The mission will take off at 8:27 a.m. UTC from Florida. If you want to tune into the coverage, just head to SpaceX’s website at launch time. Sunday, February 5 The first launch on Sunday will come from SpaceX. It’ll launch a Falcon 9 carrying the Amazonas Nexus communications satellite for Hispasat. The satellite will apparently operate for about 15 years providing service over the Americas and the North Atlantic air corridors. Similar to SpaceX’s launch earlier in the week, this mission should also be available to stream, however, no launch time has yet been provided. The second launch of the day will come from Russia. Roscosmos, the country’s space agency, will launch a Proton M rocket carrying the fourth Elektro-L weather satellite, which will be placed in a geostationary orbit. This mission has been delayed a number of times going back to 2019. The mission will launch at 9:12 a.m. UTC but it’s unclear if there’ll be a live stream. Recap The first launch last week was Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket carrying three satellites for HawkEye 360. The mission was dubbed “Virginia is for Launch Lovers” and took off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Next up, we saw the launch of a Mitsubishi H-IIA rocket carrying the IGS Radar-7 satellite from Japan. We don’t usually see this rocket launch that much so it’s an interesting watch. Finally, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying the Starlink 69 mission to orbit. It launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. That’s all for this week, TWIRL coverage will resume in late February.
  18. Unobscured Vision
    Since we enjoy discussing general Space-related matters (politics, business, conjecture, etc), I thought it would be appropriate to create a dedicated thread for that very purpose. Now we can express all the hyperbole we want without fear of "getting off-topic", because it is the topic! Let's spin the turbopump, shall we?
  19. zikalify
    TWIRL 101: SpaceX to launch Starlink satellites with anti-reflective coating by Paul Hill We have several satellite launches coming up this week, we will see the launch of a Mitsubishi H-IIA rocket which is a bit unusual and SpaceX plans to launch new Starlink satellites with special anti-reflective coating which could prevent the satellites from ruining astronomy. Monday, January 23 The first launch this week comes from Rocket Lab, which will send an Electron rocket to space carrying a number of small radio frequency monitoring satellites from Hawkeye 360, a radio frequency geospatial analytics provider. The satellites being launched are called Hawk 6A/B/C and the mission has been called “Virginia is for Launch Lovers”. The satellites will help to monitor air, land, and sea transportation and assist with emergencies. This mission launches from 11:00 p.m. UTC from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. A stream will be available on Rocket Lab’s website. Tuesday, January 24 The second mission of the week will see SpaceX launch a Falcon 9 carrying 54 Gen2 Starlink “Mini” satellites. If you use a satellite tracking app, these satellites will be designated Starlink Group 5-2 if you want to try looking for them. While apps will show the position of the satellites, they could prove hard to see has SpaceX has applied an anti-reflective coating to them. It’s not clear how much this will reduce their reflectivity but it could address the concerns of astronomers who have complained about satellites ruining the night sky. The mission will take off at 9:52 a.m. UTC from Cape Canaveral in Florida and will be streamed on the company’s website. Wednesday, January 25 The final mission we have locked in for the week will see a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA rocket launch the IGS-Radar 7 reconnaissance satellite for the Japanese Ministry of Defense. IGS in the payload’s name is short for Information Gathering Satellite. It will be operated by the Cabinet Satellite Information Center and help bolster Japan’s national defence and assist with civil natural disaster monitoring. It’s due to take off at 1:20 a.m. UTC from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Recap The first launch last week took place on Wednesday, a Falcon 9 launched by SpaceX carrying the US Space Force’s GPS III satellite. The second and final launch was also a Falcon 9 but this time carrying 51 Starlink satellites. That’s all for this week, be sure to check in next time.
  20. zikalify
    TWIRL 100: SpaceX to launch Amelia Earhart satellite for improved GPS services by Paul Hill For the one-hundredth edition of TWIRL, it looks like we have just one launch ahead, a Falcon 9 from SpaceX. Luckily, we did get a lot of launches last week where we now have footage available to watch through, so be sure to check the recap section. Wednesday, January 18 On Wednesday, SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the GPS III-6 satellite for the United States Air Force. The satellite is also named Amelia Earhart, after the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and later disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. With the new satellite, GPS users around the world will benefit from improved positioning, navigation, and timing services. The launch is due at noon UTC from Cape Canaveral. Recap The first launch we got last week was the Ceres-1 rocket carrying five satellites. It’s a rocket developed by the private Chinese firm Galactic Energy. It launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and delivered the satellites to low Earth orbit. Next, we got Virgin Orbit’s Start Me Up mission which launched from the UK. The Cosmic Girl aircraft released the LauncherOne rocket mid-flight. The mission was ultimately a failure after the rocket came crashing to Earth. Next up, a Falcon 9 carried 40 OneWeb satellites to orbit from Cape Canaveral where they will be used to beam internet back to Earth. Later in the week, a Long March 2C took off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center carrying the APStar-6E satellite which will provide telecommunication services in Southeast Asia. Also blasting off from China was a Long March 2D carrying Yaogan-37 and Shiyan-22A/B from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. They are both remote sensing satellites that will perform various tasks including space environment monitoring, urban planning, smog detection and more. Finally, a Long March 2D took off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center carrying 14 satellites into space. That’s all for this week, check back next time!
  21. zikalify
    TWIRL 99: Virgin Orbit to perform air launch of LauncherOne from the UK by Paul Hill With Christmas and New Year over and done with, rocket launches are starting to get back into full swing. On Monday, we’ll see Virgin Orbit launch its Cosmic Girl plane from Cornwall in the UK before it performs an air launch of the LauncherOne rocket. The event is notable for the UK because plans to launch rockets from the country have been going on for years and now it’s finally starting to happen. Monday, January 9 The first mission we have on Monday will see SpaceX launch a Falcon 9 carrying OneWeb satellites to orbit. For those who read last week’s edition of TWIRL, this is the same mission that was reported then but it looks like it was delayed. OneWeb is similar to SpaceX in that it’s establishing a constellation of internet-beaming satellites, however, it doesn’t have the rockets to orbit satellites so it relies on other governments and companies who do, like SpaceX. The mission will launch from Cape Canaveral at 4:55 a.m. UTC and will be available to stream on SpaceX’s website. The second mission of the day will launch just five minutes after the last but from the other side of the world. The private Chinese firm, Galactic Energy, will launch its Ceres-1 rocket carrying a number of satellites including Xiamen SciTech 1. The mission will be known as Give Me Five and launches at 5:00 a.m. UTC from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Finally, Virgin Orbit will perform an air launch of LauncherOne from its Boeing 747 called Cosmic Girl. It’s carrying a number of payloads to orbit but what’s really notable about this mission is that it’s taking off from Cornwall in the UK. Talk of a UK spaceport has been going on for years but it looks like launches are now finally taking place. The launch is due between 10:16 p.m. UTC and 12:16 a.m., and tickets for the event are sold out according to BBC News. The launch could be viewable on Virgin Orbit’s website. Friday, January 12 The last mission of the week will see SpaceX launch its Falcon Heavy carrying the USSF-67 mission for the US Space Force. The mission will see the launch of the Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM (CBAS 2) military communications satellites and the LDPE 3a rideshare satellite which hosts several experimental payloads. The mission takes off from Florida from 10:30 p.m. UTC and might be streamed on SpaceX’s website. Recap The only launch we got last week was a Falcon 9 from SpaceX carrying several SmallSats as part of the Transporter-6 rideshare mission. That’s all for this week, check in next time!
  22. zikalify
    TWIRL 98: SpaceX to orbit rival company's internet-beaming satellites by Paul Hill This week, we’ll see two launches from SpaceX. The first mission will be Transporter-6 which is a rideshare mission carrying satellites for paying customers. The second mission will see the company fly 40 OneWeb satellites to orbit, where they will beam internet back to Earth. Tuesday, January 3 The first launch this week will be from SpaceX, it will be launching a Falcon 9 carrying range of smallsats as part of a mission called Transporter-6. Similar to other Transporter missions, this one is a rideshare so private interests can launch missions to space at a more affordable price. One of the payloads is called MethaneSat and is being sent to space for Bezos Earth Fund and Environmental Defense Fund. The launch should be available to stream on SpaceX’s website at around 2:56 p.m. UTC which is when the launch is scheduled for. It’ll take off from Cape Canaveral. Sunday, January 8 The second and final launch of the week also comes from SpaceX. It will be launching another Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral at an unspecified time. It’ll carry 40 OneWeb satellites into orbit. Funnily enough, OneWeb is a competitor to SpaceX as its satellites beam internet down to Earth just like Starlink. The mission will be known as OneWeb L16 internally and should be streamed on SpaceX’s website on launch day. Recap The first launch last week was a Long March 4B carrying the Gaofen-11 04 Earth observation satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China. Next, SpaceX launched 54 Starlink satellites atop a Falcon 9, these, as always, will beam internet back to Earth. On the 29th, China launched a Long March 3B carrying the Shiyan-10 02 satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The satellite will test new technologies. Finally, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying Israeli satellite EROS C-3 which will perform Earth observation tasks. That’s all for this week, Happy New Year!
  23. zikalify
    TWIRL 96: South Korea startup Innospace set to launch Hanbit-TLV rocket by Paul Hill We have just a few launches locked in for this week, South Korean startup Innospace plans to launch its Hanbit-TLV rocket (pictured) and Arianespace will launch a Vega C rocket with satellites from French Guyana. The recap this week is quite lengthy so check out the videos. Monday, December 19 The first launch of the week comes from Innospace, a South Korean rocket startup. It plans to launch its suborbital technology demonstration rocket, Hanbit-TLV. This rocket will be used to test the first stage engine which will eventually be used in another rocket called the Hanbit Nano orbital launcher that will orbit satellites. The Monday launch is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. UTC from Alcantara Space Center in Brazil. Tuesday, December 20 The second and final launch of the week will see an Arianespace Vega C rocket launch two Pleiades Neo Earth observation satellites. Pleiades Neo is a constellation consisting of four satellites that capture very high-resolution images of Earth. This launch will also carry up a secondary payload, the QQ Technology nanosat. This mission is due to launch at 1:47 a.m. UTC from French Guyana. Recap The first launch we got last week was a Long March 4C carrying the Shiyan-20 A/B satellites from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. They will be used for space environment monitoring. Next, an Ariane 5 launched the Meteosat Third Generation-Imager 1 (MTG-I1), Galaxy 35, and Galaxy 36 satellites. The launch took place from French Guyana. On Wednesday, a Chinese Long March 2D launched Yaogan-36 05 to its planned orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Friday brought us the launch of a Long March 11, again from the Xichang SLC. This rocket was carrying the Shiyan-21 satellite which will be used for in-orbit verification of new space technologies. Next, SpaceX launched NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. It will conduct the first global survey of the Earth's surface water. It was a busy few days for SpaceX as it then had to launch two SES O3b mPOWER satellites before landing the first stage of the rocket on a droneship. Finally, SpaceX concludes our list this week with the launch of a Falcon 9 carrying 54 Starlink satellites to orbit. These will provide internet connectivity on Earth. That's all for this week, check in next week!
  24. zikalify
    TWIRL 95: SpaceX is set to launch NASA's SWOT mission atop a Falcon 9 this week by Paul Hill We have a number of interesting launches this week. Notably, SpaceX will be launching NASA’s SWOT mission that will do the first global survey of the Earth’s surface water. Another mission that’s pretty interesting is Landspace’s launch of the Zhuque ZQ-2 rocket. It will be the rocket’s maiden flight. Monday, December 12 The first launch of the week comes from China. A Long March 4C rocket will carry an experimental satellite to orbit called Shiyan 20A. Not too many details about the satellite are known but previous Shiyan satellites were described as experimental Earth observation satellites that perform land surveys, help with urban planning, and disaster prevention and mitigation. The mission is due to blast off at 9:20 a.m. UTC from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Tuesday, December 13 The first mission on Tuesday will see Arianespace launch an Ariane 5 ECA+ rocket. It will be carrying the Galaxy 35 and Galaxy 36 communications satellites and the MTG-I1 meteorological satellite into orbit. The Galaxy satellites will provide C-band TV broadcasting services to the United States and the MTG-I1 will provide weather imagery over Europe for Eumetsat. The rocket will take off at 8:30 p.m. UTC from French Guyana. The second launch will see Rocket Lab launch an Electron rocket with small radio frequency monitoring satellites for Hawkeye 360. The name of the satellite is Hawk 6A/B/C and the mission is dubbed “Virginia is for Launch Lovers”. It will take place at Wallops Island from 11:00 p.m. UTC. It should be streamed live on Rocket Lab’s website. Wednesday, December 14 There’s just one launch locked in for Wednesday at the time of writing. The private Chinese company, Landspace, will launch the Zhuque ZQ-2 rocket on its first flight from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It will be carrying 11 payloads into space. This mission will see the rocket's first stage be expendable but in future missions, it plans to recover it by landing it, similar to what SpaceX does. The launch will take place at 9:10 a.m. UTC. Thursday, December 15 Finally, SpaceX is due to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission for NASA. The launch is due at 11:46 a.m. UTC from Vandenberg AFB in California. The SWOT mission has the objectives of taking the first global survey of the Earth’s surface water, observing the fine details of the ocean surface topography, and measuring the change of terrestrial surface water bodies over time. Recap The first launch last week was the Kuaizhou-11 rocket carrying the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES) test satellite. This is an interesting launch because we don’t normally see that much of this rocket. Next, a Long March 2D rocket launched the Gaofen-5 01A satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. It will be used for things like pollution reduction, environment monitoring, and climate change studies. Next up, a SpaceX Falcon 9 carried up 40 OneWeb satellites to space. The satellites provide internet connectivity from space, similar to SpaceX’s own Starlink satellites. On December 9, the Smart Dragon-3 performed its first launch, carrying 14 satellites to space. Interestingly, it took off from a sea-based platform in the Yellow Sea. Finally, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying the Hakuto-R M1 and Lunar Flashlight missions. Hakuto-R M1 consists of a lunar lander and two rovers from a private Japanese firm called iSpace. The Lunar Flashlight is a NASA mission consisting of a small satellite that will use near-infrared lasers to map ice in the shadowy parts of the Moon. That’s all we have this week, be sure to check in next time!
  25. zikalify
    TWIRL 94: Private mission to the Moon will launch this week instead by Paul Hill Last week, a private mission to the Moon involving a lunar lander and two rovers was supposed to take off. Unfortunately, it got delayed, but the mission looks set to go ahead on Wednesday this week. Other than that, there are a few other satellite launches from several countries around the world. Tuesday, December 6 The first launch this week is a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying 40 OneWeb satellites. OneWeb is a competitor to SpaceX’s own Starlink network, but since OneWeb no longer has access to Russian rockets, it has been looking for other methods to get its satellites to space. The mission will launch at 10:37 p.m. UTC from Florida. It might be streamed live on SpaceX’s website. Wednesday, December 7 On Wednesday, there are two launches. The first launch is the private Chinese firm ExPace’s Kuaizhou KZ-11 rocket carrying Xingyun satellites 4 and 5. These satellites will sit in a low Earth orbit and act as a “constellation for Internet-of-Things communications”. This mission will launch at 1:15 a.m. UTC from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and is unlikely to be streamed, but footage will be available after. The second launch is a Falcon 9 carrying the Hakuto-R M1 mission to the Moon. This was delayed from last week. A lunar lander tech demo will be carrying commercial and governmental payloads, including two rovers that will explore the Moon’s surface. It’s due for launch at 8:04 a.m. UTC from Cape Canaveral and is already being streamed on YouTube. Friday, December 9 Rocket Lab is due to launch an Electron rocket carrying some small radio frequency monitoring satellites to space for Hawkeye 360. In typical Rocket Lab fashion, the launch has an interesting name, this time it’s “Virginia is for Launch Lovers”. The launch is scheduled for between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. UTC from Wallops Island and may be shown on Rocket Lab’s website. Sunday, December 11 The final mission of the week is the launch of a Chinese Long March 11 rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. It will be carrying the Shenjian 2013 satellite to space at 7:20 a.m. UTC, but it’s not clear what the satellite will do. Check next week’s recap for footage of the launch. Recap The first launch we got last week was a Long March 2F carrying three taikonauts to the Chinese Space Station. The three crew members were Junlong Fei, Qingming Deng, and Lu Zhang. They took off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Once they reached the station, they had to dock, you can see that below. Finally, the taikonauts entered the Chinese Space Station and met those already aboard. That’s all we’ve got this week, be sure to check in next time!