High-stakes sunshield deployment begins on Webb telescopeMission controllers started the risky process Tuesday to unfurl the James Webb Space Telescope’s sunshield, a five-layer thermal barrier necessary to give the observatory infrared vision into the distant universe.
H-2A rocket deploys powerful satellite for mobile telecom operator InmarsatThe first in a new line of powerful dual-band satellites for Inmarsat’s communications network linking ships, airplanes, and other mobile customers successfully launched Wednesday aboard a Japanese H-2A rocket.
SpaceX two-for-two in company’s first Falcon 9 launch doubleheaderFifteen hours after hurling a package of Starlink internet satellites into orbit from California, SpaceX launched a high-power geostationary communications spacecraft for Turkey from Cape Canaveral late Saturday, the first time two Falcon 9 rockets have flown on the same day.
SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from California on unusual coast-hugging trajectorySpaceX deployed 52 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit early Saturday after a predawn launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California that routed a Falcon 9 rocket on an unusual track southeast from the West Coast spaceport over Baja California.
Falcon 9 launch timeline with Turksat 5BSpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the Turkish Turksat 5B communications satellite into orbit around 33 minutes later.
SpaceX to set new company records with back-to-back weekend launchesSpaceX will set a new record for rocket reuse Saturday with the launch of a Falcon 9 booster from California for an 11th trip to space Saturday, carrying more Starlink internet satellites into orbit. If schedules hold, another Falcon 9 will blast off from Florida’s Space Coast about 18-and-a-half hours later with an all-electric Turkish data relay spacecraft.
Malaysia outlines national space blueprint with focus on remote-sensing satellite developmentDuring a Dec. 13 parliamentary hearing, a deputy minister shared the latest update on the “Malaysia Space Exploration 2030” blueprint being fleshed out by Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
SpaceX to close out year with surge of launchesSpaceX is set to close out the year with three Falcon 9 rocket flights in just four days from launch pads in Florida and California, carrying another batch of Starlink internet satellites, a Turkish data relay spacecraft, and a resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Webb telescope mounted on top of Ariane 5 rocket in French GuianaThe nearly $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope, suspended under a crane with four cables, was raised atop an Ariane 5 launcher Saturday inside a vertical hangar in French Guiana, one of the final steps to prep the mission for liftoff this month after a quarter-century of design and development.
SpaceX launches NASA mission to study dead starsSpaceX launched a refrigerator-sized NASA X-ray observatory from Kennedy Space Center into an unusual orbit hugging the equator Thursday, beginning a $214 million mission to study black holes and super-compact neutron stars.
Blue Origin poised for first launch with crew of sixSixty years after NASA astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space, his oldest daughter plans to blast off Saturday on a sub-orbital flight of her own, joining former NFL star and TV host Michael Strahan, two entrepreneurs and a father-and-son duo aboard a Blue Origin New Shepard spacecraft.
Long March 4B with Shijian-6 Group 5 satellites launches successfully from JiuquanA Long March 4B reportedly carrying a pair of Chinese Shijian-6 Group 05 satellites has launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s Inner Mongolia region. The launch took place at 00:11 UTC (08:11 Beijing time) on Friday, December 10, from Site 9401 (SLS-2).
Atlas 5 rocket launches Space Force tech demo satellites on marathon missionUnited Launch Alliance deployed two U.S. Space Force technology demonstration satellites into an on-target orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator Tuesday after a booming blastoff before dawn from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas 5 rocket.
Japanese billionaire and assistant arrive at space stationA Russian cosmonaut, a Japanese billionaire and his production assistant rocketed into orbit Wednesday and headed for the International Space Station for an 12-day visit, the first by paying “space tourists” in more than a decade.
Soyuz MS-20 space tourism flight docks with ISSRoscosmos and Space Adventures has launched and docked the Soyuz MS-20 space tourism mission to the International Space Station for a 12-day stay. The crew of three—including two Japanese space tourists—are flying onboard the Soyuz spacecraft, with liftoff at 7:38 UTC (2:38 a.m. EST) Wednesday, December 8, 2021, from Site 31/6 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It successfully docked six hours later.
Japanese billionaire ready for launch to International Space StationA Russian Soyuz rocket is set for blastoff Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese billionaire businessman, his production assistant, and a veteran Russian cosmonaut commander on a 12-day trip to the International Space Station.
NASA announces new astronauts as safety panel recommends strategic planning for space explorationNASA announced a new class of astronauts that will be eligible for missions to the moon on the same day the agency’s safety advisers called for strategic planning to ensure success in those exploration efforts.
SpaceX mates NASA astronomy satellite with rocket at Kennedy Space CenterA NASA astronomy satellite will be the smallest payload to ever get a dedicated ride on a Falcon 9 rocket when it takes off from Florida this week, but the SpaceX launcher will need to flex its muscles to reach the mission’s unusual orbit hugging the equator.
Artemis 1 launch attempt constraints, rocket readiness slips to mid-February 2022When NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime processing contractor Jacobs have configured the Artemis 1 Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle for launch day, they expect to have one-week periods to get the mission to the Moon off the ground. Between propellant consumption of the two liquid SLS stages and a 20-day long period where the range safety system is validated for use, up to three attempts could be conducted to tank the vehicle and launch within that week’s time before teams would have to stand down.
U.S. was not blindsided by Russia’s anti-satellite test, say officials"These advances in capabilities are concerning, they are not a surprise," Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations, said Dec. 4 at the Reagan National Defense Forum




















