SpaceX launches Intelsat’s IS-40e high throughput satellite
Original Publication Date: 2023-04-07 17:32
SpaceX successfully launched Intelsat's IS-40e communications satellite April 7. The satellite deployed solar arrays and is receiving and sending signals. It will take three weeks for the satellite to use onboard chemical propulsion. IS-40e also carries NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution.
Two recent wargames hold timely lessons for space resilience
Original Publication Date: 2023-04-07 14:10
Think tank developed a wargame for a Chinese amphibious invasion of Taiwan in 2026. China’s economy is about six times as large as Russia’s. China is deeply embedded into global commerce, complicating sanctions and increasing collateral damage. Taiwan is a vital strategic foothold for access to the wider Pacific.
SpaceX closing in on first Starship Super Heavy launch
Original Publication Date: 2023-04-07 12:17
SpaceX is planning a launch rehearsal for its Starship vehicle next week. That will be followed by the first launch attempt about a week later. Neither the company nor the FAA appears to be planning for a launch the week of April 10. The FAA lists a first launch date of April 17 for the Starship flight.
Second Axiom Space mission to ISS scheduled for May
Original Publication Date: 2023-04-07 11:44
Axiom Space's second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch May 8. The four-person Ax-2 crew will spend 10 days at the station conducting research. The company plans to do as many as two private astronaut missions a year through the launch of its first commercial space station module.
SpaceX launches Intelsat 40e with NASA’s TEMPO instrument
Original Publication Date: 2023-04-07 05:19
SpaceX has launched its 23rd mission of 2023 with the company’s Falcon 9 rocket lofting the Intelsat-40e/TEMPO payload to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) Liftoff of the Intelsat/TEMPO mission occurred at the opening of a 119-minute window at 12:30 AM EDT (04:30 UTC) on April 7. The satellite will host an integrated payload for NASA, the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) TEMPO is a UV-visible spectrometer built by Ball Aerospace that will measure atmospheric pollution over North America.