SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches first U.S. national security mission
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-01 15:01
USSF-44 was SpaceX’s 50th launch of 2022. USSF-44 was a direct-to-geostationary orbit launch. It carried two Space Force satellites and small rideshare payloads. Both side boosters landed back at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2.
Japanese lunar lander, with NASA rideshare, to launch this month
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-01 11:40
Japanese lunar lander developer ispace is in the final phases of preparations for the launch of its first lunar lander mission. Tokyo-based ispace announced Oct. 31 that its HAKUTO-R M1 lander had arrived at Cape Canaveral, Florida, for final preparations. The Falcon 9 launch of the ispace lander will carry a NASA cubesat as a secondary payload.
Millennium Space’s Tetra-1 sets new fast-paced precedent for space-based innovation
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-01 15:24
Millennium Space Systems completed the design, production and integration of its Tetra-1 small satellite prototype in just 15 months. Tetra-1 is an experimental small sat that the U.S. Space Force will use to conduct various prototype missions in and around geostationary orbit.
Orbex to build Scottish launch site
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-01 23:00
Orbex signs a lease for a 10-acre site in the northwestern part of Sutherland county in northern Scotland. The company will build a facility at the site for launching its Prime small launch vehicle. Construction of the site will begin “imminently’ and will be completed some time in 2023.
Saudi astronauts to fly on Ax-2 mission to ISS
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-01 21:45
NASA confirms two astronauts from Saudi Arabia will go to the International Space Station. Two Saudi mission specialists will accompany Peggy Whitson and John Shoffner on the Ax-2 mission. Ax-2 is a Crew Dragon flight set to launch no earlier than May 1, 2023, to the station.
Spire selected to design satellite for DARPA experiment in very low orbit
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-01 19:45
Spire Global to design a small satellite for experiment to study high-frequency radio signals. Experiment intended to learn how radio signals behave in the ionosphere. Design will be a modified version of Spire’s Low Earth Multi-Use Receiver (LEMUR) satellite.
Wyvern raises $7 million for hyperspectral imaging constellation
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-01 19:03
Hyperspectral imaging startup Wyvern says it secured $7 million in additional seed funds. Wyvern has now raised about $15 million toward plans to develop a foldable telescope. The Canadian startup says the telescope would let it pack more performance into smaller satellites. Wyvern expects to launch a constellation of 36 satellites in the coming years.
NASASpaceFlight.com
OneWeb launches 36 satellites aboard India's GSLV Mk.III rocket. Mission marks the first commercial launch for the GSLV rocket. Launch took place at 12:07 AM local time on Sunday, Oct. 23 (18:37 UTC on Saturday, Oct. 22)
Commercial Archives
SpaceX launches 49th Falcon 9 flight of 2022 with 53 Starlink satellites. The launch occurred on time on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 6:14 PM PDT (01:14 UTC on Friday, Oct. 28). Falcon 9 launched to the southeast into a 53.2-degree inclined orbit to help fill out the fourth shell of Starlink satellites.
International Archives
China launches second space station module of the year. The Mengtian module lifted off at 07:37 UTC. Once docked, it will complete the initial phase of the construction for China’s Tiangong space station. The module is expected to remain in orbit until the end of the year.
ISS Updates – Spaceflight101 – International Space Station
A veteran NASA spacewalker and an EVA rookie from Japan ended their week with nearly six hours of work outside the International Space Station. The restoration of the Station’s Mobile Servicing System started last year and continued in January to provide Canadarm2 with a new pair of grappling hands.
Featured – Spaceflight101
SpaceX Falcon 9 takes to the skies over Florida’s Cape Canaveral Monday afternoon. Falcon 9 lifts a flight-proven Dragon spacecraft into orbit for a critical delivery of science gear, supplies and maintenance hardware. First of at least six cargo ships inbound to the U.S. Segment of ISS this year.
News – Spaceflight101
Europe's Copernicus satellite fleet is gearing up for the arrival of its next addition on Wednesday. A Russian Rockot booster set to blast off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 17:57 UTC with the Sentinel-3B multi-function satellite. Read more
Re-Entry: Long March 11 Rocket Body – Spaceflight101
The CZ-11 fourth stage used leftover propellant for a partial de-orbit maneuver, lowering its perigee to 120 Kilometers to significantly accelerate its orbital decay. It is reportedly built around a YF-50 main engine and conducts the orbital circularization after the three CZ-11 stages finish their job.
NASA Solar System Ambassadors: Sharing the Science for 25 Years
NASA’s Solar System Ambassadors Program is celebrating its 25th anniversary in fall 2022. The program is funded by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The Solar Systems Ambassadors Program works with volunteers across the nation to communicate the science and excitement of NASA’s space exploration missions.
NASA Prepares to Say ‘Farewell’ to InSight Spacecraft
InSight’s seismometer has detected more than 1,300 marsquakes since the lander touched down in November 2018. The data is expected to continue yielding discoveries for decades. NASA will declare the mission over when InSight misses two consecutive communication sessions with the spacecraft orbiting Mars.
Haunting Portrait: NASA’s Webb Reveals Dust, Structure in Pillars of Creation
The Pillars of Creation are set within the vast Eagle Nebula, which lies 6,500 light-years away. This scene was first captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 and revisited in 2014. As a result of the new MIRI image, astronomers now have higher-resolution data in mid-infrared light than ever before.
NASA’s Lunar Flashlight Ready to Search for the Moon’s Water Ice
Lunar Flashlight will be the first mission to use a four-laser reflectometer to look for water ice on the Moon. The reflectometer works by using near-infrared wavelengths that are readily absorbed by water to identify ice on the surface. Lunar Flashlight is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida no earlier than Nov. 22.
NASA Continues Psyche Asteroid Mission
Psyche missed its planned 2022 launch period as a result of mission development problems. An internal review led to an internal review of whether the mission would be able to overcome these issues to successfully launch in 2023. The independent review board is still finalizing its report, which will be shared publicly once complete.
NASA and ESA Agree on Next Steps to Return Mars Samples to Earth
The next step in the unprecedented campaign to return scientifically selected samples from Mars was made on Oct. 19 with a formal agreement between NASA and its partner ESA. The two agencies will proceed with the creation of a sample tube depot on Mars. The sample depot, or cache, will be at “Three Forks,” an area located near the base of an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater.
NASA’s InSight Lander Detects Stunning Meteoroid Impact on Mars
NASA's InSight lander recorded a magnitude 4 marsquake last Dec. 24. Scientists determined the quake resulted from a meteoroid impact when they looked at before-and-after images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The impact, in a region called Amazonis Planitia, blasted a crater roughly 492 feet (150 meters) across and 70 feet (21 meters) deep.