CBS News reports, “Two pilots, a Turkish research astronaut and three private citizens rocketed to space and back Saturday aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity spaceplane, enjoying spectacular views of Earth and about three minutes of weightlessness before gliding back to touchdown in New Mexico. It was the company’s 12th piloted up-and-down sub-orbital flight.”
Full Story (CBS News)
Tag: Astronautical
First Launch of Ariane 6 Set for July 9
Aviation Week reports, “After last year’s announcement of the June 15-30 window for the first flight of the Ariane 6 rocket, the European Space Agency has set a launch date of July 9 for the delayed program. European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher made the announcement June 5 at the ILA Berlin air…”
Full Story (Aviation Week – Subscription Publication)
China’s Chang’e-6 Collects Moon Samples and Launches Them into Lunar Orbit
Space News reports, “Material from the far side of the moon has begun its journey for Earth after Chinese spacecraft collected samples and launched them into lunar orbit. The Chang’e-6 mission ascent vehicle lifted off from atop the mission lander in Apollo crater at 7:38 p.m. Eastern June 3 (2338 UTC), the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced. The ascender is now tracking the Chang’e-6 orbiter in a retrograde low lunar orbit.”
Full Story (Space News)
Ariane 6 Inaugural Flight Attempt Scheduled for July 2024
SpaceWatch.Global reports, “The Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force has announced that Ariane 6’s first launch attempt will happen within the first two weeks of July 2024, on track with the launch period it communicated in November. Furthermore, the task force will give the tentative date for the first launch attempt at the ILA airshow in Berlin, Germany, which will hold from 5 June to 9 June, where all the task force members will be present.”
Full Story (SpaceWatch.Global)
Virgin Galactic to Fly VMS Eve More Frequently with Next-Gen Spaceplanes
Space News reports, “Virgin Galactic says it will fly its existing “mothership” aircraft more frequently than previously planned with its upcoming Delta-class suborbital spaceplanes, allowing the company to defer development of a new plane while also dealing with a legal dispute with Boeing.”
Full Story (Space News)
US Space Force Turns to Commercial Satellites to Meet Demand for Global Insights
Space News reports, “A U.S. Space Force online marketplace that taps into commercial satellite data has executed around $8 million worth of contracts over the past four months. About 25 defense, intelligence, and civilian federal agencies are now buying data and analytic services from the Space Force-run marketplace, said Col. Richard Kniseley, senior materiel leader of the Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office.”
Full Story (Space News)
China Embarks on World-First Mission to Collect Samples from Far Side of Moon
The Washington Post reports, “China on Friday embarked on one of its most ambitious space missions yet: the launch of a probe to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon and bring them back to Earth within two months. If successful, it would be a first, for any country.”
Full Story (Washington Post)
NASA and Rocket Lab Launch Solar Sail
The New Zealand Herald reports, “NASA has launched its new solar sail mission from Mahia Peninsula. Once at a Sun-synchronous orbit, about 1000 km above Earth, the spacecraft will deploy its sails and use the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, instead of rocket fuel. If the microwave oven-sized CubeSat is successfully deployed, the operation would be a precursor to larger-scale missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA said.”
Full Story (New Zealand Herald)
FAA Updates Policy to Require Reentry Licensing
Aviation Week reports, “After Varda Space’s reentry capsule got stuck in orbit for eight months without permission to return to Earth, the FAA has updated its policy and will no longer allow return capsules to launch into space without reentry authorization.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
NASA Might Adjust Artemis III to Have Starship and Orion Dock in Low-Earth Orbit
Ars Technica reports that NASA “is privately considering modifications to its Artemis plan to land astronauts on the surface of the Moon later this decade. Multiple sources have confirmed that NASA is studying alternatives to the planned Artemis III landing of two astronauts on the Moon, nominally scheduled for September 2026, due to concerns about hardware readiness and mission complexity.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)