CBS News reports “Japan’s flagship H3 rocket reached orbit and released two small observation satellites in a key second test following a failed debut launch last year, buoying hope for the country in the global space race. The report adds that “the launch is a boost for Japan’s space program following a recent streak of successes, including a historic precision touchdown on the moon of an unmanned spacecraft last month.” Full Story (CBS News)
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Japan Successfully Launches H3 Rocket, 17 February 2024
(Firstpost; YouTube)
Spaceflight Now reports “a small satellite that will inspect a discarded rocket body in orbit lifted off Sunday/Monday on a mission to develop techniques for removing space debris.” Built by Japan-based Astroscale, the satellite “launched atop a Rocket Lab Electron” rocket from New Zealand at 9:52 a.m. EST Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
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Rocket Lab – Electron Launch, 18 February 2024
(Space Affairs; YouTube)
Spaceflight Insider reports that in near-perfect weather, the final Antares 230+ rocket “took to the skies to send the Cygnus cargo spacecraft on its way to the International Space Station.” Carrying the autonomous NG-19 Cygnus resupply freighter, dubbed the S.S. Laurel Clark, the Antares rocket successfully “launched at 8:31 p.m. EDT Aug. 1 (00:31 UTC Aug. 2), 2023, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.” It flawlessly lifted off “from its launchpad, drawing a bright arc of light against the fading evening sunset, marking the start of another critical cargo run to the ISS.” Some 8,200 pounds (3,700 kilograms) of supplies, hardware and experiments “are aboard NG-19. It is expected to arrive at the ISS on the morning of Aug. 4 where it will be captured by the outpost’s robotic arm and attached to the Earth-facing port of the Unity module.” Over the coming weeks, members of the station’s Expedition 69 crew “will work to unload the cargo before beginning to reload it with trash.” After about two months, Cygnus “is expected to depart the ISS for an eventual destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean.” Full Story (Spaceflight Insider)
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Last Antares Rocket Using Russian Rocket Engines Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
Florida Today reports that a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket “dodged inclement weather around Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to boost a French communications satellite to orbit late Tuesday, wrapping up one of two missions slated for this week.” The rocket’s Eutelsat 10B payload lifted off even though an earlier weather forecast predicted only a 10% “go” chance. The satellite’s purpose is to provide broadband internet for aviation and maritime applications. Full Story (Florida Today)
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Eutelsat 10B satellite launch, November 22, 2022
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
The AP reports that United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket launched the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) into space Thursday. The rocket “lifted off at 1:49 a.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base, northwest of Los Angeles.” JPSS-2, developed for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “was placed into an orbit that circles the Earth from pole to pole, joining previously launched satellites in a system designed to improve weather forecasting and climate monitoring.” Full Story (Associated Press)
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ULA Atlas V Launches JPSS-2 Mission, November 10, 2022
(NASASpaceflight; YouTube)
Space News reports that a SpaceX Falcon Heavy “lifted off Nov. 1 at 9:41 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, carrying the U.S. Space Force USSF-44 mission to geostationary Earth orbit.” This is the fourth flight of the Falcon Heavy since 2018 “and the first in more than three years.” Launch of the classified USSF-44 mission, originally scheduled in 2020 but delayed several times, involved “a direct-to-geostationary orbit launch carrying two Space Force satellites and small rideshare payloads.” Space Systems Command confirmed through a news release Tuesday evening that the mission was a success. USSF-44 marks a milestone for SpaceX “as its first direct-to-GEO operational mission, requiring the Falcon Heavy upper stage to perform a long-duration coast and engine re-start.” Full Story (Space News)
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USSF-44 Mission, November 1, 2022
(SpaceX; YouTube)
