Re-Entry: Iridium 13
Iridium 13 re-entered the atmosphere on April 29, 2018 after over 20 years in orbit as part of the original Iridium Communications Constellation
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Month: April 2018
Re-Entry: Briz-M Auxiliary Propellant Tank
A Briz-M propellant tank re-entered the atmosphere on April 29, 2018 after three and a half years in orbit, making a slow decay from an elliptical orbit where it arrived as part of a mission to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
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Re-Entry: STARE B
The STARE B (Horus) satellite, launched on a Minotaur rocket as part of the ORS-3 cluster mission, re-entered on April 26, 2018 after four and a half years in orbit.
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Russia gives up on Silent AngoSat-1, Promises Replacement Satellite to Angola
The Russian-built AngoSat-1 communications satellite has been officially declared lost this week after repeated attempts to revive the crippled spacecraft had been in vain.
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Chinese Long March 11 Launches Five Video & Hyperspectral Satellites for Zhuhai Constellation
A Chinese, all-solid-fueled Long March 11 rocket packed with five Earth-imaging satellites lifted off from the country’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 4:42 UTC on Thursday
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Sentinel-3B Land & Ocean-Sensing Satellite Delivered to Orbit by Russian Rockot Booster
Europe’s Copernicus Earth Observation Constellation welcomed its seventh member on Wednesday after the Sentinel-3B ocean- and land-sensing satellite received a smooth ride to orbit atop a Russian ballistic-missile-turned-space-launcher.
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Photos: Converted Ballistic Missile Launches from Russia with Sentinel-3B Observation Satellite
A Rockot/Briz-KM launch vehicle lifted off from Site 133/3 at Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome on April 25, 2018 at 17:57:52 UTC with the Sentinel-3B satellite set to join Europe’s Copernicus Constellation as its seventh member.
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Video: Russian Rockot Booster Blasts Off with Sentinel-3B
A Rockot/Briz-KM launch vehicle lifted off from Site 133/3 at Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome on April 25, 2018 at 17:57:52 UTC with the Sentinel-3B satellite set to join Europe’s Copernicus Constellation as its seventh member.
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Sentinel-3B Satellite to Join Copernicus Constellation via Launch on Rockot Booster
Europe’s Copernicus satellite fleet is gearing up for the arrival of its next addition on Wednesday with a Russian Rockot booster set to blast off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 17:57 UTC with the Sentinel-3B multi-function satellite.
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Re-Entry: EXOS B
The Japanese EXOS-B (Jikiken) satellite re-entered the atmosphere on April 22, 2018 after nearly four decades in orbit following liftoff in September 1978 atop an Mu-3H launch vehicle.
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Falcon 9 Lifts TESS Exoplanet Hunter to Survey Earth’s Cosmic Neighborhood for Habitable Worlds
NASA’s search for Earth-like planets around other stars took one major step forward Wednesday night when the agency’s TESS exoplanet hunter received a smooth ride into a high-energy transfer orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9
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Photos: Falcon 9 Races into Crystal Clear Skies with TESS Exoplanet Mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 raced into crystal-clear afternoon skies over Florida’s Cape Canaveral at 22:51:31 UTC on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 with NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Surveying Satellite.
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Videos: Successful Falcon 9 Launch with Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 raced into crystal-clear afternoon skies over Florida’s Cape Canaveral at 22:51:31 UTC on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 with NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Surveying Satellite.
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Russia’s 2nd Blagovest Military Communications Satellite Blasts off on First Proton of 2018
The thunder of Russia’s Proton rocket returned to the Baikonur Cosmodrome Wednesday night for the first time in seven months when the former workhorse of the Russian space program soared into the pre-dawn skies over the Kazakh launch site on a military mission.
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Re-Entry: Iridium 94
Iridium 94 re-entered the atmosphere on April 18, 2018 after over 16 years in orbit as part of the original Iridium Communications Constellation
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Classified Proton Launch with 2nd Blagovest Satellite Appears on Schedule for Wednesday
Out of public sight, a Proton-M rocket was rolled to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome last weekend in preparation for liftoff as early as Wednesday with the second satellite in a dual-purpose civilian and military communications network
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TESS Launch Delayed to NET Wednesday for Additional Falcon 9 Reviews
NASA’s pursuit of Earth 2.0 will have to wait at least another two days for a critical search asset to head into orbit as the launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was delayed from Monday to provide time for additional Guidance, Navigation & Control System analysis.
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