Rare Soyuz 2-1v Rocket Launch Lifts Clandestine EMKA “Experimental Small Satellite”

Russia conducted a secretive launch out of the country’s primary military spaceport on Thursday, involving what is officially only known as a Small Experimental Satellite going by the acronym EMKA and suspected to be a former remote-sensing satellite design turned into a black project by the Russian Ministry of Defence.

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GSLV Rocket Soars to 5th Success in a Row with Upgraded Vikas Engine & new Shutdown Technique

India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle powered away from the country’s Eastern Shore on Thursday, successfully placing the GSAT-6A advanced S-Band communications satellite into orbit and introducing an upgraded engine as the first of a number of improvements coming up on India’s rockets in the coming years.

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Progress MS-07 Departs Space Station for Secretive Month-Long Free Flight

Russia’s Progress MS-07 spacecraft wrapped up its cargo-delivery and trash pick-up mission at the International Space Station, undocking from the Earth-facing Pirs Module on Wednesday to head off on a four-week free flight dedicated to scientific experiments before the spacecraft will fire its engines on April 26 to set up for its fiery demise.

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Falcon 9 Completes Static Fire Test Ahead of Monday Liftoff on Next ISS Resupply Mission

A previously used Falcon 9 booster came to life at Florida’s Space Coast on Wednesday in preparation for the launch of the first U.S. Space Station resupply mission of the year, set for a Monday afternoon liftoff ahead of a two-day chase of the orbiting laboratory by the flight-proven Dragon spacecraft.

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ISS Spacewalkers set for Thursday EVA to Expand External WiFi for Upcoming Ecosystem Instrument

Two veteran spacewalkers who just arrived aboard the International Space Station last week are set for a six-and-a-half-hour excursion on Thursday to install wireless communications equipment outside the orbiting laboratory to prepare for the arrival of a high-profile ecosystem remote-sensing instrument arriving later this year.

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Flight-Proven Falcon 9 Completes Static Fire Test for 5th Iridium-NEXT Mission

A previously-used Falcon 9 booster soared to life at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base for its Static Fire test ahead of lifting the fifth set of Iridium-NEXT communications satellites on Thursday, marking the start of a string of Falcon 9 missions lined up for March and April.

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