China’s record-setting astronauts are in the final stages of their homecoming, having departed the Tiangong-2 space laboratory on Thursday for a day-long free flight aboard the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft ahead of a blazing re-entry and parachute-assisted landing in a remote stretch of Inner Mongolia.
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The U.S. Navy’s MUOS 5 mobile communications satellite is closing in on its operational orbit after an extended orbit-raising campaign following a failure within the satellite’s main propulsion system that required an alternate orbit-raising scenario to be worked out for the $340 million satellite.
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China’s Tiangong-2 space laboratory released a small companion satellite Saturday night for an out-of-this-world photo shoot and formation flying exercise.
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The Progress MS-02 cargo spacecraft departed the International Space Station on Friday en-route to a fiery re-entry, marking the start of a string of vehicle moves to and from the orbital outpost coming up in the second half of this month.
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Work is currently underway by several private and government entities to diagnose what might be a systemic issue in satellite propulsion systems in use for different programs.
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China’s Quantum Science Satellite Mozi (Micius), recently launched atop a Long March 2D rocket, has begun the first tests of quantum communications between itself and stations on the ground – the first test of this kind performed in a space mission.
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The classified NROL-61 satellite launched atop an Atlas V rocket on Thursday was spotted in its secret orbit within hours of its takeoff from Florida’s Space Coast.
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A Dutch-Australian team of satellite trackers has kept tabs on a recently launched U.S. spy satellite as it completed its initial maneuvers in a high orbit around Earth to enter a checkout location for commissioning activities ahead of entering operational service, supplying the NSA and other intelligence agencies with eavesdropping data.
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The International Space Station conducted an orbital reboost on Wednesday, slightly raising its orbit to fine-tune its trajectory as part of phasing for upcoming visiting vehicle operations.
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A Russian rocket motor suffered an explosive break-up on Wednesday, shedding at least 20 pieces of debris in a highly elliptical orbit around Earth.
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SpaceX again showcased the accuracy of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket in Friday’s successful launch of the Thaicom 8 satellite by dropping the payload off in a very precise transfer orbit and Falcon 9’s first stage sticking its ambitious landing near the center of the football-field sized Drone Ship.
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Seventeen small satellites are being deployed from the International Space Station Monday through Wednesday after being delivered to the Station on various cargo vehicles over the past several months.
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The Sentinel-1B satellite – set to complete the radar pair in the Copernicus satellite constellation – successfully spread its wings in orbit, deploying its solar arrays and 12-meter long radar antenna as part of its critical three-day Launch and Early Operations Phase.
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The first microsatellite built and operated by the Philippines was released from the International Space Station on Wednesday.
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The International Space Station completed a scheduled reboost of its orbit on Wednesday, using the Progress MS-02 spacecraft to raise the Station’s orbit.
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Cautious optimism turned to outright pessimism in the last days after new data and observation reports emerged for Japan’s Hitomi X-Ray Observatory following its serious on-board anomaly last Saturday.
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The Progress MS-02 cargo spacecraft en-route to the International Space Station received a very smooth ride atop its Soyuz 2-1A rocket on Thursday, being delivered to an excellent orbit from where it can begin its link-up with ISS.
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