NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission now is targeting launch no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 31, with NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer. Crew-3 will launch on a new Crew Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin a six-month science mission at the space station....Following Crew-3, the next crew rotation mission is targeted for no earlier than mid-April 2022 with the partner spacecraft and launch vehicle to be determined at a later date.
Long Beach, California. June 15, 2021. Rocket Lab, a global leader in dedicated launch and space systems, has been awarded a contract to design two Photon spacecraft for a scientific mission to Mars.The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, led by Rob Lillis at the University of California, Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, is a twin-spacecraft science mission that will orbit two spacecraft around Mars to understand the structure, composition, variability, and dynamics of Mars' unique hybrid magnetosphere. The mission will leverage its unique dual viewpoint on the Mars environment to explore how the solar wind strips atmosphere away from Mars to better understand how its climate has changed over time.ESCAPADE is being developed under NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program in the Science Mission Directorate (SMD). The two spacecraft are planned for launch in 2024 to Mars ridesharing aboard a NASA-provided commercial launch vehicle.Following an 11-month interplanetary cruise, the two Photons (named Blue and Gold) will insert themselves into elliptical orbits around Mars and conduct a 1-year primary science mission. ESCAPADE’s Photons will use the flight-proven Curie propulsion system to perform Mars orbit insertion and will be equipped with other subsystems that enable planetary science, including star trackers and reaction wheels for precision pointing from Rocket Lab’s Sinclair Interplanetary team, as well as ranging transceivers for deep space navigation.
Concepts for Mars Sample ReturnMISSION TYPE Lander/Rover/Ascent Vehicle + OrbiterLAUNCH WINDOWJuly 2026 - Sample Return LanderSeptember 2026 - Earth Return Orbiter
As currently envisioned, the lander launches in 2026 and arrives at Mars in 2028, touching down close to the Mars 2020 rover near Jezero Crater. It deposits the fetch rover, provided by ESA, on Mars to pick up the stashed samples and transfer them to the rocket. Another option is for the Mars 2020 rover to retain some of its collected samples onboard and deliver those samples directly to the rocket. The rocket would then become the first ever to launch off another planet, transporting the sample return container into orbit around Mars.That's where a separate orbiting spacecraft, provided by ESA and also launched from Earth in 2026, would rendezvous with the sample return container and ferry it back to Earth. A NASA-provided payload on the orbiter would provide the capabilities needed to capture and contain the samples, placing them in an Earth entry vehicle that would land the samples safely on U.S. soil.
NASA’s Sample Retrieval Lander, the MAV and the European fetch rover would launch from Cape Canaveral in July 2026 on a U.S. rocket, followed later in the year by liftoff of the Earth Return Orbiter from French Guiana on a European Ariane 64 rocket.
Launched:№ – Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site - Time (UTC)202116 - May 4 - Starlink flight 26 (x60) [v1.0 L25] - Falcon 9-116 (B1049.9 S) - Kennedy LC-39A - 19:0117 - May 9 - Starlink flight 28 (x60) [v1.0 L27] - Falcon 97-117 (B1051.10 S) - Canaveral SLC-40 - 06:42:4518 - May 15 - Starlink flight 27 (x52) [v1.0 L26], Tyvak-0130, Capella 6 (Capella Whitney 4) - Falcon 9-118 (B1058.8 S) - Kennedy LC-39A - 22:5619 - May 18 - SBIRS-GEO 5 [USA 315], TDO-3 (EZ-3), TDO-4 (EZ-4) - Atlas V 421 (AV-091) - Canaveral SLC-41 - 17:3720 - May 26 - Starlink flight 29 (x60) [v1.0 L28] - Falcon 9-119 (B1063.2 S) - Canaveral SLC-40 - 18:59:3521 - June 3 - Dragon v2 SpX-22 (CRS-22) - Falcon 9-120 (B1067.1 S) - Kennedy LC-39A - 17:29:1722 - June 6 - SiriusXM SXM-8 - Falcon 9-121 (B1061.3 S) - Canaveral SLC-40 - 04:2623 - June 13 - Odyssey (TacRL-2) [USA 316] - Pegasus XL - RunWay 30/12, Vandenberg SFB, L-1011 "Stargazer" - 08:11:0524 - June 15 - NROL-111: [USA 317], [USA 318], [USA 319] - Minotaur I - MARS LP-0B - 13:35Changes on June 16th
Hawthorne, California. June 15 2021 – Today, Launcher announced Orbiter, its universal orbital transfer vehicle and satellite platform designed to be compatible with both Launcher Light and SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare flights. Orbiter is interoperable with either launch vehicle via a common 24-inch ESPA Grande adapter ring and is contracted to make its inaugural flight to sun-synchronous orbit via SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission in October 2022. Orbiter can carry up to 150 kg of customer satellite payload in a modular stack of CubeSat deployers. It can also be configured to accommodate small satellite payloads directly on an integration surface compatible with small satellite separation systems. Orbiter is equipped with Launcher’s signature combination of high-performance, low-cost, high-thrust chemical propulsion that allows customers to customize their payload orbit according to their mission needs.With Orbiter, small satellite constellation developers can take advantage of the rapid cadence and unprecedented price point of the SpaceX rideshare program to build their constellation at optimum cost and timing. To complete their constellation with additional orbits and schedules, customers can purchase a launch service using Orbiter for a dedicated ride to orbit on Launcher Light, Launcher’s own small orbital launch vehicle, slated for its first flight in 2024.
Quote from: Salo on 06/16/2021 10:27 amLaunched:№ – Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site - Time (UTC)202116 - May 4 - Starlink flight 26 (x60) [v1.0 L25] - Falcon 9-116 (B1049.9 S) - Kennedy LC-39A - 19:0117 - May 9 - Starlink flight 28 (x60) [v1.0 L27] - Falcon 97-117 (B1051.10 S) - Canaveral SLC-40 - 06:42:4518 - May 15 - Starlink flight 27 (x52) [v1.0 L26], Tyvak-0130, Capella 6 (Capella Whitney 4) - Falcon 9-118 (B1058.8 S) - Kennedy LC-39A - 22:5619 - May 18 - SBIRS-GEO 5 [USA 315], TDO-3 (EZ-3), TDO-4 (EZ-4) - Atlas V 421 (AV-091) - Canaveral SLC-41 - 17:3720 - May 26 - Starlink flight 29 (x60) [v1.0 L28] - Falcon 9-119 (B1063.2 S) - Canaveral SLC-40 - 18:59:3521 - June 3 - Dragon v2 SpX-22 (CRS-22) - Falcon 9-120 (B1067.1 S) - Kennedy LC-39A - 17:29:1722 - June 6 - SiriusXM SXM-8 - Falcon 9-121 (B1061.3 S) - Canaveral SLC-40 - 04:2623 - June 13 - Odyssey (TacRL-2) [USA 316] - Pegasus XL - RunWay 30/12, Vandenberg SFB, L-1011 "Stargazer" - 08:11:0524 - June 15 - NROL-111: [USA 317], [USA 318], [USA 319] - Minotaur I - MARS LP-0B - 13:35Changes on June 16th16 - May 4 - Starlink flight 26 (x60) [v1.0 L25] - Falcon 9-116 (B1049.9 S) - Kennedy LC-39A - 19:01:07
William Harwood @cbs_spacenewsF9/GPS-3/F5: LIFTOFF! At 12:09:35pm EDT (1609 UTC)
Headline Details: PlantSat is a 3U CubeSat satellite, built by students and engineers of the University of Chile. Its main mission is to monitor the behavior of a plant in a microgravity environment and in extreme conditions of solar radiation. One of the main goals is to train students about satellite technologies in order to develop advanced human capital. Proposing a UHF downlink using 4k8 GMSK and a S Band downlink using BPSK with Conv. R=1/2,K=7 & R.S. (255,223),115kbps. Planning a SpaceX launch on 24th June 2021 from Cape Canaveral into a 550km polar orbit. More info at https://spel.cl/Application Date: 20 May 2021
http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/formal_detail.php?serialnum=814QuoteHeadline Details: PlantSat is a 3U CubeSat satellite, built by students and engineers of the University of Chile. Its main mission is to monitor the behavior of a plant in a microgravity environment and in extreme conditions of solar radiation. One of the main goals is to train students about satellite technologies in order to develop advanced human capital. Proposing a UHF downlink using 4k8 GMSK and a S Band downlink using BPSK with Conv. R=1/2,K=7 & R.S. (255,223),115kbps. Planning a SpaceX launch on 24th June 2021 from Cape Canaveral into a 550km polar orbit. More info at https://spel.cl/Application Date: 20 May 2021
Transporter-2 ??CSIROSat-1 - http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=772VZLUSAT-2 - http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=749
CSIROSat-1 will be uplifted to the ISS and then launched into a LEO orbit in late 2021 or early 2022.
Launch Photography [updated June 18] has an updated launch [date and window]:25 June, 2:56-3:54 pm EDT
The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral will launch the Transporter-2 small satellite rideshare mission from pad 40 on June 25 at 2:56pm EDT. The launch window stretches to 3:54pm.. The first stage will land back at Cape Canaveral about eight minutes after launch. Other upcoming Falcon 9 launches include Starlink missions. And a Falcon 9 will launch the cargo Dragon CRS-23 resupply mission to the ISS on August 18 around 6-7am EDT. Sunrise is 6:53am.
