Covering All Things Florida
JIUQUAN SATELLITE LAUNCH CENTER, China — In another step toward enhancing its space capabilities, China launched three astronauts to the Chinese Space Station aboard the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft on Thursday evening. The mission, part of China’s rapidly advancing space program, aims to reinforce its position in the global space race with ambitious plans including lunar expeditions.
It’s getting real y’all. In less than two weeks, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will climb aboard the new Boeing Starliner crew capsule for a test flight that will carry them to the International Space Station for a 10-day stay. Launching no earlier than 10:34 PM EDT on May 6th, the flight represents the first crewed flight test of the Starliner.
SpaceX plans to send another tranche of 23 Starlink satellites to orbit Monday evening from Pad SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch window opens at 6:40 PM EDT and extends to 10:40 PM.
WASHINGTON, April 19 — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced a change in its licensing regulations aimed at enhancing the safety of space missions involving reentry vehicles. In an April 17th publication in the Federal Register, the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation declared that it will no longer approve the launch of spacecraft designed to reenter Earth’s atmosphere unless they already possess a reentry license.
SpaceX is planning to launch the first of three Falcon 9 missions over the next five days today. There’s another launch scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, April 18, and a final one set for Monday, April 22nd. All three will be ferrying a tranche of Starlink Group 6 satellites to orbit. Today’s launch is from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center.
As the aerospace community looks toward the future of crewed space travel, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is poised to become a pivotal player in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. This morning’s rollout of the crew capsule ahead of the first crewed launch marks a significant milestone for Boeing. The Starliner spacecraft was moved from the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center this morning at 4am to the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in order to be attached to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
In the new era of both public and private spaceflight, Florida’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) continues to serve as a major launchpad for America’s ambitions in space. Tom Engler, the Director of Center Planning and Development at KSC, recently highlighted the growing synergy between the federal government, private space ventures, and military advancements in space travel during a speech at the 2024 Florida TaxWatch Spring Meeting held last week in in Winter Park.
According to a comprehensive new report released last week by the World Economic Forum in partnership with McKinsey & Company, the global space economy is poised for explosive growth, potentially reaching $1.8 trillion by the year 2035.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 tonight from Pad SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and sent another twenty-three Starlink satellites to orbit. Liftoff occurred at 09:22 PM EDT on a crisp, clear spring evening on the Space Coast.
Note: Originally published by Charles Boyer at Talk of Titusville
Based in the United States, Astranis says they have made a significant breakthrough in delivering satellite internet with Omega, dubbing it the “pound-for-pound the most powerful communications satellite”. Omega is destined for higher geostationary orbits approximately 22,000 miles above the planet. This positioning is notably different from the lower Earth orbits utilized by Starlink satellites, which orbit sixty times closer.
“With Omega, our customers simply get more throughput at lower prices”
Astranis CEO John Gedmark
On a bittersweet day in in the annals of spaceflight, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) said goodbye to one of its most powerful and storied rockets. With an ontime launch at 12:53 PM EDT on April 9, the Delta IV Heavy rocket soared into the skies for its final mission, carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), designated NROL-70.
Sunday night saw an on-time launch for SpaceX’s latest Falcon 9 mission known as Bandwagon-1. The rideshare mission, SpaceX’s 35th of 2024, carried 11 satellites to a mid-inclination orbit (45 degrees) for six different companies. A mid-inclination orbit places satellites over populated areas rather than providing global coverage seen with standard polar orbits.
