NASA and other global space programs (excluding Indian) news, Updates and Discussions

[skywatcher]

Final prep for Starship orbital test flight this month

Evidently, the significance is unprecedented

 

[skywatcher]

What's up for May?

1 May 2023 SpaceX Falcon 9 Crew Dragon to ISS
4 May 2023 ULA Vulcan Centaur Peregrine Lunar lander
10 May 2023 CMSA Long March 7 Tianzhou-6 cargo resupply to CSS
24 May 2023 Roscosmos Soyuz Progress M-23 cargo resupply to ISS
25 May 2023 CMSA Long March 2F Shenzhou-16 crew spacecraft to CSS
?? May 2023 ULA Atlas 5 Starliner crew flight test(Delayed from April)
?? May 2023 Rocket Lab Electron Venus Life Finder probe

ULA Atlas 5 Starliner crew flight test is delayed no earlier than July 2023

 

[skywatcher]

What's up for June?

?? June 2023 SpaceX Falcon 9 IM-1 Lunar lander & Moon Mark rovers & UK Spacebit Lunar rover
?? June 2023 SpaceX Falcon 9 Cargo Dragon to ISS
?? June 2023 ISRO PSLV Aditya-L1 solar observatory
?? June 2023 JAXA H-IIA SLIM Lunar lander & LEV-1 Lunar rover
?? June 2023 ISRO LVM III Chandrayaan-3 Lunar lander & Lunar rover

*Launch dates are for your reference onlyView attachment 197752

JAXA H-IIA SLIM Lunar lander & LEV-1 Lunar rover is delayed to Aug 2023.

 

[skywatcher]

Astra says Rocket 4 development on schedule for late 2023 first flight

Astra says Rocket 4 development on schedule for late 2023 first flight

Astra is still planning to conduct a first launch of its Rocket 4 vehicle before the end of the year as it scales up production of spacecraft thrusters.

spacenews.com

Astra said in an earnings call March 30 it continues to make progress on its Rocket 4 vehicle, including a full-duration test of the engine the rocket's first stage will use. Credit: Astra

“We continue to expect test flights for Rocket 4 to begin in the latter part of 2023, and continue to remain on track with our key development milestones leading up to our first flight,” Chris Kemp, chief executive of Astra, said on the call.

 

[skywatcher]

Final prep for Starship orbital test flight this month View attachment 199053
View attachment 199055

Evidently, the significance is unprecedentedView attachment 199052

 

[skywatcher]

Virgin Orbit files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S.

Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to secure a funding lifeline.

www.cnbc.com

Virgin Orbit files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S.
Basically, it's dead. Huge loss for commercial space industry

 

[skywatcher]

Virgin Orbit files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S.

Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to secure a funding lifeline.

www.cnbc.com

Virgin Orbit files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S.
Basically, it's dead. Huge loss for commercial space industry

If they sell it to the Chinese, things might be different. Huge market out there

 

[skywatcher]

NASA Crewed Lunar flyby mission astronauts

Theoretical launch date is Nov 2024

 

[skywatcher]

SLS RS-25 Engine Test, 5 April 2023

 

[skywatcher]

View attachment 199234

Starship first orbital test flight is delayed to no earlier than 17 Apr 2023.

 

[skywatcher]

 

[skywatcher]

What's up for May?

1 May 2023 SpaceX Falcon 9 Crew Dragon to ISS
4 May 2023 ULA Vulcan Centaur Peregrine Lunar lander
10 May 2023 CMSA Long March 7 Tianzhou-6 cargo resupply to CSS
24 May 2023 Roscosmos Soyuz Progress M-23 cargo resupply to ISS
25 May 2023 CMSA Long March 2F Shenzhou-16 crew spacecraft to CSS
?? May 2023 ULA Atlas 5 Starliner crew flight test(Delayed from April)
?? May 2023 Rocket Lab Electron Venus Life Finder probe

ULA Vulcan Centaur Peregrine Lunar lander could be delayed for several months due to upper stage explosion during test.

 

[skywatcher]

The vanquished will be banished to Mars in WWIII

and they will renounce Earth citizenship.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Kevin M. Gill

 

[skywatcher]

17 April: Starship’s first integrated flight test(slightly different from orbital flight test)

 

[skywatcher]

Ariane 5 launches ESA’s JUICE mission to Jupiter

Ariane 5 launches ESA’s JUICE mission to Jupiter

An Ariane 5 successfully launched a European spacecraft on an eight-year journey to Jupiter April 14 on the penultimate flight of the venerable rocket.

spacenews.com

JUICE will enter orbit around Jupiter in July 2031, performing 35 flybys of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto to characterize their surfaces and subterranean oceans, including determining if they are habitable. JUICE will go into orbit around Ganymede in December 2034 through the end of its mission, currently planned for September 2035.

“I think this is something that Europe can be extremely proud of,” Josef Aschbacher, director general of ESA, said at the post-launch briefing.

 

[skywatcher]

Ariane 5 launches ESA’s JUICE mission to Jupiter

Ariane 5 launches ESA’s JUICE mission to Jupiter

An Ariane 5 successfully launched a European spacecraft on an eight-year journey to Jupiter April 14 on the penultimate flight of the venerable rocket.

spacenews.com

JUICE will enter orbit around Jupiter in July 2031, performing 35 flybys of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto to characterize their surfaces and subterranean oceans, including determining if they are habitable. JUICE will go into orbit around Ganymede in December 2034 through the end of its mission, currently planned for September 2035.

“I think this is something that Europe can be extremely proud of,” Josef Aschbacher, director general of ESA, said at the post-launch briefing. View attachment 200667

ESA's most audacious mission

 

[skywatcher]

Launch abort today

 

[Vamsi]

starship went kaboom.....stage separation failure

 

[WarmongerLSK]

Seems like some engines also didn't work

 

[skywatcher]