Lifeboat Foundation

Rocket Lab pulled one of its boosters from the sea after a launch on Monday (July 17), taking another step toward rocket reuse.

The offshore action was part of a mission called “Baby Come Back,” in which an Electron rocket successfully launched seven satellites to orbit from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site.

To avert the extremely remote risk that debris poses to life, ESA is targeting the reentry at a vast expanse of ocean far away from land.

If the manoeuvres are successful, ESA expects to complete the journey in late July or early August. However, as a first-ever attempt at an assisted reentry, it’s not guaranteed to work. If the plan has to be aborted, Aeolus’ natural descent will continue.

But if the mission is accomplished, it will set a new standard for satellite reentry and space junk mitigation.

Viasat shares plunged sharply Thursday in the wake of the announcement.

The first ViaSat-3, launched last April, was expected to provide space-based internet access to customers in the western hemisphere starting this summer. Two more satellites covering Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific are expected to launch over the next two years.

Capable of handling up to 1 terabyte of data per second, the satellites are equipped with the largest dish antennas ever launched on a commercial spacecraft. Each satellite’s reflector is designed to deploy atop a long boom.

New military and commercial craft aim to go far higher than jumbo jets and stay there for months, offering a more flexible alternative to satellites.

IVO Ltd. believes its new ‘Quantum Drive’ defies the laws of motion, and it aims to put it to the test by sending it to orbit on a SpaceX rocket.

US company IVO Ltd., a wireless power technology firm, is set to send an all-electric propulsion system for satellites to space for the first time in October.

Continue reading “Quantum drive that draws ‘limitless power’ from Sun will fly to orbit this year” »

The US Space Force has published a call for a new constellation of hypersonic missiles detecting and tracking satellites dubbed “FOO Fighter.”

The United States Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA) has published a draft solicitation for a “FOO Fighter” satellite constellation. The Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter program gives it its full name, F2; the constellation is intended to detect, track, and coordinate the interception of hypersonic missiles.

Continue reading “Space Force wants ‘FOO Fighters’ satellites to combat hypersonic missiles” »

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There are currently thousands of Starlink satellites that belong to SpaceX, and they are causing a lot of disputes in the science and astronomy communities. They are disrupting scientific research by causing streaks in deep space photos, and according to a new study are also dumping “unintended electromagnetic radiation” into space, which could be a major problem for Earth-bound astronauts.

The study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics states that the satellites in low Earth orbit could be muddling or even drowning out signals from deep space that radio astronomers search for.

SpaceX’s veteran Falcon 9 booster, B1058, made its 16th launch on Sunday. This was the 216th successful mission for the series and a record-breaking event for the company.

On the night of July 9, 2023, SpaceX made space history with yet another successful Falcon 9 rocket launch. Blasting off from the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the rocket carried a payload of Starlink satellites before landing its first stage booster on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

This is pretty much par for the course for SpaceX, but what is more incredible is that this was the 16th launch and landing of its B1058 Falcon 9 rocket booster. The company now hopes to be able to use the same booster… More.

Continue reading “SpaceX breaks record for Falcon 9 with 16th launch of booster B1058” »

China’s LandSpace is getting ready to launch its revolutionary ZQ-2 methane-powered rocket for the second time sometime this year.

Chinese space tech company LandSpace is gearing up to launch its revolutionary methane-propelled rocket, the Zhuque-2 (ZQ 2), for the second time sometime this year. Scheduled to blast off from the company’s launch facility in the Gobi Desert, the mission will deliver a satellite into space. LandSpace, widely considered China’s answer to SpaceX, the launch is hoped to cement further the utility of using methane as a reliable next generation of rocket fuel.

Continue reading “China readies for second launch of pioneering methane-propelled ZQ-2 rocket” »