Author: starpathwp-production
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ESA Launches Competition for Lunar Communications Ideas
The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a competition on Monday for business ideas involving communications for the future lunar economy. ESA said the competition is looking for business ideas that use lunar communication and navigation services to address customer needs on Earth and on the Moon. These prospective businesses would utilize ESA’s Moonlight Initiative, a…
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Strong winds stymie back-to-back SpaceX launch plans; Vandenberg launch successful
Update 4 a.m. EDT: A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, at 12:43 a.m. PDT (0743 UTC). Its first stage booster, making its 14th flight, landed successfully on a drone ship in the Pacific. Upper level winds forced SpaceX to scrub the Starlink 6-22 mission from Cape Canaveral. SpaceX was hoping…
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Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites add to astronomers’ light-pollution woes
Amazon is set to launch two satellite prototypes for its Project Kuiper network, which will eventually number more than 3,200 orbiters. Project Kuiper could become a rival to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which is now nearly 4,800 strong. Amazon’s launch is planned for 2 pm Eastern time today, with a backup launch window tomorrow. This rapid…
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Atlas V rocket completes on-target orbital delivery for Amazon
The first two prototype satellites for Amazon’s broadband network launched Friday from Florida, the first in a series of at least 77 rocket launches the retail giant has booked over the next six years to deploy a fleet of more than 3,200 spacecraft to rival SpaceX’s Starlink system. These first two satellites for Amazon’s $10…
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Atlas 5 launches Amazon Kuiper satellites for tests of space-based internet service
An Atlas 5 lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Oct. 6, 2023 carrying the first two prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet service. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasted off Friday and boosted a pair of prototype internet satellites into orbit for Amazon’s Kuiper program,…
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China to launch next lunar probe around 2024
China’s next lunar probe Chang’e-6 will be launched around 2024 as planned, with related development tasks currently in progress, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said Friday. According to the country’s lunar exploration program, the Chang’e-6 mission will collect samples from the far side of the moon. It aims to land in the South Pole-Aitken…
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China invites Chang’e-8 lunar probe mission global collaboration
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is offering opportunities for international cooperation on payloads that will piggyback on the country’s Chang’e-8 lunar exploration mission, slated for launch around 2028. The Chang’e-8 mission is open to all countries and international organizations for collaboration at either mission, system or single-machine levels in order to encourage more major…
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Highest honor awarded to Chang’e 5 lunar mission team by International Academy of Astronautics
A group of planners, scientists and engineers in charge of China’s Chang’e 5 robotic lunar mission have received the highest team award from the International Academy of Astronautics. At the academy’s annual conference on Sunday in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, the Chinese team was conferred the 2023 Laurels for Team Achievement Award. As the…
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Atlas V rocket launches prototype Amazon satellites to test Project Kuiper network
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket launches Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites. (ULA via YouTube) Amazon’s first satellites were launched today on a mission aimed at testing out the hardware and software for the Seattle company’s worldwide Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation. Two prototype satellites — known as KuiperSat 1 and 2 — rode a United…