On August 2, 2017 at 01:58 UTC (on August 1 at 22:58 local time) the “Vega” rocket-carrier was launched from Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana. The rocket orbited the “OPTSAT-3000” and the “Venus” satellites. Both satellites were built by Israel Aerospace Industries. The “Optsat 3000” is Italy’s first optical surveillance satellite designed for a lifetime of at least seven years, carries a Jupiter remote sensing camera provided by Israel-based Elbit Systems Ltd. capable of resolving objects on the ground smaller than a half-meter. The “Venus” (VENµS, Venus, Vegetation and Environment Monitoring New Micro-Satellite) mission is a 50-50 collaboration between Israel and France. “Venus” will take pictures of vegetation, glaciers, coastlines and other features from its high orbital position.

On July 29, 2017 at 00:55 Moscow time (on July 28 at 21:55 UTC) the Russian "Soyuz MS-05” spacecraft docked with the Russian “Rassvet” (MIM-1) module of the International Space Station.

The spacecraft delivered 3 new members of Expedition 52 to the ISS, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky, American astronaut Randolph Bresnik and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli. The new comers joined current ISS expedition members – Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, American astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fisher.

On July 28, 2017 at 15:41 UTC the Russian “Soyuz MS-05” spacecraft was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The space vehicle was orbited by the Russian “Soyuz-FG” rocket-carrier. The spacecraft is piloted by 3 cosmonauts: Commander, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky (center), American astronaut Randolph Bresnik (right) and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli (left).

Photo by Russian Cosmonaut training center.

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On July 14, 2017 at 06:36 UTC the " Soyuz-2.1a” rocket-carrier was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome to deploy 73 satellites into three different orbits, including a Russian spacecraft to locate forest fires, 48 CubeSats for Planet’s global Earth observation fleet, and eight nanosatellites for Spire Global’s commercial weather network. The main payload is the Russian “Kanopus-V-IK” satellite equipped with Earth-viewing cameras to map the planet in color to aid emergency responders, crop managers and environmental scientists. The Kanopus-V-IK satellite, which weighs more than a half-ton (approximately 500 kilograms) and is owned by Roscosmos, also carries an infrared sensor to detect and localize the source of wildfires.

On July 5, 2017 at 23:38 UTC the "Falcon 9” rocket-carrier was launched from LC-39A of the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch was performed by the "SpaceX” private company supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. The rocket orbited the “Intelsat-35e” telecommunications satellite.

On July 3, 2017 at 12:12 UTC the "Dragon” capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. The Dragon delivered to Earth about 1900 kilograms of cargo. It was the "SpaceX CRS-11” mission. CRS means Commercial Resupply Services. It was the 11th flight of Dragon to the ISS with docking. The return marked the first time a Dragon capsule has splashed down at night.

On July 2, 2017 at 18:00 UTC the station's robotic arm removed the “Dragon” SpX-11 (CRS-11 flight) unmanned supply spacecraft from a berthing port on the Harmony module of the International Space Station. On July 3, 2017 at 06:41 UTC, the “Dragon” departed the Station, when astronaut Jack Fischer commanded the station’s robotic arm to release the spacecraft.

On July 2, 2017 at 11:23 UTC, the “Chang Zheng-5” (Long March-5) rocket-carrier was launched from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center (WSLC), located in Wenchang on Hainan Island off China’s southern coastline. The rocket was to orbit the “Shijian-18” communication satellite. The website of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., the prime contractor for the most of Chinese space projects, said the launch was unsuccessful.