On January 12, 2018 at 03:59 UTC the PSLV C40 rocket-carrier was launched from Sriharikota spaceport (the Satish Dhawan Space Center), 80 km from Chennai, India. The rocket (PSLV - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) orbited the “Cartosat-2F” mapping satellite (the prime payload) along with 30 secondary payloads for Indian, U.S., South Korean, British, French, Canadian, and Finnish customers.

On January 11, 2018 at 23:18 UTC (on January 12 according to Beijing time) the Chang Zheng-3B/YZ-1 (Long March-3B/YZ-1) rocket-carrier was launched from Xichang Cosmodrome, Sichuan province, southwestern China. The rocket orbited three “Beidou-26” and “Beidou-27” navigation satellites.

On January 9, 2018 at 03:17 UTC the “Long March – 2D” (“Changzheng-2D”) rocket-carrier was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province. The rocket orbited the “Gaojing 1-03” and “Gaojing 1-04” (SuperView) Earth observation satellites. Color images from the SuperView 1 satellites will have a resolution of around 2 meters, according to information released by Beijing Space View Technology. The SuperView 1 satellites are designed to operate at least eight years in orbit.

On January 8, 2018 at 01:00 UTC the "Falcon 9” rocket-carrier was launched from SLC-40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA. The launch was performed by the "SpaceX” private company supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. The rocket orbited the U.S. government’s top secret “Zuma” payload. Officials with Northrop Grumman, the spacecraft’s manufacturer, did not confirm the status of the mission.

On January 5, 2018 American astronaut John Watts Young passed away. He was 87. John Young was America's ‘most experienced astronaut’ who walked on the Moon during the Apollo program and commanded the first space shuttle mission. He was the 6^th American astronaut.

On December 28, 2017 at 01:03 UTC the “Progress MS-06” unmanned supply spacecraft was undocked from the International Space Station. At the same day, the spacecraft was deorbited. Non-burnt fragments of the spacecraft drowned in the remote area of the Pacific at 04:52 UTC.

On December 26, 2017 at 19:00 UTC the Ukrainian-built "Zenit-2SB” rocket-carrier was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The rocket equipped with the Russian-made "Fregat-SB” upper-stage orbited the “Angosat” telecommunication satellite.

On December 25, 2017 at 19:44 UTC (on December 26 at 03:44 Beijing time) the Chang Zheng-2C (Long March-2C) rocket-carrier was launched from Xichang Cosmodrome, Sichuan province, southwestern China. The rocket orbited three “Yaogan-30” military satellites. Xinhua reported the “Yaogan-30” satellites will “conduct electromagnetic environmental probes and other experiments.” The Yaogan series of satellites are believed to be operated by the Chinese military for intelligence-gathering purposes.

On December 23, 2017, at 04:14 UTC the “Long March–2D” (“Changzheng-2D”) rocket-carrier was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, Gansu Province, the northwest of China. The rocket orbited the “LKW-2” land imaging satellite. Western analysts believe the satellite is likely high-resolution imaging platform for the Chinese military.

On December 23, 2017 at 01:27 UTC the "Falcon-9” rocket-carrier was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA. The launch was performed by the "SpaceX” private company supported by the 30th Space Wing of US Air Force. The rocket orbited 10 “Iridium NEXT” communications satellites.

On December 23, 2017 at 01:26 UTC the Japanese H-2A rocket was launched from Tanegashima Cosmodrome situated at the island located 115 km south of Kyushu. Kyushu is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. The rocket orbited the “Shikisai” (GCOM-C, Global Change Observation Mission) meteorological satellite and the “Tsubame” (SLATS, Supper Low Altitude Test Satellite) experimental satellite.

On December 21, 2017 American astronaut Bruce McCandless II passed away. He was 80. In 1984, during the STS-41-B Space Shuttle flight, he performed the first untethered free flight by using the Manned Maneuvering Unit.

On December 19, 2017 at 08:38 UTC the Russian "Soyuz MS-07” spacecraft docked with the Russian “Rassvet” (MIM-1) module of the International Space Station.

The spacecraft delivered 3 new members of Expedition 54 to the ISS, Anton Shkaplerov, American astronaut Scott Tingle and Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai (金井 宣茂). The new comers joined current ISS expedition members – Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Misurkin; American astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joseph Acaba.

On December 18, 2017 at 12:54 UTC the US "Cygnus” (CRS OA-8 “Eugene Cernan”) unmanned supply spacecraft was deorbited. The spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere and burned up over the South Pacific Ocean. Packed with trash and other equipment tagged for disposal, an Orbital Sciences Corp. “Cygnus” spacecraft plunged back into the atmosphere over the uninhabited Pacific Ocean. It was the 8th flight of "Cygnus” to the ISS.

On December 17, 2017 at 13:26 UTC, the private U.S. unmanned supply spacecraft, the "Dragon” SpX-13 (CRS-13 flight), was successfully docked to the International Space Station. The linkup operation was carried out with the help of the giant 17-meter Canadarm. The capture with Canadarm-2 was performed by American astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joseph Acaba at 10:57 UTC. The Dragon spacecraft was maneuvered into position and attached to a berthing port on the space station's Harmony module. This docking marked the 13th time a Dragon spaceship has reached the space station, counting a demonstration flight in 2012.

On December 17, 2017 at 07:21 UTC the Russian “Soyuz MS-07” 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 Anton Shkaplerov (center); American astronaut Scott Tingle (right) and Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai (金井 宣茂), (left).

Photo by Russian Cosmonaut training center.

... Read more »

On December 15, 2017 at 15:36 UTC the "Falcon 9” rocket-carrier was launched from SLC-40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA. The launch was performed by the "SpaceX” private company supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. US private company SpaceX launched its "Dragon” (CRS-13 flight also known as SpX-13) unmanned spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. CRS means Commercial Resupply Services. It is the 14th successful flight of a “Dragon” spacecraft and the 13th successful flight of a “Dragon” to the ISS. For the first time, at the launch of a “Dragon” cargo ship, the first stage, already in ... Read more »