On October 14, 2020 at 08:48 UTC, the Russian "Soyuz MS-17” spacecraft docked with the Russian “Rassvet” module of the International Space Station. The Soyuz spacecraft completed fastest-ever trip to the International Space Station performed by a piloted space vehicle - 3 hours, 3 minutes and 43 seconds between the lift-off and the docking. The spacecraft delivered 3 members of Expedition 64 to the ISS, Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov as well as American astronaut Kathleen Rubins. The new comers joined current ISS Expedition 63 members – Russia ... Read more »

On October 14, 2020 at 05:45 UTC the Russian “Soyuz MS-17” spacecraft was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The space vehicle was orbited by the Russian “Soyuz-2.1a” rocket-carrier. The spacecraft is piloted by 3 cosmonauts: Commander, Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov (center) and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (right) as well as American astronaut Kathleen Rubins (left).

Photo by Russian Cosmonaut training center.

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On October 11, 2020 at 16:57 UTC the "Chang Zheng-3B” (Long March-3B) rocket-carrier was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang, southwest China's Sichuan Province. The rocket orbited the “Gaofen-13” Chinese high-resolution Earth observation satellite.

On October 6, 2020 at 11:29 UTC the " Falcon-9” rocket-carrier was launched Cape Canaveral launch site of US Air Force. The launch was performed by the "SpaceX” private company supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. The rocket orbited 60 more satellites for the “Starlink” project.

On October 5, 2020, the American "Cygnus” CRS-14 (NG-14, the S.S. Kalpana Chawla) private unmanned supply spacecraft was docked to the International Space Station (ISS). The Cygnus spacecraft was grappled by a robotic arm at 09:32 UTC. The cargo spacecraft was docked to the station’s "Unity” module at 12:01 UTC. The spacecraft delivered about 3600 kilograms of supplies to the Space Station. It was the 14^th docking of a "Cygnus” spacecraft with the ISS. This is the 3rd flight of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

On October 3, 2020 at 01:13 UTC the "Cygnus” privately owned U.S. unmanned supply spacecraft was launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), a commercial space launch facility located at the southern tip of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia, USA. The spacecraft was orbited by the “Antares-230” rocket-carrier. The "Cygnus” NG-14 (the S.S. Kalpana Chawla), previously known as CRS OA-14, unmanned supply spacecraft, built by U.S. space firm Orbital Sciences Corp., was orbited on its cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. CRS means Commercial Resupply Services. The "Cygnus” NG-14 is the 14^th successful flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus.

On September 28, 2020 at 11:20 UTC the “Soyuz-2.1B” rocket-carrier equipped with the "Fregat-M” booster (upper stage) was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Arkhangelsk region, North Russia. The launch was performed by Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. The rocket orbited three “Gonets-M” low Earth orbit communications satellites and 19 small satellites.

On September 21, 2020, at 05:40 the “Long March –4B” (“Changzheng-4B”) rocket-carrier was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, Gansu Province, the northwest of China. The rocket orbited the “Haiyang-2C” oceanography satellite.

On September 15, 2020 at 01:23 UTC, the “Long March – 11” (“Changzheng-11”) rocket-carrier was launched from the “De Bo 3” launch platform in the Yellow Sea. The rocket orbited 9 small Chinese Earth observation satellites. It was the second Chinese sea-based launch into orbit, following a Long March-11 mission in June 2019.

On September 12, 2020 at 05:02 UTC, the “Kuaizhou-1A”rocket-carrier was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, Gansu Province, the northwest of China. The rocket was to orbit the “Jilin-1/Gaofeng-02C” optical remote sensing satellite. Xinhua said the launch vehicle “failed to enter the preset orbit” after “abnormal performance was identified during the rocket’s flight.”

On September 7, 2020 at 05:57 UTC the “Long March – 4B” (“Changzheng-4B”) rocket-carrier was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province. The rocket orbited the “Gaofeng-11(02)” Earth-observing satellite.

On September 6, 2020 at about between 00:20 and 01:55 UTC, Chinese experimental reusable spacecraft 重复使用试验航天器 (Chongfu Shiyong Shiyan Hangtian Qi, Reusable Test Spacecraft) returned to Earth after flying in orbit for two days. Chinese officials did not release any photos of the secret spacecraft, which was widely suspected by space observers inside and outside of China to be a winged spaceplane. The landing site unconfirmed, but evidence points to remote desert airbase. Chinese state media did not announce the location of the reusable test spacecraft’s landing, but experts said the object’s orbital track ... Read more »

On September 4, 2020, at about 05:30 UTC the “Long March –2F” (“Changzheng-2F”) rocket-carrier was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, Gansu Province, the northwest of China. The rocket orbited Chinese experimental reusable spacecraft 重复使用试验航天器 (Chongfu Shiyong Shiyan Hangtian Qi, Reusable Test Spacecraft).

On September 3, 2020 at 12:46 UTC the " Falcon-9” rocket-carrier was launched Cape Canaveral launch site of US Air Force. The launch was performed by the "SpaceX” private company supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. The rocket orbited 60 more satellites for the “Starlink” project.

On September 3, 2020 at 01:51 UTC the “Vega” rocket-carrier was launched from Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana. The rocket orbited 53 small satellites.

On August 30, 2020 at 23:18 UTC the "Falcon 9” rocket-carrier was launched from SLC-40 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 Argentine SAOCOM-1В satellite and 2 small US satellites.

On August 26, 2020 American astronaut Gerald Paul Carr passed away. He was 88. He was Commander of the “Skylab-4” mission, the third and final crewed visit to the US “Skylab” orbital station. At that time, it was the new world record of space flight duration of 84 days.

On August 23, 2020, at 02:07 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 3 satellites.