SSI News
Starliner astronauts stuck on ISS after the first crewed test flight finally lifts off… but new helium leaks and thruster faults are detected (updated)
The first crewed test flight of Starliner finally lifted off from the ground following a series of stalled launch attempts. United Launch Alliance’s human-rated ATLAS V N22 (422) (RL10A-4-2) launch vehicle made its ascent from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 5 June at...
Launches in June 2024
Mel’s Good Space – May 2024
When I was a teenager I told my teacher I wanted to be an astronomer. As a girl from an economically deprived, and rural, part of Canada where traditional industries, like logging, ranching and mining, reigned, the teacher explained that there was no future in it, and...
Space launch and satellite orders in May 2024
After the plethora of orders in April, May's orders seemed paltry. Nevertheless, there were a few to note: The biggest order for a single mission was a €340 million (US$369 million) one to Airbus DS for the Vigil solar storm warning spacecraft. It is to operate from...
China releases mystery object from remotely controlled spaceplane mission
An unknown object, suspected of being an inspection subsatellite, was released from a Chinese robotic spaceplane on 24 May at about 1900 GMT. The CSSHQ 1 (Flight 3) reusable mini-shuttle has been in a low Earth orbit (LEO) since its launch in mid-December from the...
North Korea suffers another launch failure as Chollima-1 blows up in the sky
A Chollima-1 rocket failed to reach orbit after the vehicle suffered an explosion just two minutes into its flight. The North Korean rocket, carrying the Malligyong-1 F4 reconnaissance satellite, was launched from the Sohae site at Tongchang-Ri, North Korea, at 1344...
Human spaceflight activity during May 2024
On the ISS, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin boarded Crew Dragon – NASA Crew 8 (Endeavour) on 2 May. They undocked from the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module (IDA-2) on the...
Picking sides in space: China’s ILRS Moon base or the US Artemis Accords?
The Artemis Accords are a set of guidelines for “responsible behaviour in space” drafted by NASA and the US Department of State. As implied by its name, the Accords are specifically about NASA’s Artemis programme: the US effort to return people – including the first...
Astronaut Ed Dwight finally reaches space … 63 years after he should have
On a recent suborbital Blue Origin flight, six more people gained the credentials to call themselves astronauts (or, more accurately, space travellers). However, the moment was of especial importance for one passenger, who had waited 63 years to reach space. Ed Dwight...
Round-up of recommended space stories in May 2024
We're keeping an eye on space news on the web so you don't have to wade through it all. Apart from our own stories, here is our round-up of the most important, and interesting, space news stories of May (space orders can be found in another post): Future Human...
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