 |
| China's spaceplane. Image credit: Maxar. |
Launch of Starlink Group 15-16
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg in California at 0725 UTC, or 0025 local time (PDT). This was carrying Starlink Group 15-16, the latest batch of 27 Starlink v2-mini satellites for the company's internet constellation. This was the 700th flight of the Falcon 9, and the 26th flight of booster B1082, which successfully landed aboard the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. [Source: SpaceX]
International Space Station Activities
Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina (both MS-29, Roscosmos) set up Earth observation equipment. Sergey Teteryatnikov (Crew-13, Roscosmos) used the European robotic arm to inspect the exterior of the nadir port of the Rassvet module ahead of the docking of Progress MS-36 next month. Anil Menon (MS-29, NASA) and Joshua Kutryk (Crew-13, CSA) continued preparing for their spacewalk on Thursday by organising tools and printing off the procedure checklists they will keep on their spacesuit cuffs. Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney (both Crew-13, NASA) also reviewed procedures for their parts in assisting the spacewalkers. The pair also packed a malfunctioning joint removed from Canadarm2 during June's spacewalk into the CRS-35 cargo spacecraft to be returned to Earth for analysis. Watkins additionally set up a camera to film thunderstorms, while Delaney prepared an investigation into plant diseases. [Source: NASA]
New Dwarf Planet Candidate
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has announced the observation of a new dwarf planet candidate in the outer Solar System, provisionally designated 2026 ED138, orbiting at a distance of 46 AU from the Sun compared to Pluto's 40 AU. It was discovered on 13th October by astronomer Matthew Holman. Its size has not been determined, but astronomers estimate from its brightness that it could be between 600 km and 1500 km in diameter; comparable to Ceres. [Source: Rubin Observatory]
Cowboy Space to Enter Launch Market
Space data centre startup Cowboy Space Corp. have announced they are throwing their hat in the ring (a Stetson, one presumes) and planning to enter the launch market with a rocket called "Big Iron". According to the company it will have an 18 tonne payload capacity to LEO, a reusable first stage powered by nine metholox-burning "Clydesdale" engines, and a second stage powered by one engine which will itself act as a data centre satellite rather than de-orbiting. The company have very optimistically set the first launch for Q4 2028; judging by the time it's taken other companies to build similar rockets, this will almost certainly slip by several years. [Source: Cowboy Space Corp.]
Other notes
- Amid other pre-launch activity, Ship 42 (the upper stage for the upcoming Starship Flight 15) has conducted two static fire tests; a single-engine test and an all-engine test. [Source: NSF]
- Virgin Galactic plan to fly their new Delta-class SpaceShip from their factory in Arizona to their spaceport in New Mexico tomorrow. They will also announce the result of the public naming vote. [Source: Virgin Galactic]
- The US Defense Intelligence Agency have released a report on space security, including the first quality photograph of China's highly secretive experimental military spaceplane. [Source: DIA - see p. 53]
- ESA's Hera spacecraft has taken its first photograph of its destination, Didymos and Dimorphos, where both objects are visible separately. The spacecraft will arrive at the pair of asteroids in November. [Source: ESA]
- NASA's UVEX ultraviolet space telescope has passed its final review and the agency is now committed to launching it by 2031. [Source: NASA]
- ION SCV Absolute Andreas, launched on Transporter-18, deployed Planet Labs' Flock 4J-10 Earth observation satellite on or around 21st October. [Source: Jonathan McDowell's GCAT]
