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| Image credit: CAS Space |
Launch of Starlink Group 15-27
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg in California at 0147 UTC, or 1847 Saturday evening local time (PDT). This was carrying Starlink Group 15-27, a batch of 27 satellites for the constellation. It was the 690th flight of the Falcon 9, and the 17th flight of booster B1093, which successfully landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. [Source: SpaceX]
Launch of Kinetica 1 Rideshare
CAS Space launched a Kinetica 1 (Lijian 1) from Jiuquan in Gansu at 0403 UTC, or 1203 local time (CST). This was a rideshare mission carrying nine satellites to Sun-synchronous orbit; the Chaozhisuan-1 computation demonstration satellite for Chaozhisuan Beijing Technology, the Qinling-01 and 02 ecological monitoring satellites for Northwestern Polytechnical University, the Yunxiao Pathfinder Satellite of unclear purpose for the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Diting-1A, B and C electromagnetic monitoring satellites for Tianjin Xingkan Jiuzhou Technology, the Peng Cheng-SUSTech 1 (PEGA-SUS 1) communications and computation satellite for Peng Cheng Laboratory, and the Pujiang-4 greenhouse gas monitoring satellite for the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). This was the 16th flight of Kinetica 1. [Source: CAS Space]
Tiangong Activities
CMSA's Tiangong TV vlog is back after a hiatus following last month's spacewalk, which means we finally have an update on what the taikonauts aboard the Tiangong space station have been up to. Zhu Yangzhu, Lai Ka-Ying, and Zhang Zhiyuan performed research into the immune system, replaced test samples, tested water faucets for microbes, cleaned and maintained the station's living area, and undertook regular medical examinations and exercise. [Source: CMSA]
