This Week in Rocket History: Salyut 3
This week in rocket history, we look back at the launch of Salyut 3, a Soviet space station visited by Soyuz 14 and deorbited into the Pacific Ocean in 1975.
Mauritius Yeets Smallsat From ISS
On June 22, JAXA yeeted Mauritius’ first solo satellite, a CubeSat for telescommunications, from their Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo, on the ISS.
China Continues to Add to Yaogan Constellation
On June 18, China launched the Yaogan-30 09 mission, the ninth group of three Yaogan 30 satellites launched for this constellation.
SpaceX Sends Up Another GPS-III
On June 17 at 16:09 UTC, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the GPS-III Space Vehicle 5 into orbit, the first national security mission to be flown on a reused Falcon 9.
China Launches First Crewed Mission in Five Years
On June 17, China launched the Shenzhou 12 spacecraft with the first crew for China’s new space station, Tianhe, onboard.
Cloud of Cold Molecular Gas Discovered by Accident
A single, curious, region of the sky was found to be emitting cosmic rays; much to everyone’s frustration, this is a massive blob of cold gas that is cold enough to be largely invisible.
2014 UN271 to Make Close Pass to Saturn’s Orbit
A trans-Neptunian object has been found and confirmed using data from the Dark Energy Survey, and at the end of this decade, it will make its way almost to Saturn’s orbit.
Instrument on ISS Tells Story of High-Energy Atoms
In a new paper, researchers looked at the specific behaviors of cosmic rays made of iron as compared to other atoms like carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
Jupiter’s Magnetic Field Creates Dangerous Ions
In new research published in JGR: Planets and led by Heidi Becker, researchers use the star camera on the Juno spacecraft to look for high-energy ions.
California Quakes Provide Testing for Venus Tech
On July 22, with their sensors at altitudes between 11-15 miles, scientists successfully detected low-frequency sound waves caused by earthquake aftershocks.
