Launch Roundup scrubs deny SpaceX its 100 Falcon launch goal; look to end the year with a 300th mission milestone NASASpaceFlight.com NASASpaceflight.com | Makemetechie.com Summary
News Summary
- This was Rocket Lab’s tenth and final launch of the year following a short pause in flights after the unexpected anomaly during the “We Will Never Desert You” mission in September.A Soyuz-2.1b rocket launched the second of ten planned satellites in the Arktika-M meteorological constellation on Dec. 16..
- Over the coming weeks, the satellites will undergo checkouts, and raise their orbit to the 530-kilometer circular orbit at 43.00 degrees.Soyuz 2.1v/Volga | Cosmos (Unknown Payload)On Dec. 26 at 18:00 UTC, Russia will launch an unknown payload atop a Soyuz 2.1v/Volga rocket..
- This will utilize a highly elliptical Molniya orbit to maximize its time monitoring the higher latitudes of the Arctic region, while also providing emergency rescue communications capacity.This busy week in space also saw three days of delay in the undocking of Cargo Dragon CRS-29 due to weather..
- These side boosters are due to be expended on its next Falcon Heavy mission, Europa Clipper, next October.Falcon Heavy launching on the Psyche mission..
- New Shepard Return To Flight (uncrewed).Overview:https://t.co/EMspknqAYELivestream:https://t.co/yZ3QqTD5Ij pic.twitter.com/1xoS6cNIsB— Chris Bergin – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) December 19, 2023Alpha | Fly the LightningOn Dec. 20 at 9:18 AM PST (17:18 UTC), Firefly will launch its Alpha vehicle on the “Fly the Lightning” mission from SLC-2W at Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California..
- This was the first launch of New Shepard in over 15 months since the failure of an engine nozzle on the uncrewed NS-23 mission triggered an auto-abort on Sept. 12, 2022.The vehicle was subsequently grounded until the FAA concluded its investigations this September citing 21 corrective actions..
15This week nearly saw two secret spaceplanes launched within days of each other. After ground systems concerns and then weather delays, the US Department of Defenses X37B vehicle had its OTV7 laun [+11247 chars]