Reuters
China’s Manned Space Engineering Office has approved an additional month on orbit for the Shenzhou-21 astronaut crew, state media reported. The extension follows “careful consideration,” extending the current Tiangong mission timeline and affecting near-term crew scheduling and onboard operations.
Space Intel Report
• Peter B. de Selding
By Space Intel Report: LA PLATA, Maryland — Satellite direct-to-device startup AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite will be deorbited following its release into unsurvivable low orbit following an anomaly on Blue Origin’s New Glenn 3 mission upper stage, AST said Nov.
Business Wire
Leonard David
SpaceNews.com
• Sandra Erwin
By SpaceNews.com: WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is exploring whether it can resume flights of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket without using the solid rocket boosters now under investigation, a workaround that could allow some missions to proceed even as the vehicle remains grounded for national security launches.
Space.com
• Mike Wall
By Space.com: SpaceX will launch a new GPS satellite for the U.S. Space Force early Monday morning (April 20), and you can watch the action live.
SpaceNews.com
• Sandra Erwin
By SpaceNews.com: hea Space Activity WASHINGTON — Rhea Space Activity, a Washington, D.C.-based space technology startup, has raised $6 million in a Series A funding round to advance navigation software designed to operate without GPS, the company said.
By Spaceflight Now: SpaceX is positioned to complete its 600th Falcon booster landing during a Starlink mission now planned for Sunday morning. The Falcon 9 rocket will fly on a south-southwesterly trajectory upon departure from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Ars Technica
• Stephen Clark
By Ars Technica: NASA confirmed Thursday that SpaceX will launch the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin Mars rover, perhaps as soon as late 2028, on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
European Spaceflight
Space.com
• Mike Wall
By Space.com: The heat shield on Artemis 2's Orion capsule appears to have held up incredibly well, mission commander Reid Wiseman said.
Space Intel Report
• Peter B de Selding
SpaceNews.com
• Andrew Jones
