Satellite News

Two astronauts and one cosmonaut are scheduled to launch on 7 July at 0136 UTC for a two-day ride to the International Space Station. During their transit from the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the station, the Expedition 48-49 crew will test a variety of upgraded systems on their Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft.

A Soyuz-FG carrying the first new-series manned transportation spacecraft, Soyuz MS, was rolled out of the processing facility and erected on the launch pad of Area 1 of the Baikonur cosmodrome.

Rocket: Chang Zheng 4B; Payload: Shi Jian 16-2; Date: 29 June 206, 0321 UTC; Launch site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China. The satellite was catalogued in a 595 km x 616 km x 75.0 degrees orbit.

Russian space agency Roskosmos has reportedly revived plans to develop a reusable first rocket stage.

Rocket: Atlas V; Payload: MUOS-5 [MUOS SV-3]; Date: 24 June 2016, 1430 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. The military communications satellite was successfully deployed into geostationary transfer orbit.

Sustainable Innovations received a contract from NASA to supply a commercial-scale system to recycle helium, a resource that is in scarce supply. Ongoing rocket test operations at NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) result in valuable helium gas being vented to the atmosphere, in addition to the substantial quantity of hydrogen gas that is flared upon completion of a rocket test cycle.

Rocket: PSLV-C34; Payload: Cartosat-2C, 19 co-passenger satellites, one of them carrying a subsatellite; Date: 22 June 2016, 0356 UTC; Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India. The payload was successfully deployed into a 505 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).

The next SpaceX commercial cargo resupply services mission for NASA to the International Space Station now is targeted for launch no earlier than 0445 UTC on 18 July.