The Space Race Roundup - June 4th, 2024

Hi, space fans! 

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Space Race Weekly Roundup, your go-to newsletter for all things space and astronomy. Buckle up as we take you on a journey through the latest rocket launches, groundbreaking discoveries, and futuristic projects that are pushing the boundaries of our cosmic knowledge.

🚀 Space Missions

Chang’e-6 Lands on the Far Side of the Moon!

China’s Chang’e-6 mission lander made a successful soft landing on the far side of the moon, targeting the South Pole-Aitken Basin. This mission aims to collect up to 2,000 grams of unique lunar samples, providing invaluable insights into the moon’s geological history and evolution. This marks China’s fourth successful lunar landing and the second on the far side.

👉 Read more about Chang’e-6 mission

Upcoming SpaceX Starship Flight

SpaceX has set June 6th as the target date for the next Starship flight. This test will focus on propulsion and landing, aiming to demonstrate the Super Heavy booster’s ability to make a soft landing and the Starship upper stage’s controlled reentry. These tests are crucial for SpaceX’s goal of making Starship fully and rapidly reusable.

👉 Details on the upcoming Starship flight

Boeing's Starliner Launch Abort Minutes Before Liftoff

Boeing's first crewed launch of the Starliner spacecraft faced an unexpected issue just minutes before liftoff. An automatic abort triggered by a ground launch sequencer occurred less than 4 minutes before the scheduled launch on June 1. The next launch attempt is now set for June 5. The exact cause is suspected to be due to a faulty computer card in the launch system. NASA, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance are investigating the issue to ensure a successful launch.

👉 Read more about Boeing's Starliner launch delay

China’s Secretive Space Plane Mission

China's experimental reusable space plane has once again stirred curiosity and speculation. During its third mission, the spacecraft released an unidentified object into orbit. The object, tracked by U.S. Space Force, could be a subsatellite or hardware for on-orbit testing. This secretive mission highlights China's advancements in developing capabilities similar to the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane.

👉 Read more about China’s spaceplane mission

Agnikul Cosmos Launches World’s First Single-Piece 3D-Printed Semi-Cryogenic Engine

Chennai-based space startup Agnikul Cosmos successfully launched its first rocket demonstrator mission, the Agnibaan SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator (SOrTeD), on May 30. This mission marked several significant milestones: it featured the world’s first single-piece 3D-printed semi-cryogenic engine, Agnilet, and it was India’s first flight with a semi-cryogenic engine. The launch was conducted from the company’s private launchpad situated within the SDSC-SHAR facility at Sriharikota.

The mission aimed to demonstrate Agnikul's innovative technologies and gather crucial flight data. The rocket reached a suborbital height of approximately 8 kilometers. This test flight is a critical step towards Agnikul's goal of launching its first orbital mission by the end of 2025​.

👉 Discover more about the Agnikul Cosmos launch

🌌 Astronomical Science 🧪

Ongoing Volcanic Activity on Venus

New data from NASA’s Magellan mission has revealed ongoing volcanic activity on Venus. Researchers in Italy found evidence of eruptions from two volcanoes during the early 1990s, suggesting that Venus might be far more volcanically active than previously thought. This discovery provides fresh insights into the planet's geological history and its evolution compared to Earth.

👉 Explore the volcanic discoveries on Venus

Zebrafish on China’s Tiangong Space Station

In an intriguing study aboard China’s Tiangong space station, four zebrafish and goldfish algae are thriving in microgravity. This experiment aims to establish a self-sustaining aquatic ecosystem in space, providing valuable data on vertebrate growth and behavior in a space environment. Zebrafish, with their genetic similarities to humans, serve as excellent models for studying the impacts of space travel on biological organisms.

👉 Learn about the zebrafish experiment

📹 Our latest videos

In case you missed them, here are the latest videos we've published on our YouTube channel

• NASA’S 70 Year Old Abandoned Moon Base

• Why NASA Is Developing A NEW Nuclear Rocket!

• SpaceX Is Launching Starship To Orbit Next Week!

• NASA Isn't Telling Us Something About The Moon

🚀 Upcoming Rocket Launches

Mark your calendars! Here are the upcoming rocket launches scheduled between next Tuesday and the following one:

• June 5, 2024: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) - Starlink Group 8-5

• June 5, 2024: Electron (Rocket Lab, New Zealand) - PREFIRE And Ice (PREFIRE 2)

• June 5, 2024: Atlas V N22 (United Launch Alliance, USA) - CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Test

• June 6, 2024: Starship/Super Heavy (SpaceX, USA) - Flight #4

• June 8, 2024: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) - Starlink Group 10-1

• June 8, 2024: SpaceShipTwo (Virgin Galactic, USA) - Galactic 07

• June 8, 2024: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) - Starlink Group 8-8

• June 10, 2024: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) - Astra 1P/SES-24

And that’s all for this week! 

Stay tuned for more updates and keep looking up. If you enjoyed this roundup, feel free to share it with fellow space enthusiasts and follow us for more cosmic adventures.

For questions or comments, shoot us an email or follow us on social media for the latest space news.

Juan from The Space Race team