The Space Race - Weekly Roundup Dec 23rd

Author

Juan Fernández
December 23, 2024

Hi there, space fans! 🚀

We're sending out our newsletter a day early this week, as tomorrow is Christmas Eve 🎄

This week's highlights include SpaceX's Starship receiving FAA clearance for its January launch, Rocket Lab's and SpaceX's successful launches, China's records, lunar missions ready for a shared launch in January, and NASA's Parker Solar Probe prepares for its closest approach to the sun.😊

👌🏻 Starship Flight 7 Cleared for Launch

SpaceX's Starship Flight 7 has received an updated FAA license, setting the stage for a January launch. The vehicle, featuring enhanced design and greater propellant capacity, aims for a suborbital flight from Texas, splashing down in the Indian Ocean. This approval follows recent modifications and tests, highlighting the FAA's commitment to supporting commercial space advancements while ensuring safety.

🛰️ New SAR Satellite Joins Synspective Fleet

Rocket Lab successfully launched the StriX SAR satellite into Low Earth Orbit on December 22, 2024, from Mahia, NZ. This marks the sixth Synspective mission, aiming to enhance Earth observation with improved imaging and monitoring capabilities. The satellite features advanced technology for disaster monitoring and urban development, promising wider coverage and millimeter-level accuracy in Earth's imagery.

🥳 Bandwagon-2 Rideshare Mission Successful

SpaceX has launched Bandwagon-2 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying 30 payloads, including a South Korean SAR satellite, into mid-inclination orbits. Interesting experiments aboard include GITAI’s SC1, testing new spacecraft technologies with a tethered target, and Think Orbital’s Flight-2, demonstrating electron beam welding in space. This mission showcases SpaceX’s pivotal role in advancing space technology and scientific exploration through cheap rideshare opportunities.

👨‍🚀 Tiangong Crew's Record-Breaking Spacewalk

The Shenzhou XIX crew successfully completed an extensive nine-hour spacewalk at the Tiangong space station, marking China's 18th and longest EVA to date. Mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe and Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong executed crucial tasks including the installation of space debris shields. This spacewalk is a significant achievement, especially for Song, who became the first post-1990 Chinese astronaut to perform an EVA.

🌞 Parker Probe's Historic Sun Approach

NASA's Parker Solar Probe is set to make its closest approach to the sun tomorrow, December 24th. Aiming to reach just 6.1 million kilometers from the sun's surface, marking it the closest any spacecraft has ventured. This daring mission will allow Parker to traverse the sun's corona at speeds reaching 690,000 kph, shielded by a revolutionary heat-resistant technology. This venture aims to uncover the mysteries of the corona's extreme heat and solar wind dynamics.

🌕 Joint Lunar Missions Ready for January Launch

Firefly Aerospace and ispace are ready to launch their lunar landers, Blue Ghost 1 and Resilience, respectively, aboard the same SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in mid-January. This shared launch, a shift from their initial separate missions, showcases cooperation in the commercial space sector. Each lander will embark on distinct trajectories to the moon, carrying various payloads aimed at advancing lunar exploration and commercial utilization.

🌌 SpaceX-Vast Private ISS Missions

Vast Space has secured an agreement with SpaceX to conduct two private astronaut missions to the International Space Station, contingent on NASA's approval. This partnership aims to utilize SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft for short-duration missions, advancing Vast's aspirations in human spaceflight.

🇨🇳 China Targets Annual Launch Record

China is on the brink of surpassing its annual launch record, having conducted its 65th and 66th orbital missions of 2024. Recent launches include the successful deployment of four Tianqi IoT satellites by Ceres-1 from a sea platform and four Piesat-2 SAR satellites via a Long March 2D rocket. These efforts contribute to the rapid expansion of China's satellite capabilities, particularly in IoT and Earth observation, setting the stage for upcoming megaconstellation projects.

😔 NASA Postpones Solar Missions

NASA has delayed three heliophysics missions, including the IMAP spacecraft, to no earlier than September 2025 due to necessary additional preparations of the flight systems. Originally scheduled for spring 2025, IMAP will study the heliosphere and solar wind from the Earth-sun L-1 Lagrange point. This delay also impacts two other missions intended as rideshare payloads, which will study the Earth's exosphere and monitor solar weather.

📹 Our latest videos

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

🚀 Upcoming Rocket Launches

Get ready for another week of launches 🚀

Wednesday, Dec 25th: Soyuz 2.1b (Russian Federal Space Agency, Russia) – Resurs-P No.5. Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan.

Thursday, Dec 26th: Kinetica 1 (CAS Space, China) – Unknown Payload.
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China.

Friday, Dec 27th: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) – Thuraya 4-NGS.
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.

Sunday, Dec 29th: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) – Starlink Group 11-3.
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.

Monday, Dec 30th: PSLV-CA (Indian Space Research Organization, India) – SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment). Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India.

Tuesday, Dec 31st:

  • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) – Astranis: From One to Many (4x Astranis MicroGEO). Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.

  • New Glenn (Blue Origin, USA) – Maiden Flight.
    Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.

And that’s all for this week! Stay tuned for more space updates 😊

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from Juan and the team at The Space Race! 🎄