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Rocket Lab to launch U.S. Space Force`s Monolith mission

Rocket Lab has opened a launch window for U.S. Space Force`s Monolith mission for 29 July, the company said. Rocket Lab aims at launching the Air Force Research Laboratory-sponsored demonstration satellite called Monolith into low Earth orbit (LEO) on its Electron rocket from its Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.

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SpaceX wins $178 million NASA contract for Europa Clipper mission

NASA has selected SpaceX for launching its first mission to explore one of Jupiter’s 79 moons, Europa, with a total contract award amount of $178 million, NASA said. The Europa Clipper mission will launch an orbiter around the gas giant in October 2024, from the Kennedy Space Centre’s Launch Complex 39A on a Falcon Heavy rocket.

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Space Café Recap: “Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland” #4

In the latest Space Café “Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland”, Steven Freeland and Torsten Kriening welcomed Elina Morozova and Andrzej Misztal at the wonderful ‘Coffee-Desk’ Café in Warsaw. Over blueberry cake, home-made cookies, croissants, and coffee, the panelists, along with a lively audience engaged in a revealing

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#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: GNOSIS CONFERENCE – The Case for Sustainability in Space

Space is changing – the near-Earth environment that was once principally used for largely strategic purposes by national governments is now increasingly being used for “tactical” applications by commercial companies. This creates a number of areas of potential contention – between different satellite operators competing for access to preferred orbital slots

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#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: From ISS Control Room to a lunar fly-by: Matej Poliacek’s dearMoon journey

After months of silence, last Friday saw an update on the dearMoon selection. Yusaku Maezawa, the Japanese billionaire who purchased a SpaceX Starship flight around the Moon, currently scheduled for 2023, has shared an applicant sneak peek on his YouTube channel. According to the description, the video does not indicate who will be in the final crew.

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#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Keen to sign up for space tourism? Here are 6 things to consider (besides the price tag)

SpaceWatch.Global has been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. This is “Keen to sign up for space tourism? Here are 6 things to consider (besides the price tag)”, originally published 23 July 2021 at The Conversation by Steven Freeland.

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Boeing’s Starliner shuttle ready for test flight on Atlas V

NASA has cleared Boeing’s Starliner astronaut ferry ship for its next orbital uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft has been put atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the U.S. agency said.

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Europe’s robotic arm and Russian’s Nauka on their way to ISS

The European Robotic Arm (ERA) is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) after its launch from Baikonur, the European Space Agency (ESA) said. The 11-m-long robot is travelling folded and attached to what will be its home base – the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, also called ‘Nauka’, ESA said.

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Rocket Lab sees Electron back on track after failure review

Rocket Lab found the root cause for the loss of its mission in May, the company said. It has concluded an extensive review into the cause of the anomaly that resulted in the loss of its “Running Out Of Toes” mission launched on 15 May 2021, Rocket Lab said. The review concluded that an issue occurred within the second stage engine igniter system. 

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