Russia launches possible stalker spacecraft, Russia clarifies its International Space Station departure timeline, and South Korea readies for a moon mission. These are some of the top stories this week from Space.com.
Russia spacecraft might be stalking U.S. spy satellite
A Russian satellite, known as Kosmos 2558 (opens in new tab) may be “inspector” craft as it launched into orbit Aug. 1 into the same orbital plane as American spy satellite USA 326. The two satellites are close in altitude as well.
Full story: Did Russia just launch a spacecraft to stalk a US spy satellite?
Yuri Borisov, the new head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos says the country’s intent to leave the International Space Station “after 2024” is not immediate. “We announced that we intend to do this not in 2024, but after 2024. In Russian, these are two big differences,” he said.
Full story: New Russian space chief clarifies comments about International Space Station departure
Blue Origin launches six more people to suborbital space
Blue Origin’s sixth crewed spaceflight brought six people to space Aug. 4 on board the company’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle. The system lifted off from Blue Origin’s West Texas site at 9:57 a.m. EDT (1357 GMT) and was back on Earth about 10 minutes later.
Full story: Blue Origin launches 6 people on company’s 6th space tourism mission
Chinese rocket debris falls in Indonesia and Malaysia
The core stage of a Long March 5B rocket crashed back to Earth uncontrolled on Saturday (July 30), with pieces found in Indonesia and Malaysia. Much of the vehicle — about 20% to 40% by weight, experts have estimated (opens in new tab) — likely survived the re-entry.
Full story: Debris from Chinese rocket crash found in Indonesia and Malaysia
Nancy Pelosi’s historic flight into Taiwan tracked by satellites
More than 300,000 people used flight-tracking websites to follow House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s historic flight to Taiwan on Tuesday (Aug. 2). The feat was available due to Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast technology, or ADS-B, which tracks flights using Global Positioning System satellites.
Full story: How satellites helped 345,000 people track Nancy Pelosi’s historic flight into Taiwan
NASA requests former astronauts to oversee private missions to the International Space Station
NASA has a new solicitation asking that all private astronaut missions to the International Space Station (ISS) be commanded by a former astronaut. The notice (opens in new tab) builds on experience from the Axiom Space debut mission to the ISS this past April, which was commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría.
Full story: Former astronauts must chaperone private missions to the International Space Station, NASA says
European Space Agency adds Shaun (the sheep) to Artemis 1 moon mission
A popular stop-motion sheep is about to go from Mossy Bottom Farm to the moon. Shaun, the title character from the animated television series “Shaun the Sheep,” has been assigned a space on NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, targeted for launch later this month.
Full story: European Space Agency recruits Shaun (the sheep) for Artemis 1 moon mission
Rocket Lab brings a US spy satellite to space
The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) NROL-199 spy satellite launched Thursday (Aug. 4) atop a Rocket Lab Electron booster from New Zealand. The NRO generally discloses few details about its satellites’ activities.
Full story: Rocket Lab launches US spy satellite on mystery mission
NASA readies for private outposts after International Space Station
NASA officials are putting together their support for a variety of commercial space stations taking up demand for access to low Earth orbit (LEO) after the end of the International Space Station. Ideas were put forward at the 11th annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC) in Washington, D.C.
Full story: NASA looks to private outposts to build on International Space Station’s legacy
Tonga’s eruption sent a whack of water into Earth’s atmosphere, potentially weakening the ozone layer
An underwater volcano eruption in Tonga in January sent up 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools’ worth of water vapor into Earth’s atmosphere, a new study finds. The water vapor may exacerbate global warming (opens in new tab) and deplete the ozone (opens in new tab) layer, according to the study.
Full story: Tonga’s eruption injected so much water into Earth’s atmosphere that it could weaken the ozone layer
Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) and on Facebook (opens in new tab).
