[JSR] Jonathan's Space Report, No. 822

Jonathan McDowell jcm at planet4589.com
Sat Jul 29 10:59:12 EDT 2023


Jonathan's Space Report
No. 822                                                      2023 Jul 29      Somerville, MA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

International Space Station
---------------------------

Expedition 69 continues.

The Dragon CRS-28 cargo ship undocked at 1630 UTC Jun 29. The trunk was jettisoned into a 252 x 394 km orbit;
the cabin splashed down at 1430 UTC Jun 30 near 80.2W 30.9N, the Jacksonville recovery area.

On Jul 3 at 1735 UTC the IROSA FSE package from the 1A/1B IROSA array installation work was jettisoned into orbit
from the MBS POA.

On Jul 4 at 2117 UTC Progress MS-22 fired its engines to reboost the ISS orbit. The burn lasted 1130 s and
had a delta-V of 1.9 m/s.

On Jul 6 between 0955 and 1140 UTC, six cubesats were deployed from the NRCSD-26 deployer extracted
from the Kibo module. One, Moonlighter, is a US Space Force experiment; the others were for
Canadian universities.

On Jul 19 at 0700 UTC, two 1U cubesats from the U. of the Phillipines
Diliman  were deployed from the J-SSOD-26 deployer.

Chinese Space Station
----------------------

On Jul 20 astronauts Jing and Zhu carried out an 8 hour spacewalk, and installed some
external cameras.


Soyuz rideshare
---------------

On Jun 27 a Soyuz-2-1B/Fregat launch from Vostochniy placed the Meteor-M 2-3 weather sat in an 800 km orbit.
The Fregat then made two further burns to lower orbit and released a cluster of cubesats and the first
three Rassvet-1 internet relay satellites for the Moscow company Byuro 1440.

Starlink
--------

Starlink Group 5-13 (48 sats) was launched from Vandenberg on Jul 7.
Starlink Group 6-5 (22 sats) was launched from Canaveral on Jul 10.
Starlink Group 5-15 (54 sats) was launched from Canaveral on Jul 16.
Starlink Group 6-15 (15 sats) was launched from Vandenberg on Jul 20.
Starlink Group 6-6 (22 sats) was launched from Canaveral on Jul 24.
Starlink Group 6-7 (22 sats) was launched from Canaveral on Jul 28.


Euclid
-------

ESA's Euclid space telescope was launched on Jul 1. The 1.2m telescope will measure photometric and
spectroscopic redshifts for a very large number of galaxies, and perform weak lensing measurements
to determine galaxy masses. The Falcon 9 launch vehicle placed it on a transfer trajectory to
Sun-Earth L2.

Ariane VA261
------------

VA261, the final flight of the Ariane 5 rocket, was successfully carried out on Jul 5.
The Ariane L5119 rocket placed two communications satellites in geotransfer orbit.
The Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit is a 3408 kg experimental communications satellite for Germany's DLR
using OHB's SmallGeo bus with Ku and Ka band payloads. 
Syracuse 4B is a military communications satellite for France's DGA with X and Ka band payloads and
a launch mass of 3572 kg.

CALT launches
-------------

China's CALT  launched a Chang Zheng 2C rocket from Jiuquan at 1100 UTC
Jul 9, placing two experimental communications sats in
an 1100 km, 86.5 deg orbit. The press release announced the launch of a
'Satellite Internet Technology Test Satellite', Weixing Hulianwang Jishu Shiyan Weixing.
The YZ-1S upper stage made a further burn to lower perigee and was tracked in 
a 117 x 1063 km x 86.4 deg orbit before reentering on Jul 22.

SAST launches
-------------

China's SAST launched a Chang Zheng 2D from Taiyuan on Jul 23 with four payloads.
Lingxi-03 is a Yinhe Hangtian (Galaxy Space) flat-panel X/V-band LEO communications test satellite
(earlier Yinhe satellites looked like copies of OneWeb, this one looks like Starlink).
Sixiang-1 to 3 are remote sensing satellites for Sixiang Aishu Keji YG.

SAST launched a CZ-2D from Xichang on Jul 26 with three more Yaogan 36 military 
satellites, probably for signals intelligence.


Zhuque-2
---------

China's LANDSPACE launched the second Zhuque-2 on Jul 12. The rocket placed a dummy payload in
polar orbit. This launch marks the first methalox rocket to successfully reach orbit.

EXPACE launches
---------------

EXPACE launched a KZ-1A on Jul 20 with four more Tianmu-1 satellites for GNSS-RO meteorology.

Gushenxing launch
------------------

Galactic Energy launched Gushenxing-1 no. Y6 from Jiuquan on Jul 22. The
main payload was the 200 kg Qiankun-1 test satellite for Saisi Besi
Zhineng Keji YG, marketed in English as C-Space. The satellite carries a
hyperspectral imager. The Xingshidai-16 satellite for ADA Space (Guoxing
Yuhang Keji) was also aboard.


Hwasong-18
----------

The second Hwasong-18 missile launch, on Jul 12, flew a high apogee
trajectory very similar to earlier Hwasong-17 missions. It reached an
apogee of 6648 km and a ground range of 1001 km. Flight time was 74
minutes. Because the total energy of the trajectory is comparable to
orbital energy, I have given it a special 'U' designation, 2023-U03, and
included it in the list of near-orbital flights.

Chandrayaan-3
-------------

ISRO's third lunar mission was launched from Sriharikota on Jul 14. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft
consists of an orbiter (designated the Propulsion Module, PM), a lander, and a small rover.
The assembly was placed in geotransfer orbit. The PM will propel the vehicle to low lunar orbit.
The lander will then separate and land near the crater Manzinus U, close to the lunar
south pole. Mass of the lander is 1724 kg, the PM is 2145 kg, and the rover is 26 kg.

On Jul 25 the probe had reached a 247 x 127067 km x 21.3 deg orbit, and was preparing for
the translunar insertion burn on Jul 31.


Electron 39
-----------

Rocket Lab launched an Electron from Mahia on Jul 18. The second stage reached a 200 x 579 km x 99.5 deg orbit.
The kick stage then fired to 566 x 585 km x 99.5 deg, and deployed 4 Starling 6U cubesats for NASA-Ames
and 2 Lemur 3U cubesats for Spire Global. The stage then made two more  burns and deployed
Telesat's LEO-3 communications test satellite in a 995 x 1019 km x 99.4 deg orbit.  A final
kick stage burn lowered to stage's orbit to 427 x 1013 km, reducing its orbital lifetime as space junk.

Falcon Heavy
------------

FH-007 took off from Kennedy Space Center's LC39A on Jul 29, carrying the 9200 kg Jupiter-3 satellite
(also called Echostar 24) for Echostar Hughes Network Systems. Jupiter-3 is the most massive
commercial communications satellite to date; it was placed in an 8001 x 35504 km x 10.4 deg geotransfer
orbit.

Errata
-------

In the last issue:
 SATTLA-2I should be SATLLA-2I.
 Aryis should be Ayris; they are rumoured to be Israeli signals intelligence payloads.
 Xingshidai-16 was not aboard the Jun 7 launch.


Table of Recent Orbital Launches
 ----------------------------------

Date UT       Name			     Launch Vehicle	 Site		 Mission  INTL.  Catalog  Perigee Apogee  Incl	 Notes
Jun  4 1220   Starlink Group 6-4               Falcon 9                   Canaveral LC40    Comms   79A    314 x 321 x 43.0
Jun  5 1547   Dragon CRS-28                    Falcon 9                   Kennedy LC39A     Cargo   80A    403 x 407 x 51.7
Jun  7 0410   Fucheng-1                        Lijian-1                   Jiuquan           Radar   81     491 x 512 x 97.4
              Shiyan-24A                                                                    Tech    81
              Shiyan-24B                                                                    Tech    81
              Xi'an Hangtou 8                                                              Imaging? 81
              22 unknown payloads                                                          Unknown  81
Jun  9 0235   Longjiang-3                      Kuaizhou-1A                Jiuquan          Comms    82A  490 x 500 x 49.1
Jun 12 0710   Starlink Group 5-11              Falcon 9                   Canaveral LC40   Comms    83   297 x 338 x 43.0
Jun 12 2135   Transporter 8                    Falcon 9                   Vandenberg SLC4E  Tug     84   520 x 534 x 97.5
Jun 12 2350?  Otter Pup                                                  Orbiter SN3, LEO    Tech   84
Jun 15 0530   Jilin-1 GF03D-19 to 26           Chang Zheng 2D             Taiyuan           Imaging 85   532 x 548 x 97.5
              Jilin-1 GF06A 01 to 30                                                        Imaging 85
              Jilin-1 PT02A 01 to 02                                                        Imaging 85
              Huoerguosi-1                                                                  Imaging 85
Jun 18 2221   SATRIA                           Falcon 9                   Canaveral LC40   Comms    86A  545 x 51670 x 27.9
Jun 20 0318   Shiyan 25                        Chang Zheng 6              Taiyuan          Imaging  87A  306 x 321 x 96.6
Jun 20?       Outpost M1                                                 ION 11, LEO        Tech   84
Jun 21 1050   Istanbul                                                   ION 11, LEO        Tech   84
              SATTLA-2I                                                                     Tech   84
              Unicorn-2I                                                                  Imaging  84
Jun 22 0719   Starlink Group 5-7               Falcon 9                   Vandenberg SLC4E  Comms   88    228 x 334 x 43.0
Jun 22 0918   USA 345                          Delta 4H                   Canaveral SLC37B  Sigint  89A 35800 x 35800 x 0?
Jun 22 1210   ROM-2                                                      ION 11, LEO        Tech   84
              MRC-100                                                                       Tech   84
              URESAT                                                                        Tech   84
Jun 23 1535   Starlink Group 5-12              Falcon 9                   Canaveral LC40   Comms   90  297 x 338 x 43.0
Jun 25?       Spei Satelles                                              ION 11, LEO        Edu    84
Jun 27 1134   Meteor-M 2-3                     Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat          Vostochniy      Weather  91A 909 x 816 x 98.8
              Zorkiy-2M                                                                   Tech     91  544 x 563 x 97.7
              Svyatobor-1
              VIZARD-Meteo 
              SITRO-AIS-5 to -12
              CubeSX-HSE-3
              Stratosat-TK-1
              Akhmat-1
              Rassvet-1 1 to 3
              PHI-DEMO
              A-SEANSAT-PG1
              CubeBel-2
              ArcCube-1
              Monitor-2 to -4
              Nanozond-1
              UmKA-1
              KuzGTU-1
              ReshUCube-2
              Sirius-SINP-3U
              Polytech-Universe-3
              UTMN-2
              CSTP-1.1 and 1.2
              Avion-Kaluga-650
              Yarilo-3 and 4
              Khors No. 1 and 2
              Norbi-2
              Impul's-1
              SAMSAT-ION
              SATURN
Jul 1 1212?   Euclid                           Falcon 9                   Canaveral LC40   Astron   92A 200? x 1500000? x 36?
Jul 5 2200    Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit          Ariane 5ECA                Kourou ELA3      Comms    93  261 x 35672 x 3.0
              Syracuse 4B                                                                  Comms    93
Jul 6 0955    SC-ODIN                                                     ISS, LEO         Sci    98067
Jul 6 1005    Moonlighter                                                 ISS, LEO         Tech   98067
Jul 6 1130    RADSAT-SK                                                   ISS, LEO         Sci    98067
              Ukpik-1                                                                      Tech   98067
Jul 6 1140    Iris                                                        ISS, LEO         Tech   98067
              ESSENCE                                                                      Tech   98067
Jul 7 1929    Starlink Group 5-13              Falcon 9                   Vandenberg SLC4E Comms   94
Jul 9 1100    WHJSW                            Chang Zheng 2C/YZ-1S       Jiuquan          Comms   95A  1095 x 1116 x 86.5
Jul 10 0358   Starlink Group 6-5               Falcon 9                   Canaveral LC40   Comms   96  297 x 338 x 43.0
Jul 12 0059   Hwasong-18 RV                    Hwasong-18                 Chongdong        Test    U03 -6258? x 6648 x 42
Jul 12 0100   Dummy payload                    Zhuque-2                   Jiuquan          Tech    97A 431 X 461 X 97.3
Jul 14 0905   Chandrayaan-3                    LVM3                       Satish Dhawan    Lunar   98A 139 x 36307 x 21.3
Jul 16 0350   Starlink Group 5-15              Falcon 9                   Canaveral LC40   Comms   99A 297 x 337 x 43.0
Jul 18 0127   LEO-3                            Electron                   Mahia LC1B       Comms   100G  995 x 1019 x 99.4
              Starling-1                                                                   Tech    100A? 566 x 585 x 99.5
              Starling-2                                                                   Tech    100B? 566 x 585 x 99.5
              Starling-3                                                                   Tech    100C? 566 x 585 x 99.5
              Starling-4                                                                   Tech    100D? 566 x 585 x 99.5
              Lemur                                                                        AIS/GRO 100E? 566 x 585 x 99.5
              Lemur                                                                        AIS/GRO 100F? 566 x 585 x 99.5
Jul 19 0700   Maya-5                                                      ISS, LEO         Comms  98067VW  412 x 416 x 51.6
              Maya-6                                                                       Comms  98067VX  412 x 416 x 51.6
Jul 20 0320   Tianmu 1-07                      Kuaizhou-1A                Jiuquan          Met     101A   516 x 529 x 97.4
              Tianmu 1-08                                                                  Met     101B
              Tianmu 1-09                                                                  Met     101C
              Tianmu 1-10                                                                  Met     101D
Jul 20 0409   Starlink Group 6-15              Falcon 9                   Vandenberg SLC4E Comms   102A  284 x 312 x 43.0
Jul 22 0507   Qiankun-1                        Gushenxing-1               Jiuquan          Imaging 103A  485 x 502 x 96.6
              Xingshidai-16                                                                Imaging 103B  485 x 502 x 96.6
Jul 23 0250   Sixiang-1                        Chang Zheng 2D             Taiyuan          Radar   104   488 x 504 x 97.4
              Sixiang-2                                                                    Imaging 104
              Sixiang-3                                                                    Imaging 104
              Lingxi-03                                                                    Comms   104
Jul 24 0050   Starlink Group 6-6               Falcon 9                   Canaveral LC40   Comms   105   293 x 302 x 43.0
Jul 26 2002   Yaogan 36-05-01                  Chang Zheng 2D             Xichang          Sigint  106A  488 x 501 x 35.0
              Yaogan 36-05-02                                                              Sigint  106B  488 x 501 x 35.0
              Yaogan 36-05-03                                                              Sigint  106C  488 x 501 x 35.0
Jul 28 0401   Starlink Group 6-7               Falcon 9                   Canaveral LC40   Comms   107   304 x 321 x 43.0
Jul 29 0304   Jupiter 3                        Falcon Heavy               Kennedy LC39A    Comms   108A  8001 x 35504 x 10.4

Table of Recent Suborbital Launches 

-----------------------------------

Virgin Galactic's Galactic 01 mission was carried out on Jun 29. Carrier
plane takeoff 1426 UTC, Spaceship 2 Unity drop 1528:38 UTC over 107.0W
33.3N (Elephant Butte location P3), apogee 85.1 km, touchdown at 1542:38
UTC. Aboard were: Pilot Mike Masucci, copilot Nicola Pecile, astronaut
instructor Colin Bennet (all Virgin Galactic); Col. Walter Villadei,
LtCol Dr. Angelo Landolfi (both Ital. AF) and Pantaleone Carlucci (CNR
Italy)


Date UT       Payload/Flt Name Launch Vehicle      Site                  Mission    Apogee/km    Target

Jun 18 0125   DYNAMO-A          HASTE               Wallops I. LA0C      Hypersonic    300??     Atlantic
Jun 26 2000   V-MAX             Terr.Terr.Oriole?   Landes SUD-1         Hypersonic    200??     Atlantic
Jun 29 1528   Galactic 01       Spaceship Two       Spaceport America    Spaceship      85       Spaceport America
Jul 24 1454   KN-?              KN-?                N Korea              Test          100       Sea of Japan
Jul 24 1459   KN-?              KN-?                N Korea              Test          100       Sea of Japan

.-------------------------------------------------------------------------.
|  Jonathan McDowell                 |                                    |
|  Somerville MA 02143               |  inter : planet4589 at gmail       |
|  USA                               |  twitter: @planet4589              |
|                                                                         |
| JSR: https://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html                                 |
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