#WASHINGTON — A #Falcon 9 launched a #NASA astronaut and Russian #cosmonaut to the International Space Sept. 28 on the first crewed mission from a historic Cape Canaveral pad.

A Falcon 9 lifted off at 1:17 p.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 04 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It placed into orbit the Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom, which is scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station around 5:30 p.m. Eastern Sept. 29.

The Crew-9 mission will deliver NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Aleksandr Gorbunov to the station. The two will spend about five months on the station as part of Expedition 72.

The launch comes a month after NASA revamped the crew for the mission, removing NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson from the flight. That decision freed up two seats on the spacecraft that will be filled on the return leg by NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who flew to the station on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in June. NASA elected in August to bring back Starliner uncrewed because of concerns about the performance of its reaction control system thrusters.

Cardman had been commander of Crew-9, but NASA elected to keep Hague, originally the pilot, on the crew because of his previous flight experience. During a Sept. 27 briefing, Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for space operations, said the decision on crew reassignments was made by the agency’s flight operations directorate.

“They looked at the skill mix of the crew and decided it made the most sense to have Aleksandr and Nick fly together,” he said. “I know it was a really close call for them.”

He praised both Hague and Gorbunov for the last-minute training changes needed to fly the spacecraft themselves as well as Cardman and Wilson for accepting being taken off the mission. “We’re going to find spots for them to fly and we really appreciate how hard it is to give up a mission and wait a little bit longer.”

#Japan launched the classified IGS-Radar 8 satellite early Thursday with the second-to-last H-2A rocket.

A #Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) H-2A rocket in a figuration with a pair of SRB-A3 solid boosters lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan at 1:24 a.m. Eastern (0524 UTC) Sept. 26. MHI confirmed separation of the IGS-Radar 8 reconnaissance satellite from the launch vehicle around two hours after launch.

Information Gathering #Satellite (IGS) #Radar 8 was launched into sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). Japan’s Cabinet Satellite Information Center will operate the satellite. The IGS series includes both optical and radar satellites. Radar 8 will gather data for intelligence purposes and environmental and natural disaster monitoring, as with earlier IGS #satellites.

These massive #satellites play a crucial role in detecting missile launches and providing early warnings of potential threats to U.S. military forces and allied nations. Despite the trend towards smaller, cheaper satellites, the Next-Gen OPIR program underscores the military’s reliance on high-altitude, persistent observation sensors in geostationary and highly elliptical orbits.
Progress amid complexity

Raytheon delivered the first of two infrared payloads for Next-Gen OPIR geosynchronous (GEO) #satellites last month, marking a key milestone in the program. Lockheed Martin is building these satellites, with the Space Force now expecting the first #GEO satellite to be delivered in late 2025.

Frank Calvelli, the Space Force’s top procurement official, said contractors are meeting milestones and development timelines for Next-Gen OPIR at a faster pace than previous systems like SBIRS (Space-Based Infrared System).

“Current production time has been reduced by 50 percent for Next-Gen OPIR GEO when compared to SBIRS’ initial development,” Calvelli said in a statement to SpaceNews.

The Next-Gen OPIR program, initiated in 2018, includes two GEO and two polar satellites in highly elliptical orbits. Northrop Grumman, leading the polar-orbit satellite program, “has been meeting its planned milestones to date,” according to Calvelli. The first polar satellite, scheduled for launch in 2028, is seen as crucial for monitoring missile threats via Northern Hemisphere routes.

#Mexico’s EE Print Pack, Rex Irrigación Huasteca and Grupo Inders will provide “growers across Mexico and Guatemala” with Hydrosat’s tools to improve water use efficiency, increase crop yields and promote sustainable agriculture, Hydrosat announced Sept. 26.

Hydrosat send its first thermal-infrared instrument into low-Earth orbit in July on Loft Orbital’s YAM-7 mission. Data from Hydrosat’s first mission feeds into the company’s IrriWatch platform, which also ingests NASA and European Space Agency thermal-infrared data.

IrriWatch is designed to offer farmers “critical insights on essential crop conditions, such as leaf and soil temperatures, soil moisture, water use, and overall agricultural productivity,” according to the news release. Hydrosat’s goal is to help farmers “maximize yields while minimizing water consumption, supporting fertilizer management through leaf nitrogen monitoring, facilitating carbon sequestration analysis, and delivering hyper-local weather data.”
Improving Yields

EE Print Pack will bring Hydrosat’s technology to Mexico via its newly launched Agrolika division.

“Our collaboration with Hydrosat is the next step in modernizing agriculture across Mexico,” said EE Print Pack CEO Alonso García said in a statement. “By incorporating Hydrosat’s data-driven insights, we are equipping farmers with the tools they need to optimize water usage and improve yields, which is vital for both economic growth and environmental sustainability.”

Rex Irrigación Huasteca will integrate IrriWatch with its offerings for Mexico’s Huasteca region.

“IrriWatch is a tool that allows farmers to monitor their fields reliably and accurately to obtain the highest productivity,” Luis Martínez Rosete, Rex Irrigación Huasteca general manager, said in a statement. “All Mexican farmers need this tool to make decisions based on real-time data from their fields. Together, we are enabling producers to increase yields while promoting responsible resource management.”

#Iridium approved to work on #LEO compatibility for upcoming #smartphones .

#Iridium said the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the consortium that sets global communications standards for 5G, approved its request to advance space-based Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) connectivity as an official work item for Release 19.

The approval paves the way for trials and demonstrations showing how devices using industry-standard chips could use the operator’s network in low Earth orbit (LEO) for messaging and SOS services outside cellular coverage.

#Iridium said it has already demonstrated this capability over its L-band satellite spectrum in a lab environment, after announcing its Project Stardust direct-to-device strategy in January.

Some #manufacturers may want to produce integrated chips before the 3GPP’s next round of standards now that it is one of the formal items for inclusion in Release 17, Iridium spokesperson Jordan Hassin said via email.

Before pivoting to Project Stardust, Iridium had planned to deploy proprietary direct-to-device services for #Android devices in partnership with chipmaker Qualcomm.

However, Qualcomm scrapped plans to make specialized chips for the constellation last year after failing to get manufacturers of smartphones and other devices onboard.

“We’re already well into our technology development, and we’re excited about our progress and to see so much enthusiasm from the 3GPP community,” Iridium chief technology officer Greg Pelton said in a statement.

“As a cloud-based service powered by the flexibility of our software-defined satellites and building upon recognized industry standards, we’ve been able to jump off to a super-fast start.”

The company said its next tests are scheduled for early next year for a service it is now calling Iridium NTN (non-terrestrial network) Direct.

Release 17 is slated to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Iridium approved to work on #LEO compatibility for upcoming #smartphones .
Iridium said the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the consortium that sets global communications standards for 5G, approved its request to advance space-based Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) connectivity as an official work item for Release 19.

The approval paves the way for trials and demonstrations showing how devices using industry-standard chips could use the operator’s network in low Earth orbit (LEO) for messaging and SOS services outside cellular coverage.

Iridium said it has already demonstrated this capability over its L-band satellite spectrum in a lab environment, after announcing its Project Stardust direct-to-device strategy in January.

Some manufacturers may want to produce integrated chips before the 3GPP’s next round of standards now that it is one of the formal items for inclusion in Release 17, Iridium spokesperson Jordan Hassin said via email.

Before pivoting to Project Stardust, Iridium had planned to deploy proprietary direct-to-device services for Android devices in partnership with chipmaker Qualcomm.

However, Qualcomm scrapped plans to make specialized chips for the constellation last year after failing to get manufacturers of smartphones and other devices onboard.

“We’re already well into our technology development, and we’re excited about our progress and to see so much enthusiasm from the 3GPP community,” Iridium chief technology officer Greg Pelton said in a statement.

“As a cloud-based service powered by the flexibility of our software-defined satellites and building upon recognized industry standards, we’ve been able to jump off to a super-fast start.”

The company said its next tests are scheduled for early next year for a service it is now calling Iridium NTN (non-terrestrial network) Direct.

Release 17 is slated to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2025.

#HELSINKI — #China will launch the Tianwen-2 mission to sample a near-Earth asteroid next year, an official with the country’s space agency said Tuesday.

Tianwen-2 is scheduled to launch in 2025, Bian Zhigang, deputy head of the #China #National #Space #Administration (#CNSA), said Sept. 24, according to Chinese media The Paper.

The mission will first focus on sampling near-Earth asteroid #Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3). After delivering samples to Earth, the spacecraft will use our planet for a gravitational slingshot maneuver and set it on a course for main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS.

Kamoʻoalewa is a quasi-satellite of Earth and is roughly 40-100 meters in diameter. This small body may be a fragment of the Moon, ejected into space by a past impact event, according to one journal article.

The mission aims to conduct close-range observations, sampling, and surface analyses of the two celestial bodies. The objective is to gain primordial information about the solar system’s formation and evolution and even the origin of life on Earth.

To sample Kamoʻoalewa, the Tianwen-2 spacecraft will use both touch-and-go and anchor-and-attach techniques, providing mission redundancy and sampling technology verification. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx and JAXA’s Hayabusa2 missions used the touch-and-go approach, while anchor-and-attach is so far untested.

While a precise launch schedule was not provided, previous indications suggest launch on a Long March 3B rocket in May 2025.

The sample phase is expected to last around 2.5 years. Arrival at 311P/PANSTARRS is expected in the mid-2030s.

#Viasat wins $33 million U.S. Air Force contract for satellite communications #antennas .

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Viasat a $33.6 million contract to develop advanced satellite communications antennas for military aircraft, the company announced Sept. 24.

The contract is part of the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program, which seeks to integrate commercial space internet constellations, such as Starlink, OneWeb and SES’s O3b, into military communications networks.

Viasat will focus on the development of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antennas for tactical aircraft, including rotary-wing platforms.

Based in Carlsbad, California, Viasat is a global communications firm that provides high-speed internet and networking services for commercial, military, and government markets.
Military seeks multi-orbit communications

AESA antennas use electronic beam steering, allowing them to rapidly shift focus and manage multiple connections simultaneously. This capability is crucial for ensuring communications across different frequency bands and orbits, making it well-suited for the multi-band, multi-orbit requirements of modern military operations.

Viasat said the new #AESA antennas, to be delivered by April 2028, will build on its existing commercial technology and adapted for military-specific needs. The antennas are expected to be “high-performance, low size, weight, and power (SWAP), offering resilient, multi-band communication capabilities for tactical aircraft,” the company said.

“Viasat has extensive expertise supporting development of AESA phased array antenna technology across domains, and we’re excited to bring that experience to the DEUCSI program,” said Michael Maughan, vice president of space and mission systems at Viasat Government.

#Military’s weather satellite program in flux as Space Force evaluates options .
#WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is proceeding cautiously with its plans to replace aging weather #satellites, signaling that any plans to acquire next-generation systems are still far off.

Col. Robert Davis, program executive for sensor satellites at the Space Systems Command, said the service will first analyze data from current and future experimental satellites before deciding what satellites might replace a decades-old system known as the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP).

“We are in the middle of doing analysis,” Davis said last week during a meeting with reporters. He explained that the study is looking at potential follow-ons to both electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors for cloud characterization and to the Weather System Follow-on – Microwave (WSF-M), which provides data on wind speeds, tropical cyclone intensity and other weather metrics. The first WSF-M satellite launched earlier this year, and a second is planned for 2026.
‘Architectural decisions’ to be made

The first wave of this analysis will come from the Rapid Revisit Optical Cloud Imager (RROCI), a cubesat made by Arcfield that launched in March. This small satellite is a prototype for the Space Force’s Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather System (EWS) program, designed to gather cloud and weather data in real-time. According to Davis, his team is only now beginning to evaluate the data from RROCI, while more information is expected from two upcoming General Atomics small satellites, slated for launch in 2025 and 2027.

It’s not just government-owned satellites under consideration. Davis noted that the architecture study will also explore integrating commercial weather data services into military operations. However, that might be easier said than done. “There’s not a robust commercial market for weather right now,” Davis explained, attributing this in part to the fact that so much weather data is available for free from U.S. agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and international partners such as Europe’s Eumetsat.
Drawn-out process

While the Department of Defense continues to depend on legacy DMSP satellites — only two of which remain operational — the service is in no rush to finalize procurement plans. “We have to make architectural-level decisions first,” Davis cautioned. These decisions will inform how the Space Force proceeds, with a final determination on what next-generation weather satellites might look like expected sometime in the next year.

A #Soyuz capsule with 2 Russians and 1 American from the International Space Station returns to Earth