Weekly Dose of Space (2/11-8/11)

Welcome back to Weekly Dose of Space! This week saw eight launches taking place worldwide, with missions from low Earth to geostationary orbit. News from the week had a renomination for NASA's Administrator and a delay of crewed missions' return to Earth. As always, we'll also look ahead to what the worldwide launch schedule might look like next week.

Launches This Week

November 2nd - Falcon 9 with Bandwagon-4

SpaceX launched its fourth mid-inclination low Earth orbit rideshare mission, carrying eighteen payloads, atop of a Falcon 9 flying from Space Launch Complex 40, in Florida. Supporting this mission was booster B1091, for its third flight with a landing back in Cape Canaveral at Landing Zone 2.

November 2nd - LVM-3 with GSAT-7R

India's LVM-3 rocket launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre carrying the GSAT-7R communication satellite to geostationary transfer orbit on behalf of the Indian Navy. Once operational, the satellite will provide secure multi-band communications services.

November 3rd - Long March 7A with Yaogan-46

A Long March 7A blasted off from Launch Complex 201 at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, carrying the Yaogan-46 remote sensing satellite into medium Earth orbit. Yaogan-46 is planned to be used for land resource surveys, crop yield estimation, meteorology, hydrology, scientific experiments, as well as disaster prevention and relief efforts.

November 4th - Ariane 6 with Sentinel-1D

Arianespace launched its Ariane 6 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre into sun-synchronous orbit carrying the Sentinel-1D weather satellite on behalf of the European Space Agency. The satellite will be used for sea ice, tracking icebergs, glaciers, subsidence, and oil spills.

November 5th - Electron for 'The Nation God Navigates'

Rocket Lab's Electron flew from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B on the Māhia Peninsula, in New Zealand, into low Earth orbit with a synthetic aperture radar satellite on behalf of iQPS. This satellite is planned to be part of a thirty-six-spacecraft constellation for regular monitoring of Earth below.

November 6th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 6-81

Twenty-nine Starlink satellites were launched into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 atop of a Falcon 9. Booster B1094 supported this mission for its fifth flight, with a landing downrange on the drone ship 'Just Read The Instructions'.

November 6th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 11-14

Twenty-eight more Starlink satellites were sent into low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 flying out of Space Launch Complex 4E, in California. Supporting this mission was booster B1093, on its eighth flight with a landing on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' downrange.

November 8th - Long March 11 with Shiyan-32 trio

A Long March 11 blasted off from a sea-launch platform near Haiyang, in Shandong province, carrying three Shiyan-32 satellites into low Earth orbit. The Shiyan-32 trio is set to test new optical technologies.

In Other Space News

Isaacman renominated to lead NASA

Jared Isaacman, a fintech billionaire space tourist, previously nominated by then-President Elect Donald Trump in December 2024 to head NASA, getting so far as a Senate hearing in April before support from the Administration was pulled, has been renominated for the top job at the space agency on November 4th. With the renomination, Trump wrote:

"Sean Duffy has done an incredible job as Interim Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This evening, I am pleased to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of NASA. Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era."

Isaacman quickly responded on Twitter, thanking the President and members of the space industry, stating:

"Thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity. It will be an honor to serve my country under your leadership. I am also very grateful to Secretary Sean Duffy, who skillfully oversees NASA alongside his many other responsibilities." – "NASA will never be a caretaker of history–but will forever make history." – "Godspeed, President Donald J. Trump, and Godspeed NASA, as America leads the greatest adventure in human history."

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, also Acting Administrator of NASA, also took to Twitter to write:

"Thank you Donald Trump for the honor to lead NASA. We’ve made giant leaps in our mission to return to the Moon before China. It’s critical for our national security and national pride that we win the next space race." – "Congratulations to Jared Isaacman. I wish him all the success and will ensure the transition is seamless."

In the resumed nomination process, Isaacman's position for Administrator of NASA has been sent to a Senate vote, with no time set for it. Any consequences of the disastrous 'Project Athena' plan on the vote are yet to be understood.

Shenzhou-20 return delayed

The Shenzhou-20 mission, with Commander Chen Dong, Operator Chen Zhongru, and Science Operator Wang Jie, was set to return to Earth on November 5th following a six-month mission aboard the Tiangong Space Station. The morning of the return it was postponed, with the China Manned Space Agency stated:

“The Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft is suspected of being struck by a small piece of space debris, and impact analysis and risk assessment are underway. To ensure the safety of the taikonauts and the successful completion of the mission, it has been decided that the return mission of Shenzhou-20, originally scheduled for November 5, will be postponed.”

Since the postponement, the three taikonauts have remained onboard the space station with the recently arrived Shenzhou-21 crew, allowing for a lighter schedule. Life support systems on Tiangong are suitable to host both crews for a few weeks, along with supplies onboard.

Depending on the outcome of the risk assessment, the Shenzhou-20 crew may return to Earth with their spacecraft, or onboard Shenzhou-21 after Shenzhou-22 launches as a backup. That may be concluded in the coming days, with a launch or return to Earth after November 10th.

What to Expect Next Week

November 9th - Kinetica-1 with a to-be-annouced payloads

CAS Space is preparing to launch its Kinetica-1 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, carrying unannounced payloads into sun-synchronous orbit.

November 9th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 10-51

A Falcon 9 is set to send twenty-nine Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A.

November 9th - New Glenn with ESCAPADE

Blue Origin is set to launch its New Glenn rocket for the second time from Launch Complex 36, launching two small satellites towards Mars for NASA's ESCAPADE mission.

November 10th - Long March 12 with a to-be-announced payload

A Long March 12 is planned to launch from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site and head into low Earth orbit carrying a currently unknown payload.

November 10th - Ceres-1 with to-be-annouced payloads

Galactic Energy's Ceres-1 may launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carrying a few unknown payloads.

November 11th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 6-87

A batch of Starlink satellites is set to be launched atop Falcon 9 into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40.

November 11th - Falcon 9 with Transporter-15

SpaceX is preparing to launch its Transporter-15 sun-synchronous orbit rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 4E atop of Falcon 9.

November 13th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 6-89

Falcon 9 will send another batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A.

November 14th - Atlas V with ViaSat-3 F2

United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket is set to carry the ViaSat-3 F2 satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 41.

November 14th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 6-85

Another Falcon 9 will send a batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40.