NSS North Houston Space Society on LinkedIn: Starship test 3, Chinese Lunar Program, last Delta rocket, more..., :… (2024)

Monthly Space News 2024/04: Starship Flight Test 3, Chinese Lunar Program, other lunar lander updates, last Delta rocket launch, Russia's Angara rocket, 28 recent launches to space. Starship flight test 3 showed that it is close to being able to launch payloads to orbit in an expendable mode, and is making progress towards re-usable first and second stages.The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is making steady progress, demonstrating China's emergence as the leading alternative to US-led space programs in the new space race.The Chinese effort seems more oriented towards preparing infrastructure for human occupation and economic development, and strategic goals.In contrast, some like Rick Tumlinson characterize the U.S. Moon to Mars plans as short term "camping trips".Also, China has moved on from their pioneering halo orbit for its 2018 lunar communications relay satellite, in favor of a more fuel-efficient frozen elliptical orbit in March, 2024.A recent unannounced mission to the Moon failed to achieve lunar orbit. Contrast Chinese lunar successes with some of the competition:The recent lunar missions by the Japanese SLIM lander and the American Odysseus lander both tipped over upon landing.Both are at or near their end, since they weren't designed with radioisotope heaters to survive the long lunar night. There were 28 launches to space during the previous 4 week period, with special attention to the finally successful Russian Angara rocket, and the final Delta rocket flight. #Starship #test #ILRS #Moonbase #Moon #lunar #southpole #lunarLander #rover #ChangE #Queqiao #Odysseus #SLIM#haloOrbit #frozenOrbit #Chinese #NASA #SpaceX#RickTumlinson#space #news #spacenews #launches #satelliteAvailable athttps://lnkd.in/gVSCC8mE(YouTube video, 46 minutes)

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Chandrayaan-3 Mission: The spacecraft successfully underwent a planned orbit reduction maneuver. The retrofiring of engines brought it closer to the Moon's surface, now to 170 km x 4313 km.The next operation to further reduce the orbit is scheduled for August 9, 2023, between 13:00 and 14:00 Hrs. IST.Chandrayaan-3's view of the illuminated Moon 🌕 during Lunar Orbit Insertion

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This month's space news covered (1) the crash of the private lunar lander HAKUTO-R; (2) the JUICE (Jupiter icy moons Explorer) launch; (3) what will happen to the International Space Station (ISS) after its end of life in 2030. Also, the count of the recent launches to space (16).News and analysis about the April 20 Starship test, and also its innovative stage separation method, were split out into two other videos, not included here. The most recent Monthly Space News, May, 2023, is available athttps://lnkd.in/gs6tfGEK (YouTube video, 10 minutes)Previous presentations are also available athttps://lnkd.in/gdua3fcZYou can subscribe to these monthly videos for free at channel gstanley0 on YouTube at https://lnkd.in/guGVmYC2.This news was presented at the North Houston chapter of the National Space Society (NSS).The full meetings also include interesting guest speakers and discussion. The agenda for upcoming meetings, and complete videos and presentations for this and past meetings are available athttps://lnkd.in/gXR6_7Vy #HAKUTO #lunar #lander #Jupiter #Moon #JUICE#ISS #spaceStation #endOfLife #ballisticTrajectory #Rashid1#NASA #ESA #iSpace#space #news #spacenews #launches #satellite

We did it 😎 Chandrayaan-3 is a proposed lunar mission by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) following the Chandrayaan-2 mission. It aims to achieve a soft landing on the Moon's surface. Unlike Chandrayaan-2, which included an orbiter, a lander (Vikram), and a rover (Pragyan), Chandrayaan-3 is expected to focus solely on the landing aspect, building on lessons learned from Chandrayaan-2's landing attempt. The mission aims to successfully deploy a lander and rover on the lunar surface.#missionpass #chandrayaan3

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Chandrayaan-3 Mission: The spacecraft has covered about two-thirds of the distance to the moon. Lunar Orbit Injection (LOI) is set for Aug 5, 2023, around 19:00 Hrs. IST.

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We did it 😎 Chandrayaan-3 is a proposed lunar mission by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) following the Chandrayaan-2 mission. It aims to achieve a soft landing on the Moon's surface. Unlike Chandrayaan-2, which included an orbiter, a lander (Vikram), and a rover (Pragyan), Chandrayaan-3 is expected to focus solely on the landing aspect, building on lessons learned from Chandrayaan-2's landing attempt. The mission aims to successfully deploy a lander and rover on the lunar surface.#missionpass #chandrayaan3

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Chandrayaan-3 Mission: The spacecraft has covered about two-thirds of the distance to the moon. Lunar Orbit Injection (LOI) is set for Aug 5, 2023, around 19:00 Hrs. IST.

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Mission #chandrayaan3 is the third lunar exploration mission by the #indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).[7] It consists of a lander and the Pragyan rover similar to Chandrayaan-2, but does not have an orbiter. Its propulsion module behaves like a communication relay satellite. The propulsion module carries the lander and rover configuration until the spacecraft is in a 100 km lunar orbit.

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We did it 😎 Chandrayaan-3 is a proposed lunar mission by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) following the Chandrayaan-2 mission. It aims to achieve a soft landing on the Moon's surface. Unlike Chandrayaan-2, which included an orbiter, a lander (Vikram), and a rover (Pragyan), Chandrayaan-3 is expected to focus solely on the landing aspect, building on lessons learned from Chandrayaan-2's landing attempt. The mission aims to successfully deploy a lander and rover on the lunar surface.#missionpass #chandrayaan3

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Japan takes another shot at the Moon!Japan is back in the lunar race, successfully launching a rocket with a lunar lander. The lunar lander, aptly nicknamed the "Moon Sniper," is on a mission to touch down on the Moon in February, should all go as planned. Japan's space program aims to join an exclusive club that includes the US, Russia, China, and India as one of the few countries to land on the lunar surface. This venture is designed to showcase Japan's capability to land a lightweight and cost-effective spacecraft on the Moon, with the mission valued at $100 million, and aims to make Japan the fifth country to land on the Moon. A significant step in space exploration. You can read more about it below:#SpaceExploration #MoonMission #Japan #Space

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