Here are some of the stories you may have missed in the past week. The week featured a few notable events, including Starlink launches, delays to Boeing’s first Crewed Starliner mission, updates on Starship, and the unveiling of new EVA suits by Polaris Dawn.
SpaceX continued its Starlink constellation buildout by sending 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit using Booster 1069, which had its 15th successful flight. The booster is already back and beginning its refurbishment process.
The launch was initially delayed to May 10th but was later delayed to no earlier than May 17th due to the need to replace a valve. ULA has further delayed the launch to no earlier than May 21st to allow for additional testing.
The next Starship is likely to fly on the 5th Integrated Flight Test, occurring several weeks after the 4th flight. After the last static fire of a Starship at the launch site, the site was demolished, and future Starship testing will take place at the company’s Massey testing facility.
There has been an announcement regarding a spacewalk involving all four members being exposed to the vacuum of space, marking the most individuals exposed at once in the history of spaceflight. The mission is vital as it will certify Vulcan for government missions, and there is pressure on the company to either launch this mission or use a mass simulator if Dream Chaser isn’t ready.
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