SpaceX Falcon 9 Hits 500 Launches, Rocket Lab's Rapid Success, and Other Space News

Recent Space Launches and Milestones

• 🚀 SpaceX celebrated its 500th Falcon 9 launch on July 2nd, with booster 1067 completing its 29th flight, extending its lead as the flight leader.
• ✨ Six Starlink launches occurred in the last couple of weeks, including one on July 8th from the West Coast.
• 🛰️ The Atlas 5 launched 27 Kuiper satellites, and a Falcon 9 carried numerous payloads for the Transporter 14 mission, including a space tug and re-entry vehicles from various countries.

Private Missions and International Efforts

• 🧑‍🚀 Axiom 4, SpaceX's fourth private spaceflight to the ISS, carried four passengers, including Shubansu Shukla from India, Tibbor Kapu from Hungary, and Slavoski Vindeski from Poland, with their return expected soon.
• 🛰️ Rocket Lab achieved a rapid turnaround with two launches in 37 hours: one carrying Hawkeye 360 satellites and a Kestrel 0A technology demonstrator, and another named "Symphony of the Stars" for a confidential customer, likely a Lyra satellite for Echoar.
• 🇯🇵 Japan launched the final flight of its H2A rocket carrying the Ibuki GW satellite for observing greenhouse gases and water cycles, with the H3 rocket now the successor.
• 🇪🇺 A European geostationary weather satellite, Meteorat 13 (MTGS1), launched on a Falcon 9, originally planned for the Aran 6.
• 🇨🇳 China launched the Shien 28B01 satellite on a Long March 4C, a rare launch from the Chi-Chang site.
• 🇷🇺 A Soyuz rocket launched the Progress MS31 cargo spacecraft to the ISS, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

Program Cancellations and Budget Updates

• ⚛️ DARPA has canceled the Draco nuclear propulsion project, citing a lack of alignment with current mission interests and decreasing costs from commercial providers.
• 💰 The US "Big Beautiful Bill" allocated $10 billion for human spaceflight, including funding for the Gateway, Artemis, and the space station, while also increasing the Space Force budget.
• shuttle A $85 million allocation was made to investigate transporting a space vehicle that has carried humans from Washington to Texas, though the feasibility is questioned due to mothballed carrier aircraft.

Satellite Monitoring and Scientific Discoveries

• 📡 The Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCS), run by NOAA, faces an 85% budget cut, raising concerns from industry players like SpaceX and Amazon about commercial satellite coordination.
• 🔭 The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is coming online, beginning to scan the sky and release early data.
• ☄️ Comet 3I/Atlas was discovered with a high eccentricity, blazing through the solar system at over 60 km/s.
• 🔬 Japanese scientists used Himawari 8 and 9 satellites to observe Venus, measuring changes in its cloud temperatures over the last decade.
• ⚡ A stunning photo captured a sprite, a phenomenon of high-energy electrons shooting into the upper atmosphere during a storm over Texas.

Upcoming Events and Personal Notes

• 🗓️ Gilmore Space has pushed back its launch date.
• 🧑‍🚀 The Axiom 4 crew is expected to return soon, with a potential West Coast re-entry.
• 🎤 Scott Manley will be attending Open Saws in San Mateo, inviting attendees to say hello.