Dave (9:09)

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Maria Varmazes (10:23)

Fridays at T minus mean our partners at NSF have the Space Traffic Report for you. Here's Alesia Siegel with more.

Alicia Siegel (10:32)

I'm Alicia Siegel for nsf, and this is your weekly Space Traffic Report for T Minus Space. We're starting off the week with Space plane news. On March 7, the X37B returned from its secretive OTV7 mission, touching down on the Runway of Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 6:22 UTC. The spaceplane started its mission in the final days of 2023 when it was launched on a Falcon Heavy. It became the first spaceplane to launch beyond low Earth orbit into a highly elliptical orbit. Throughout its time in space, it performed several tests and demonstrations for the Space Force, including an aerobraking maneuver during which it skimmed through the upper atmosphere to lower its orbit. In October of last year, after spending over 434 days in space, this particular X37B wrapped up its fourth and shortest miss. This was the second shortest flown by either of the two spacecraft and the seventh in the program. A Changzheng 3B launched from the Xichang satellite launch center in China on March 9 at 17:17 UTC. The rocket lifted a classified satellite for testing communication technology into geostationary transfer orbit. A few days later, on March 11, a Changzhong 8 launched from the commercial site of China's Wencheng Space launch site. The payload on this mission was a batch of 18 communication satellites for the Tian Fan constellation of Internet satellites G60 or Space Sail. The next day, Falcon 9 took to the skies in California to launch two science missions for NASA. The first of these is the Spectrophotometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and ices Explorer, or SphereX for short. The telescope will survey the sky in search of the source of the universe's early inflation and organic molecules throughout the universe. The telescope features a distinct set of cone shaped photon shields that keep the spacecraft's sensitive infrared instruments cold. Four suitcase sized satellites for NASA's Punch mission also hitched a ride on this launch. Punch is short for Polarimeter to unify the corona and heliosphere. And as the name implies, the mission will study the sun's heliosphere and Corona. Falcon 9 lifted off with the five satellites on board on March 12 at 3:10 Universal Time. The booster on this mission, B1088, flew for the third time and landed successfully at landing zone 4. On March 12, the European Space Agency's HERA mission flew by Mars for a so called gravity assist. The spacecraft is on its way to study asteroid Didymos and its companion Dimorphos, but it needed a little help to get onto the right path. That help came from the Red Planet, whose gravitational pull changed Hera's trajectory as the spacecraft flew just 5,000 kilometers from the planet's surface. As Hera swung by Mars, it used three of its science instruments to observe the planet and its moon Deimos, which Hera passed by at a mere 1000km. This provided an excellent opportunity for the mission scientists to test the performance of these instruments and it gave us some amazing pictures too. We also had a Starlink launch from Florida this week. Falcon 9 lifted off at 235 UTC on March 13, carrying 13 Starlink direct to cell satellites and eight regular Starlink V2 mini satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1069 flew its 22nd flight on this mission and it landed successfully on the deck of SpaceX's drone ship, a shortfall of gravitas. With this mission, SpaceX has launched a total of 8085 Starlink satellites, of which 990 have found their way back to Earth and 6409 have moved into their operational orbits. Going into next week, we'll have the launch of the Crew 10 mission to the International Space Station on March 14. Falcon 9 is set to lift off from historic Launch Complex 39A at 2303 UTC, with Crew Dragon Endurance on top. The mission was originally supposed to launch earlier this week, but was scrubbed due to an issue with hydraulics on ground support systems. The commander of the crew of four is NASA astronaut Anne McClane, who will be accompanied by the mission's pilot, NASA astronaut Nicole Ayers, and mission specialist JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Dragon is set to arrive at the station on March 16 at 3:30 UTC. Following this, the crews will take part in a short handover period during which the previous crew will help the new arrivals familiarize themselves with life on board the space station. Crew 9 will then depart the station on March 19th Crew Dragon Freedom will undock from the ISS with Nick Haig and Alexander Gorbunov on board as well as the two Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Freedom will return to Earth and splashdown off the coast of Florida if the schedule holds. March 15th promises to be a very busy day with six launches if you set your clock to UTC. The first of these will be an Electron mission from Rocket Lab's own spaceport in New Zealand. This launch is set to carry a Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite into low Earth orbit for the Japane company iqps. The mission is dubbed the Lightning God Reigns and is expected to lift off during a two hour window opening at midnight UTC on March 15th. Next we'll have a launch from China around 4:10 universal time. A Changzheng 2D is expected to lift off from the Zhouchuan Satellite Launch Center. For the next mission we'll go to California where a Falcon 9 will launch the next transporter mission of SpaceX's smallsat rideshare program. This mission is set to carry dozens of small satellites, including a number of science missions into sun synchronous orbit. Transporter 13 is scheduled to lift off during a 46 minute window opening at 06:39 UTC. Over on the other side of the country we'll also have a StarLink mission on March 15. Falcon 9 is set to carry another batch of Starlink direct to cell satellites into low Earth orbit, lifting off from space Launch Complex 40 during a four hour window opening at 10:28 UTC. Just two minutes later the window opens for an Angara 1.2 launch from Plisetsk in Russia. The payload on this mission is a Russian military satellite and the last mission scheduled for March 15th is the sixth launch of Firefly's Alpha rocket. This mission will be conducted from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and will lift Lockheed Martin's LM400 technology demonstrator into low Earth orbit. Liftoff is scheduled during a 52 minute window opening at 13:25 Universal Time. NSF will be providing the launch livestream Production services for Alpha 6th flight With YouTube coverage starting approximately 30 minutes before liftoff on March 17th, a Series 1 is expected to lift off from Site 95A at the Zhouchuan Satellite Launch center in China. T0 for this mission is scheduled around 8:10 UTC. Then back in New Zealand, another electron is set to take to the skies on March 18. This launch will deliver the final batch of Internet of Things satellites into low Earth orbit for The French company CNAIS with the addition of these last five satellites, the constellation, will be completed after five launches. So Rocket Lab, fittingly named the mission High 5. Liftoff is expected at 1:31 UTC later that day, SpaceX plans to launch another batch of starlinks from Florida. The four hour launch window for this mission opens at 18:09 Universal Time on March 18th for the next launch. Falcon 9 is expected to lift off from California on March 20th. The payload on this mission will likely be the next batch of starshield satellites for the US National Reconnaissance Office's proliferated architecture. This mission is set to lift off during a nearly two and a half hour window opening at 6:02 universal time. Back up on the International Space Station Another vehicle is set to depart next week. On March 21st at 11:35 universal time, the Cygnus NG21 cargo vehicle will separate from the station. Its final task will be to dispose of waste as it burns up on reentry in Earth's atmosphere. I'm Alicia Siegel for nsf and that's your weekly Space Traffic Report. Now back to T minus Space.

Maria Varmazes (18:16)

I'll be right back.

Dave (18:23)

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Maria Varmazes (19:17)

Welcome back. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander continues to make history on the moon. While some of us enjoyed last night's blood moon and lunar eclipse, Blue Ghost was looking at the same thing from the lunar vantage point. And when you're on the moon, it's not a lunar eclipse, it's a solar eclipse. Blue Ghost snapped an incredible shot of the diamond ring effect as the Earth momentarily blocked the sun, creating a glowing ring in the sky, an event that has been captured by previous lunar missions, but never before observed by a commercial mission on the moon specifically so check that box for another first there. Firefly's lander also managed to capture the eclipse's first moments as the Earth's shadow crept over the sun with the reflection glinting off of its solar panels. And if that wasn't enough, NASA's scalps cameras caught stunning footage of the lander's descent showing its engine plumes interacting with the moon's surface, which is all critical data for future missions. With more images and insights expected soon, Firefly is proving that even in the darkness of space, there's always something brilliant to see. That's it for T minus for March 14, 2025 brought to you by N2K CyberWire for additional resources from today's report, check out our show notes@spare.n2k.com we'd love to know what you think of this podcast. Your feedback ensures we deliver the insights that keep you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. If you like the show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Please also fill out the survey in the show notes or send an email the spacen2k.com we're privileged that N2K CyberWire is part of the daily routine of the most influential leaders and operators in the public and private sector. From the Fortune 500 to many of the world's preeminent intelligence and law enforcement agencies, N2K makes it easy for companies to optimize your biggest investment your people. We make you smarter about your teams while making your teams smarter. Learn how@n2k.com N2K Senior Producer is Alice Carruth. Our producer is Liz Stokes. We're mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Ivan. Peter Kilby is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Varmazes. Thanks for listening. Have a fantastic weekend.

Dave (21:52)

T minus.