{"id":24222,"date":"2023-08-08T01:05:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T17:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/launch-roundup-russia-returns-to-the-moon-with-luna-25-mission-virgin-galactic-completes-first-fully-private-space-tourism-flight\/"},"modified":"2023-08-08T01:05:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T17:05:20","slug":"launch-roundup-russia-returns-to-the-moon-with-luna-25-mission-virgin-galactic-completes-first-fully-private-space-tourism-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/launch-roundup-russia-returns-to-the-moon-with-luna-25-mission-virgin-galactic-completes-first-fully-private-space-tourism-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Launch Roundup: Russia returns to the Moon with Luna 25 mission, Virgin Galactic completes first fully private space tourism flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a busy week in spaceflight, especially for Russia. The week of Aug. 7 following through to Aug. 13 has seen Russia launch two missions to space, including the nation\u2019s fourth-generation radio navigation satellite, GLONASS-K2, and Roscosmos\u2019s first mission to the Moon in over four decades, dubbed Luna 25.<\/p>\n

SpaceX launched a batch of its Starlink v2 Minis into low-Earth orbit (LEO), and another on Thursday night. What\u2019s more, China launched another unknown payload into space.<\/p>\n

Lastly, Virgin Galactic completed the second of its previously announced human spaceflight missions, Galactic 02, which sent three fully private tourists to the edge of space. With this week\u2019s launches now complete, the total number of orbital launch attempts in 2023 has increased to 123.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Soyuz 2.1b\/Fregat-M \u2014 Glonass-K2 No. 13 (Kosmos-2569)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Russian Space Force successfully launched the first of its fourth generation GLONASS-K2 satellites into space on Monday, Aug. 7. The satellite launched atop a three-stage Soyuz 2.1b\/Fregat-M rocket from Russian spaceport Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 9:20 AM EDT (13:20 UTC), marking the second launch for the rocket in 2023. The Fregat-M is the optional upper stage that typically flies on either the Soyuz 2.1b or Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicles.<\/p>\n

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Soyuz-2.1B medium-lift rocket launches GLONASS-M satellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in 2018. (Credit: Russian Space Force)<\/p>\n

GLONASS-K2 is the latest radio satellite navigation system developed by ISS Reshetnev (Information Satellite Systems), likened to Galileo or GPS. The satellite is unpressurized and masses 1,645 kilograms and will launch into a circular orbit with an orbital period of 11 hours, 15 minutes, and 44 seconds.<\/p>\n

The satellite is the first of 24 that will eventually form the GLONASS-K2 constellation. The satellites are expected to operate for ten years, and while its lifespan is the same as its predecessor, GLONASS-K, it has been designed with several advancements, including more power, more accurate chronometers, and additional CDMA signals.<\/p>\n

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The first GLONASS satellites were operational from 1982 to 2005, followed by the GLONASS-M constellation, which launched from 2003 to 2016 and is still in use. In 2011, the first GLONASS-K satellite was launched into space and represented the first unpressurized version of the Russian navigation satellites, therefore greatly reducing its mass.<\/p>\n

Falcon 9 Block 5 \u2014 Group 6-20<\/em><\/p>\n

The latest batch of SpaceX\u2019s Starlink satellites were launched on Monday, Aug. 7 at 11:57 PM EDT (03:57 UTC). The 15 v2 Mini satellites were into LEO from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4E) in California.<\/p>\n

The first stage for this mission, B1075-5, flew for a fifth time. It landed on \u2018Of Course I Still Love You\u2019<\/em> drone ship in the Pacific Ocean located 659 kilometers downrange.  The launch marked the 55th mission for SpaceX in 2023 \u2014 and the 51st for the Falcon 9.<\/p>\n

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A Falcon 9 launches the first batch of Starlink v2 mini satellites from Florida. (Credit: Stephen Marr for NASASpaceflight\/L2)<\/p>\n

Chang Zheng 2C (CZ-2C)<\/em> <\/em>\u2014 <\/em>5-m S-SAR-02 (Huanjing-2F)<\/em><\/p>\n

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) successfully launched an S-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite into space on Wednesday, Aug. 9, at 6:53 AM CST (22:53 UTC Aug. 8). The payload lifted off atop a Chang Zheng 2C (CZ-2C) rocket \u2014 also known internationally as a Long March 2C \u2014 from Launch Complex 9 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China. The launch marked the sixth mission for the CZ-2C in 2023.<\/p>\n

According to the CASC, the satellite is part of a preliminary constellation to support emergency management and environment monitoring, similar to the one launched last October.  The satellite launched into Sun-synchronous orbit, and is set to be used by the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment for providing basic data for disaster relief and contribute to land resources surveys, water conservancy, agriculture and forestry.<\/p>\n

The two-stage CZ-2C completed its last flight on July 9 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China, sending the Weixing Hulianwang Jishu Shiyan payload into LEO, which was confirmed to be an internet constellation satellite technology pathfinder.<\/p>\n

SpaceShipTwo \u2014 Galactic 02<\/em><\/p>\n

Virgin Galactic flew its second commercial mission on Thursday, Aug. 10, sending three private customers onboard the SpaceShipTwo VSS<\/em> Unity <\/em>spacecraft into suborbit. The vehicle lifted off from Spaceport America in New Mexico, carried by the White Knight Two VMS Eve<\/em> aircraft before release.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n