Private Astronaut Crew, Including First Arab Woman in Orbit, Returns from Space Station
An all-private astronaut team of two Americans and two Saudis, including the first Arab woman sent into orbit, splashed down safely off Florida, capping an eight-day research mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The Axiom 2 crew was led by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 63, who holds the U.S. record for most time spent in orbit with 665 days in space over three long-duration missions to the ISS, including 10 spacewalks. She now serves as Axiom's director of human spaceflight.
May 31, 2023
Indian Scientists Discover New Exoplanet with Mass 13 Times that of Jupiter
A new Jupiter-size exoplanet with the highest density known till this date (as in May 2023) and mass 13 times than that of Jupiter, was discovered by an international team of scientists led by Prof. Abhijit Chakraborty at the Exoplanet Research Group of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad.
The newly discovered exoplanet is found around the star called TOI4603 or HD 245134. NASA's The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) initially declared TOI4603 as a possible candidate to host a secondary body of unknown nature.
The newly discovered exoplanet TOI 4603b is one of the most massive and densest giant planets that orbits very close to its host star at a distance less than 1/10th the distance between our Sun and Earth.
North Korean 1st Spy Satellite Plunges into Sea
North Korea's attempt to put the country's first spy satellite into orbit failed, an apparent embarrassment to leader Kim Jong Un over his push to boost his military capability in the protracted security tensions with the United States and South Korea.
As per reports, the rocket carrying the satellite crashed into waters off the Korean Peninsula's western coast after it lost thrust following the separation of its first and second stages.
The rocket was launched from the northwestern Tongchang-ri area, where North Korea's main space launch centre is located.
The United States strongly condemned North Korea for the launch, which used ballistic missile technology in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
May 30, 2023
China Sends its First Civilian to Space
China sent its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station.
Gui Haichao, a payload expert, took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.
Until recently, all Chinese astronauts in space were members of the People's Liberation Army.
According to the space agency, Gui, a professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, will mainly be responsible for the on-orbit operation of space science experimental payloads.
The commander of this mission is Jing Haipeng, who is on his fourth trip into space, while the third crew member is engineer Zhu Yangzhu.
May 29, 2023
ISRO Launches Its Next-generation Navigational Satellite - NVS-1 from Sriharikota
The Indian Space Research Organisation conducted the fifth launch of 2023 as it lifted off a 2232-kilogram satellite, part of its NavIC series, into space. The NVS-1 launched onboard GSLV F12 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The NVS-1 is the first satellite of the next-generation NavIC satellite aimed to augment the navigational capabilities of the country. The system was developed looking at the growing requirements of the Civil Aviation sector in the country for better positioning, navigation, and timing.
The NavIC satellites are used in terrestrial, aerial, and marine transportation, location-based services, personal mobility, resource monitoring, surveying and geodesy, scientific research, time dissemination and synchronization, and safety-of-life alert dissemination.
May 28, 2023
South Korea Launches Home-grown Space Rocket Nuri
South Korea launched its home-grown space rocket, making its first achievement to send a satellite for commercial use into orbit, after a postponement of the launch from the previous day due to communications problems between launch control computers.
The Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle Two (KSLV-II), nicknamed Nuri, lifted off into space from the launch pad at Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, 473 km south of Seoul.
Korea's status as an aerospace powerhouse has been enhanced with the successful third launch. In the second test launch in June 2022, the country became one of the world's seven nations including the US, Russia, China, Japan, the European Union and India, to have launched satellites of at least 1 ton with their own technology.
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