Listed below are a few of the stories you might have missed up to now week. The third week of August 2023 featured SpaceX attempting a back-to-back Starlink launch, Starship updates, and Crew 7 preparations for launch to the International Space Station.
But first, over the weekend it was confirmed that Russia’s Luna 25 mission crashed into the Moon, one other failure from the Russian space program. This was the primary mission to the Moon for Russia in 47 years.
Russia was aiming to be the primary to land on the Moon’s southern pole, and the Lunar lander had made it right into a stable orbit, but during a planned lowering of the orbit, it went a bit too far and created latest craters on the surface of the Moon.
Meanwhile, India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander is progressing nominally to date. It’s scheduled to aim a landing on the Moon’s Southern Hemisphere as soon as August twenty third.
Last week’s recap!
A possible Starship test launch soon? – A maritime exclusion zone was listed for August thirty first for “rocket launch activities” while unlikely to launch then, it signifies that SpaceX is getting much closer to the 2nd test flight as they await word from the FAA and the review of the mishap report submitted by SpaceX to them.
SpaceX launched 22 Starlink satellites – This was the 99th dedicated Starlink mission, bringing the overall # of Starlink satellites launched to 4,962.
Falcon 9 launches 22 @Starlink satellites to orbit from Florida pic.twitter.com/ZDuQgf2Ocg
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 17, 2023
SpaceX attempts back-to-back Starlink launches – SpaceX had originally planned to launch 21 Starlink satellites from California after the 22 from Florida.
Nonetheless, Hurricane Hilary within the Eastern Pacific forced the droneship to retreat to the Port of San Diego for safety reasons. That launch is now planned for no sooner than August twenty first at 11:04 p.m. PT (6:04 UTC on August 22).
Crew Dragon Endurance readied to ISS flight – The capsule, flying for its third time, was delivered to LC-39A to be attached to the Falcon 9 rocket. Crew 7 arrived at Kennedy Space Center Saturday afternoon, and last night, the rocket was rolled out to the launch pad for pre-launch testing, reminiscent of the static fire and dry-dress rehearsal for the crew. The launch is scheduled for NET on August twenty fifth at 3:49 a.m. ET (07:49 UTC).
SpaceX showcases latest hot stage ring for Starship – After months of speculation, SpaceX finally revealed how they may attempt stage separation through the 2nd test flight. The Raptor engines will ignite while still attached to Booster 9, with the exhaust gases being vented out through the perimeters.
![](https://www.teslarati.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/F31cK_SWwAAjJmA.jpg)
The recent stage ring attached to Booster 9 (Credit SpaceX)
And that’s just about all for last week!
This week looks to be exciting with India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission attempting to land on the Moon, Crew 7 launching to the International Space Station, and naturally, a pair more Starlink launches.
Thanks for reading the Weekly Space Recap!