Posted: Sun, Jul 26 7:38 AM ET (1138 GMT)
SpaceX launched its Starship vehicle on its 13th test flight Friday. Starship lifted off from Starbase, Texas, at 6:51 pm EDT (2251 GMT) after the first launch attempt eight days earlier was aborted at the last second when several Raptor engines failed to ignite. During the suborbital test flight, Starship deployed 20 functioning Starlink V3 satellites, putting them through a brief set of tests before the satellites reentered. Starship also performed a relight of a Raptor engine in space before reentry. The 65-minute test flight concluded with a splashdown in the Indian Ocean, with the vehicle remaining intact. The Super Heavy booster, though, suffered engine malfunctions during its attempt to perform a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Ars Technica article
•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  AP article
•  CBS News article

Posted: Sun, Jul 26 7:26 AM ET (1126 GMT)
A Long March 3B successfully launched a data relay satellite despite being struck by lightning during its ascent. The Long March 3B lifted off at 8 am EDT (1200 GMT) Thursday from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Amateur video shows the rocket being hit by lightning about 30 seconds after liftoff, but the rocket continued to fly and successfully delivered the Tianlian-2 (06) relay satellite to a geostationary transfer orbit. Separately, a Kinetica-1 (Lijian-1) launched at 7:33 pm EDT (2233 GMT) Thursday from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone at the Jiuquan spaceport. The small solid-fuel rocket placed into orbit five satellites for various customers.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Space.com article
•  Xinhua article on Long March 3B launch
•  Xinhua article on Kinetica-1 article

FCC approves satellite spectrum, licensing changes
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