Posted: Sun, Apr 14 11:21 AM ET (1521 GMT)
A Falcon 9 launched a Space Force weather satellite Thursday morning. The rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10:25 am EDT (1425 GMT) and deployed the first Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) satellite. The polar-orbiting satellite, built by BAE Systems, has a microwave imager instrument to collect weather data including the measurement of ocean surface wind speed and direction, ice thickness, snow depth, soil moisture and local space weather. The Space Force has ordered a second WSF-M satellite, projected to be delivered by 2028.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Space.com article
•  Noozhawk article
•  Los Angeles Times article

Posted: Sun, Apr 14 11:14 AM ET (1514 GMT)
Two Japanese astronauts will walk on the moon on future Artemis missions under a new agreement with NASA. NASA and the Japanese government announced Wednesday that Japan will provide a pressurized lunar rover to be delivered by NASA to the lunar surface ahead of the Artemis 7 mission in the early 2030s. NASA, in exchange, will provide seats for Japanese astronauts on two landing missions, making Japan the first nation after the U.S. to land its astronauts on the moon under Artemis. The announcement did not disclose what missions the Japanese astronauts will get to fly on.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Ars Technica article
•  Nikkei article
•  Kyodo article
•  NASA press release

Russia launches Angara from Vostochny
Posted: Sun, Apr 14 11:08 AM ET (1508 GMT)
The third time was the charm for Russia's Angara rocket. The Angara-A5 rocket lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome at 5:00 am...

Space Force unveils commercialization strategy
Posted: Sun, Apr 14 11:05 AM ET (1505 GMT)
The U.S. Space Force has released a long-awaited strategy for how it will leverage commercial capabilities. In a speech at the 39th Space...

ESA restarts work on ExoMars
Posted: Sun, Apr 14 11:02 AM ET (1502 GMT)
ESA is restarting work on its ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission. ESA announced Tuesday that it awarded a contract worth 522 million euros ($567 million) to...