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Crew-13 Countdown, Starship Flight 14 & Falcon 9 Moon Impact | Aug 4-5
Audio is available on Spreaker — see link below.
Four astronauts lock in a September 12 launch date as Crew-13 preps for the ISS, a rogue Falcon 9 upper stage races toward a lunar impact, and SpaceX eyes a landmark Starship land-catch attempt. All four NASA commercial lunar landers clear hardware tests simultaneously — the busiest week in space this year.
Audio is available on Spreaker — see link below.
Four astronauts are confirmed for a September twelfth liftoff to the International Space Station, and the hardware integration is nearly complete. Crew-13 is real, it's scheduled, and it's close.
While Crew-13 preps for orbit, something far less controlled is heading toward the Moon. A Falcon 9 upper stage from an earlier twenty twenty-five mission is on an uncontrolled trajectory and will strike the lunar surface on August fifth at roughly five thousand four hundred miles per hour.
Closer to home, Starship Flight Fourteen is targeting the end of August, and the ambition here is significant. SpaceX plans to attempt catching the Ship upper stage with tower arms, not in the ocean, but on land at the Texas launch site.
Speaking of Ship recovery, Ship Forty is currently being retrieved from the Indian Ocean following a soft splashdown on July twenty-fourth. Three vessels are coordinating the operation: Normand Ranger, Skimmer Tide, and Go Australis.
On the commercial lunar side, something quietly significant happened this week. Four separate lunar landers cleared final test gates simultaneously.
Aboard the station, Expedition Seventy-Five is preparing for an upcoming spacewalk targeting solar array upgrades. The crew is also running health research with a muscle stimulation suit called EasyMotion-Two and an exercise device designed for microgravity.
The near-term watchpoints are clear. The Falcon Nine lunar impact hits August fifth, and the quality of the observation data will tell us something about both lunar geology and how seriously the scientific community can turn accidents into assets.
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