🚀 Space Pulse · 2026-07-26 22:00 UTC
⚡ TL;DR
Expedition 74 is home: NASA's Chris Williams and two Roscosmos cosmonauts landed safely on the Kazakh steppe after eight months aboard the ISS, closing out a busy crew rotation day. The Sun is also making noise, with an energetic electron flux alert and a fast CME-associated radio burst flagged by NOAA this afternoon.
🚀 LAUNCHES
UPCOMING LAUNCHES
- Rocket Lab Electron carrying iQPS SAR Earth-observation satellite "The Grain Goddess Provides" is targeting no earlier than July 31 for Japanese imaging company iQPS. [1]
- Long March 7A with an undisclosed payload is scheduled for around August 9, 2026 at 11:00 UTC by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation; details are TBD. [2]
- Long March 12 with an undisclosed payload is penciled in for around August 17, 2026 at 02:00 UTC; details remain TBD. [3]
- Long March 5 carrying Chang'e 7 is targeting around August 24, 2026; the mission includes an orbiter, lander, mini-hopping probe, and rover bound for the lunar south pole. [4]
CHANG'E 7 WATCH
- Chang'e 7 will study the lunar south pole surface environment and is one of China's most complex robotic lunar missions to date, combining four distinct spacecraft elements on a single launch. [4]
🛰️ MISSIONS
EXPEDITION 74 RETURN TIMELINE
- Soyuz MS-28 hatch between the spacecraft and ISS closed at 11:45 p.m. EDT on July 25, formally sealing the crew for departure. [5]
- The Soyuz MS-28 undocked from the ISS Rassvet module at 3:02 a.m. EDT July 26, carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. [6]
- Touchdown occurred at 5:26 a.m. CDT (3:26 p.m. local Kazakhstan time) southeast of Dzhezkazgan via parachute-assisted landing on the Kazakh steppe. [7]
- Williams and crewmates completed an eight-month science mission aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 74. [8]
- NASA confirmed safe recovery of all three crew members following the landing, closing out the Expedition 74 increment. [9]
☀️ SPACE WEATHER
ELEVATED PARTICLE AND RADIO ACTIVITY TODAY
- NOAA SWPC issued Alert ALTEF3 (Serial 3721) at 15:35 UTC July 26: GOES-19 measured 2 MeV integral electron flux exceeding the 1,000 pfu threshold, with yesterday's maximum reaching 1,077 pfu. [10]
- A separate Alert ALTTP2 (Serial 1516) was issued at 15:46 UTC July 26 for a Type II solar radio emission beginning at 15:29 UTC, with an estimated CME shock velocity of 1,057 km/s — indicating a fast coronal mass ejection may be in transit.
- Satellite operators and high-frequency radio users should monitor NOAA SWPC for potential geomagnetic and energetic particle impacts in the coming days given the 1,057 km/s estimated CME speed. [10]
📄 RESEARCH
No arXiv astro-ph papers were included in today's official source data feed. Check arxiv.org/list/astro-ph/new for the latest preprints.
📎 Sources
- Electron | The Grain Goddess Provides (iQPS Launch 7) — Launch Library 2
- Long March 7A | Unknown Payload — Launch Library 2
- Long March 12 | Unknown Payload — Launch Library 2
- Long March 5 | Chang'e 7 — Launch Library 2
- Expedition 74 Crewmates Board Soyuz and Close Hatch for Departure — NASA Science
- Expedition 74 Crew Undocks in Soyuz for Return to Earth — NASA Science
- Expedition 74 Trio Returns to Earth Inside Soyuz — NASA Science
- NASA Astronaut Chris Williams, Crewmates Return from Space Sta… — NASA News Releases
- NASA Astronaut Chris Williams, Crewmates Return from Space Sta… — NASA Science
- Space Weather Message Code: ALTEF3 — NOAA SWPC Alerts
Curated from official sources — NASA/ESA/JAXA/ESO/NOAA/arXiv/Launch Library. Informational only.
Serial 20260726-22-v39 · 2026-07-26 22:00 UTC · pulse.uzylab.com