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🚀 Space Pulse · 2026-08-02 22:00 UTC

SPACE PULSE

Sunday, 2 August 2026 | 22:00 UTC Edition

⚡ TL;DR

A solar wind shock arrived at Earth this afternoon, rapidly escalating geomagnetic conditions from G1 to G2 — the dominant story of the day.

Three launches are on the near-term docket and space weather is the clear mood-setter, with elevated particle and geomagnetic activity stretching into Monday.

🚀 LAUNCHES

NEXT UP: H3-22 | MICHIBIKI 7 (QZS-7)

  • JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are "Go for Launch" on the H3-22 rocket carrying Michibiki 7 (QZS-7), targeting 2026-08-06 at 19:30 UTC. [1]
  • Michibiki 7 will join Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, which uses inclined elliptical geosynchronous orbits to provide high-elevation coverage in urban canyons and mountainous terrain. [1]

ON THE HORIZON: ELECTRON | LOXSAT 1

  • Rocket Lab's Electron will carry LOXSAT 1, a NASA Tipping Point-sponsored demonstration of a complete cryogenic liquid oxygen fluid management system in orbit, built by Eta Space on a Photon-LEO bus. [2]
  • Launch window is currently set for no earlier than 2026-08-31. [2]

ON THE HORIZON: ELECTRON | STRIX LAUNCH 11

  • A second Electron mission in late August will loft StriX Launch 11, a synthetic aperture radar Earth-imaging satellite for Japanese company Synspective. [3]
  • That launch is also currently listed as To Be Determined within an August 31 window. [3]

🔭 DISCOVERIES

NASA APOD: FIRE RAINBOW OVER WEST VIRGINIA

  • NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2026 August 2 features a circumhorizontal arc — commonly called a fire rainbow — photographed over West Virginia. [4] [5]
  • The phenomenon is an atmospheric optics effect caused by ice crystals in high cirrus clouds refracting sunlight, not a combustion or storm event. [4]

🛰️ MISSIONS

GOES FLEET MONITORING ACTIVE SPACE WEATHER

  • NOAA's GOES-18 recorded a 2 MeV electron integral flux of 1,382 pfu on July 16, breaching the 1,000 pfu alert threshold on July 17 at 17:50 UTC. [6]
  • GOES-19 separately detected a new 2 MeV electron flux alert on August 1 at 16:44 UTC, with the previous day's maximum logged at 1,157 pfu. [7]
  • GOES sensors at Fredericksburg (FRD) station recorded a geomagnetic sudden impulse of 27 nT deviation on August 2 at 12:29 UTC, consistent with an interplanetary shock arrival. [8] [9]

☀️ SPACE WEATHER

ACTIVE GEOMAGNETIC STORM — G2 MODERATE IN EFFECT NOW

  • A geomagnetic sudden impulse was forecast for and confirmed at approximately 12:29 UTC today, signaling an IP shock impact at Earth. [9] [8]
  • NOAA SWPC issued a G1 Minor warning at 14:28 UTC, followed by escalating alerts through the afternoon as conditions intensified. [10]
  • By 17:59 UTC the K-index reached 6, triggering a formal G2 Moderate alert — active warning still in effect as of this edition.
  • A G2 Moderate warning was valid through 2026-08-02 23:59 UTC, and a K-index of 5 warning extends until 2026-08-03 03:00 UTC.
  • NOAA's geomagnetic storm watch for August 3 predicts G1 Minor conditions, falling below G1 on August 4 and 5.

RECENT SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENT

  • A proton event at 10 MeV exceeded the 10 pfu threshold on July 31, beginning at 13:20 UTC and peaking at 18 pfu at 15:55 UTC before ending at 17:45 UTC — rated S1 Minor on the NOAA scale.

ELEVATED ELECTRON FLUX

  • High-energy 2 MeV electron flux has exceeded the 1,000 pfu alert level on multiple consecutive days (July 17 and August 1), indicating sustained outer radiation belt enhancement. [6] [7]

📄 RESEARCH

No arXiv astro-ph papers were included in today's official source data. This section will return in tomorrow's edition when new preprints are available.

That is your Space Pulse for 2 August 2026. Next edition at 22:00 UTC tomorrow — watch for post-storm analysis and the H3-22 Michibiki 7 countdown as August 6 approaches.

📎 Sources

  1. H3-22 | Michibiki 7 (QZS-7) — Launch Library 2
  2. Electron | LOXSAT 1 — Launch Library 2
  3. Electron | StriX Launch 11 — Launch Library 2
  4. APOD: 2026 August 2 – A Fire Rainbow over West Virginia — NASA News Releases
  5. APOD: 2026 August 2 – A Fire Rainbow over West Virginia — NASA Science
  6. Space Weather Message Code: ALTEF3 — NOAA SWPC Alerts
  7. Space Weather Message Code: ALTEF3 — NOAA SWPC Alerts
  8. Space Weather Message Code: SUMSUD — NOAA SWPC Alerts
  9. Space Weather Message Code: WARSUD — NOAA SWPC Alerts
  10. Space Weather Message Code: WARK05 — NOAA SWPC Alerts

Curated from official sources — NASA/ESA/JAXA/ESO/NOAA/arXiv/Launch Library. Informational only.
Serial 20260802-22-v46 · 2026-08-02 22:00 UTC · pulse.uzylab.com

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