SATELLITE DATA OF 40 YEARS SHOW HOW FAST ARCTIC SEA ICE IS SHRINKING - Year 2020 was extraordinary for the Arctic in many ways – from unprecedented wildfires to record breaking temperatures to one of the lowest sea ice in satellite record. And it ended the year with a similar grim news – the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSDIC) measured sea ice at December 2020 end among the lowest in the satellite record as air temperatures for the month recorded higher than average in most areas. More (Source: Geospatial World - Jan 7)
INMARSAT WILL EXPAND THEIR GX SATELLITE FLEET - Inmarsat GX network currently includes five geostationary satellites, with four built by Boeing. Its GX5 satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space, was brought into commercial service on December 10, 2020, over Europe and the Middle East. The new scheme allows for five more satellites plus two GX payloads on two third-party satellites. More (Source: SatNews Publishers - Jan 7)
DARPA SATELLITES DAMAGED AT PROCESSING FACILITY AHEAD OF SPACEX LAUNCH - Two satellites from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that were part of an upcoming SpaceX rideshare mission have been damaged at the payload processing facility, the agency confirmed Jan. 6. The mishap happened on Jan. 4 at SpaceX’s launch processing facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida. DARPA’s satellites were scheduled to fly to orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-1 mission, SpaceX’s first dedicated rideshare mission scheduled to launch Jan. 14. More (Source: SpaceNews - Jan 7)
U.S. COMPANIES, LED BY SPACEX, LAUNCHED MORE THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN 2020 - Leading all other nations, U.S. launch providers flew 44 missions in 2020 that aimed to place payloads in Earth orbit or deep space, with 40 successes. China followed with 35 successful orbital missions in 39 launch attempts. Russia’s space program was in third place with 17 successful launches of Russian-built rockets in as many tries, including two Soyuz missions from the European-run spaceport in French Guiana. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 6)
SPACE CALENDAR 2021: EVERY ROCKET LAUNCH, MARS MISSION, METEOR SHOWER AND MORE - The year 2020 AD did not turn out exactly as we would have liked down on Earth. But in space, it did prove to be momentous. SpaceX and NASA delivered astronauts to the International Space Station (twice!) aboard the Crew Dragon capsule, Japan and China brought back extraterrestrial rock to Earth and NASA scooped up some space chunks from asteroid Bennu. Excitement for Mars peaked in July, when three missions departed for the red planet. The Mars-bound spacecraft, from NASA, China and the United Arab Emirates, are en route now. They're set to arrive early in 2021. More (Source: CNET - Jan 6)
CHINA’S CASC TARGETS MORE THAN 40 SPACE LAUNCHES IN 2021 - China’s main space contractor aims to conduct more than 40 orbital launches in 2021, including launching a space station module and human spaceflight missions. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced the target at a meeting Jan. 4, in a work report outlining major tasks for 2021. China launched 39 times last year, continuing the accelerated launch rate of the past few years. More (Source: SpaceNews - Jan 5)
NASA TO AIR DEPARTURE OF UPGRADED SPACEX CARGO DRAGON FROM SPACE STATION - The SpaceX Dragon that arrived to the International Space Station on the company’s 21st resupply services mission for NASA is scheduled to depart on Monday, Jan. 11, loaded with 5,200 pounds of scientific experiments and other cargo. NASA Television and the agency’s website will broadcast its departure live beginning at 9 a.m. EST. The upgraded Dragon spacecraft will execute the first undocking of a U.S. commercial cargo craft from the International Docking Adapter at 9:25 a.m., with NASA astronaut Victor Glover monitoring aboard the station. More (Source: NASA - Jan 5)
'WAR IN SPACE' WOULD BE A CATASTROPHE. A RETURN TO RULES-BASED COOPERATION IS THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP SPACE PEACEFUL - In 2019, US President Donald Trump declared “space is the new war-fighting domain”. This followed the creation of the US Space Force and a commitment to “American dominance” in outer space. Other space-faring nations, and those who fear the acceleration of an arms race in space, were greatly concerned. At the latest meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, states noted with alarm that “preventing conflicts in outer space and preserving outer space for peaceful purposes” is more necessary than ever. More (Source: Space.com - Jan 4)
SATELLITE IMAGES CAPTURE MAJOR EVENTS OF 2020 - Year 2020 has largely been defined by one unprecedented pandemic that would go on to shape many things even in years to come. But even otherwise, there were many notable events and happenings that shaped this historic and difficult year. From COVID lockdowns to the melting Arctic and Antarctic reminding us of the fast-changing climate, natural disasters like the unprecedented number of hurricanes and widespread wildfires to manmade ones... More (Source: Geospatial World - Jan 4)
SPACEX RINGS IN THE NEW YEAR WITH A $150 MILLION SATELLITE LAUNCH CONTRACT - SpaceX landed a contract at the end of 2020 for the Space Development Agency. SpaceX estimates the first launches under the contract will happen in late 2022, and they were awarded $150.4 million. Under the contract, as many as 28 satellites will be put into orbit. SpaceX will launch a mix of small and medium spacecraft of different sizes into orbit that the Space Development Agency is purchasing from various vendors. More (Source: SlashGear - Jan 3)
THE INTERNATIONAL STATION IS IN DANGER FROM SPACE DEBRIS - Space debris is an ongoing problem in low Earth Orbit. This year alone the International Space Station had to move three times to avoid potential collisions with the junk that is flying around the planet at speeds of 18,000 mph. It’s a problem large enough that is had NASA Admin Jim Bridenstine tweeting about it back in September, “In the last 2 weeks, there have been 3 high concern potential conjunctions. Debris is getting worse!” More (Source: Forbes - Jan 2)
THE BALL 'DROPS UP' IN NEW YEAR'S VIDEO FROM INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CREW - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station released a festive New Year's video, complete with a zero-gravity "ball drop." Five of the seven astronauts currently on the station as part of Expedition 64-- Kate Rubins, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Soichi Noguchi, and Michael Hopkins-- appeared in the video which was posted on the station's social media pages on Wednesday. More (Source: WATN - Jan 2)
AURORA PROPULSION TECHNOLOGIES TO LAUNCH AURORASAT-1 SATELLITE ON JANUARY 14 - Aurora Propulsion Technologies has announced its first In-Orbit-Demonstration (IOD) launch of the AuroraSat-1 satellite which is scheduled to take place on January 14, 2021. The satellite is scheduled to launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, from Vandenberg AFB in California. After launch, it will be carried to its 550 km high sun-synchronous orbit by Momentus’ Vigoride orbit insertion vehicle. More (Source: SatelliteProME.com - Jan 1)
5 AMAZING THINGS LEARNED FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION THIS YEAR [INFOGRAPHIC] - The International Space Station has been orbiting the globe for the better part of 25 years. In that time the station has been home to thousands of scientific experiments. This year alone there were about 300 publications that were based on that research. Out of those publications here are my top five. The Italian Space Agency started an experiment five years ago and has finally published the results. More (Source: Forbes - Jan 1)
IN LONG-AWAITED LAUNCH, TURKEY TO SEND TüRKSAT 5A SATELLITE INTO ORBIT MONDAY NIGHT - Turkey plans to launch its fifth-generation satellite on the night between Monday and Tuesday next week, the country’s transport and infrastructure minister announced Wednesday. The new-generation communication satellite, equipped with the latest technology and higher capacity, will provide television services and improve broadband data networks. More (Source: Daily Sabah - Dec 31)
A STEAMPUNK ENGINE TO SOLVE YOUR SATELLITE WOES! - In 1999, technicians from the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and Stanford University developed the specifications for CubeSat technology. In no time at all, academic institutions were launching CubeSats to conduct all manner of scientific research and validate new satellite technologies. Since 2013, the majority of launches have been conducted by commercial and private entities rather than academia. Unfortunately, CubeSats have been held back until now because of a lack of good propulsion technology. More (Source: Universe Today - Dec 31)
NASA TELEVISION TO AIR DEPARTURE OF NORTHROP GRUMMAN’S CYGNUS FROM SPACE STATION - Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Wednesday, Jan. 6, more than three months after delivering nearly 8,000 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware, and other cargo to the orbiting outpost. Live coverage of the cargo spacecraft’s departure will begin at 9:45 a.m. EST on NASA Television and the agency’s website, with release of Cygnus scheduled for 10:10 a.m. More (Source: NASA - Dec 30)
ARIANESPACE, WITH RUSSIAN SOYUZ, LAUNCHES CSO-2 FRENCH MILITARY SATELLITE - The 114th and final orbital launch of 2020 saw a Soyuz ST-A rocket loft the CSO-2 Earth observation satellite for the French Ministry of Defence. Liftoff occurred at 16:42:07 UTC (11:42:07 EST) on 29 December from the ELS (Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz) launchpad at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, an overseas department of France. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 29)
ISS SLOW SCAN TV EVENT 145.800 MHZ FM - An ARISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) event is scheduled from the International Space Station (ISS) for December 24-31. This will be a special SSTV event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ARISS operations on the ISS. The event is scheduled to begin on December 24 from 16:40 GMT and continue until December 31 ending at 18:15 GMT. Dates and times subject to change due to ISS operational adjustments. More (Source: AMSAT UK - Dec 29)
