SPACE JUNK DEBRIS CLOUD DISCOVERED IN HIGH-TRAFFIC ORBIT 'IS A POTENTIAL MINEFIELD' FOR THE COSTLIEST SATELLITES - Tiny pieces of space junk only 2 inches (5 centimeters) in size are cluttering a valuable orbital region where some of the costliest satellites reside, a new study has found. Researchers from the University of Warwick in the U.K. found that the geostationary orbit — a region of space at the alt... More (Source: - Jul 14)
THE FCC JUST GAVE REFLECT ORBITAL PERMISSION TO LAUNCH ITS 1ST SPACE MIRROR TO ORBIT. TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE COULD FOLLOW - The first of perhaps tens of thousands of sunlight-directing space mirrors just got cleared for liftoff. California-based startup Reflect Orbital just got a license from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch and operate its first demonstration satellite, a spacecraft that wil... More (Source: Space.com - Jul 14)
VANTABLACK: WORLD'S BLACKEST PAINT COULD SOLVE A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR ASTRONOMY - Low Earth orbit is becoming increasingly crowded with satellites, and they're quietly erasing our view of the Universe. There are currently over 14,000 of them in orbit, a number that's rising quickly. That's a real issue for astronomers. So-called satellite-induced light pollution is already ... More (Source: Science Alert - Jul 13)
FCC APPROVES FIRST REFLECT ORBITAL SATELLITE - The Federal Communications Commission has given its approval for a satellite that will test the ability to reflect sunlight into nighttime regions, a project sharply criticized by astronomers and environmentalists. The FCC on July 9 formally authorized the launch of Eärendil-1, a satellite develope... More (Source: SpaceNews - Jul 11)
NASA SETS COVERAGE FOR ASTRONAUT ANIL MENON LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION - NASA astronaut Anil Menon will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft to the International Space Station on Tuesday, July 14, accompanied by cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, where they will join the Expedition 74 crew advancing scientific research. Menon, Dubrov, and Kikina wi... More (Source: NASA - Jul 11)
NASA SMALL SATELLITE COULD MAKE GLOBAL POSITIONING MORE PRECISE - A NASA satellite the size of a suitcase, which aims to merge different observing systems and lead to more accurate mapping of Earth, launched July 7 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard SpaceX’s Transport-17 mission. This novel CubeSat, known as the Geodetic Reference Instr... More (Source: NASA - Jul 10)
SPACEX WANTS TO LAUNCH 100,000 STARLINK SATELLITES TO ORBIT - Elon Musk's company just filed an application with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to operate a 100,000-member constellation of "Gen3" satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). This will presumably be an updated version of SpaceX's Starlink broadband network, according to astronomer a... More (Source: Space.com - Jul 10)
SPACEX LAUNCHES FALCON 9 ROCKET ON RECORD-BREAKING 36TH FLIGHT - SpaceX broke another rocket reuse record Thursday morning when it launched its most-flown Falcon 9 booster for a 36th time. It flew in support of the Starlink 10-42 mission, which added another 29 broadband internet satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit constellation. SpaceX currently has... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 10)
A SHOEBOX-SIZED SATELLITE COULD EXPOSE HIDDEN NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN SPACE - Space is supposed to be free of nuclear weapons, but there’s no way to check. A newly proposed technique could search for illicit nuclear weapons in orbit. Since 1967, nuclear weapons in space have been prohibited by the Outer Space Treaty, which has been ratified by 118 countries, including Ru... More (Source: Science News - Jul 9)
FIRE DETECTORS, MILITARY TECH DEMOS, 3D PRINTERS AMONG SPACEX RIDESHARE PAYLOADS LAUNCHING ON MIDNIGHT FALCON 9 FLIGHT - A SpaceX Falcon 9, launched from California, ferried dozens of customer satellites from around the world into a Sun-synchronous Earth orbit shortly after midnight local time on Tuesday. The Transporter-17 mission, with 81 payloads aboard, is part of the company’s Smallsat Rideshare Program, whi... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 8)
EVEN ASTRONAUTS IN SPACE SAW AMERICA 250 FIREWORKS ON THE FOURTH OF JULY. SEE THEIR ISS VIEW OF LOS ANGELES - The U.S. just celebrated its 250th birthday, and Americans living off the planet had a great view of some of the parties down below. "The International Space Station orbited over Los Angeles on July 4th as America marked 250 years of independence with a burst of fireworks lighting up the city bel... More (Source: Space.com - Jul 8)
KOREA TO LAUNCH 4TH NEXT-GENERATION MEDIUM-SIZED SATELLITE FROM U.S. TUESDAY - Korea plans to launch its fourth medium-sized Earth observation satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday, the space agency said. The Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) said the 500-kilogram (1102-pound) satellite will be launched at 00:... More (Source: Korea JoongAng Daily - Jul 7)
SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING TEST BED FLIES ALONGSIDE STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 LAUNCH - Two semiconductor fabrication test beds hitched a sub-orbital ride on the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched another batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral shortly after sunrise Sunday. Liftoff of the Starlink 10-50 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 happened on 6:5... More (Source: - Jul 6)
AIRBUS TO BUILD AEOLUS-2 WIND-MONITORING SATELLITE - The European Space Agency has selected Airbus Defence and Space to start work on the successor to a wind-monitoring satellite. ESA announced July 2 it authorized Airbus to begin work on the Aeolus-2 satellite, funding the initial phases of the satellite’s development. The contract for that init... More (Source: SpaceNews - Jul 6)
CHINA LAUNCHES GROUP OF COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES - China launched a group of communications satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province on Saturday afternoon, placing the 13th batch of space-based assets of the Spacesail Constellation in orbit. The satellites were carried by a Long March 6A rocket that blasted off at 5:... More (Source: China Daily HK - Jul 6)
CHINA’S LATEST SATELLITE ENGINE SETS GLOBAL RECORD: HIGH PERFORMANCE ALLOWS FOR LARGER, FASTER AND MORE MANOEUVRABLE SPACECRAFT - China has achieved a significant milestone in electric propulsion for satellites by successfully demonstrating a new 750-newton Hall-effect thruster, which completed a record-breaking orbital transfer mission and surpassed the performance of all comparable preceding systems. The engine powered Commu... More (Source: Military Watch Magazine - Jul 5)
AMERICA AT 500: WHERE WILL WE BE IN SPACE IN 2276? - The United States has taken some significant steps into the final frontier during its first 250 years. The nation has put people on the moon, helped build and operate a long-running space station in low Earth orbit (LEO) and sent fleets of robotic explorers to many corners of the solar system —... More (Source: Space.com - Jul 5)
NASA LAUNCHES RESCUE MISSION TO SAVE SWIFT SPACE TELESCOPE FROM BURNING UP IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE - An air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket has flown for the very last time, sending a private spacecraft on a rescue mission to save one of NASA's most iconic space telescopes from falling back to Earth. The Swift Boost mission successfully launched the LINK satellite, built by Arizona-b... More (Source: Space.com - Jul 4)
ULA LAUNCHES FINAL ATLAS 5 ROCKET SUPPORTING AMAZON LEO’S BROADBAND INTERNET SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - United Launch Alliance closed a big chapter in the company’s history. Thursday morning’s predawn launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in support of Amazon Leo’s satellite constellation was the final flight of an Atlas 5 rocket flying in a 551 configuration. The rocket carried 29 b... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 4)
