SPACEX EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH FIRST UPGRADED STARLINK V2 SATELLITES - The first set of larger second-generation Starlink satellites is experiencing problems that could require SpaceX to deorbit at least some of them. In a March 22 tweet, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said there were “some issues” with the set of Starlink satellites launched Feb. 27, confirmi... More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 23)
BOEING DELIVERS FIRST VIASAT-3 SATELLITE AHEAD OF LAUNCH - Boeing delivered the first ViaSat-3 satellite to Viasat ahead of its upcoming launch, the company announced Monday. The satellite, a 702MP+ model, is the most powerful the manufacturer has ever built. The satellite was flown from Boeing’s factory in Florida to Cape Canaveral, Florida, where Bo... More (Source: Via Satellite - Mar 22)
ASTRONOMERS SOUND ALARM ABOUT SATELLITES' LIGHT POLLUTION - Astronomers on Monday warned that the light pollution created by the soaring number of satellites orbiting Earth poses an "unprecedented global threat to nature." The number of satellites in low Earth orbit has more than doubled since 2019, when U.S. company SpaceX launched the first "mega-conste... More (Source: VOA News - Mar 22)
ARKISYS AND PARTNERS TO SHOW HOW THEY WOULD BUILD A SATELLITE IN ORBIT - The U.S. Space Force awarded a $1.6 million contract to a team led by Southern California startup Arkisys to demonstrate robotic satellite assembly. Under a SpaceWERX Small Business Innovation Research contract, Arkisys, Novawurks, Motiv Space Systems, Qediq, iBoss and Texas A&M University will d... More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 22)
NASA CLIMATE CHANGE SATELLITE BACK ONLINE AFTER INSTRUMENT SHUTDOWN - A multi-agency mission seeking to map Earth's water in incredible detail is back on track with commissioning following an instrument issue. NASA and the French space agency (CNES) found a solution to turn on the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite's main science instrument. The in... More (Source: Space.com - Mar 22)
INDUSTRY SEES MISSED OPPORTUNITY IN DEORBITING ISS - NASA’s plan to spend up to $1 billion on a tug to deorbit the International Space Station is a missed opportunity to instead repurpose or recycle the station, some in industry argue. NASA announced plans as part of its fiscal year 2024 budget proposal this month to develop the tug to help deorb... More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 21)
RUSSIA’S SPACE PROGRAM IS IN BIG TROUBLE - Crippled by war and sanctions, Russia now faces evidence that its already-struggling space program is falling apart. In the past three months alone, Roscosmos has scrambled to resolve two alarming incidents. First, one of its formerly dependable Soyuz spacecraft sprang a coolant leak. Then the same ... More (Source: WIRED - Mar 21)
NASA ATMOSPHERIC SATELLITE ENDS RUN 16 YEARS AFTER LAUNCH - In 2007, NASA launched a satellite with a very specific mission into orbit. The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere project — otherwise known as AIM — was designed to monitor night shining clouds. This type of atmospheric phenomenon is of particular interest to scientists because it may not have e... More (Source: InsideHook - Mar 20)
CHINA TO LAUNCH LOBSTER EYE-LIKE X-RAY ASTRONOMICAL SATELLITE THIS YEAR - China has ambitious plans to launch a new X-ray astronomical satellite called the Einstein Probe (EP) at the end of this year. This is according to a report by the ChinaDaily published on Saturday and quoting Yuan Weimin, principal investigator of the satellite project.... More (Source: Interesting Engineering - Mar 20)
AXIOM SPACE TO SEND THIRD PRIVATE MISSION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Axiom Space will be sending a third private mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Announced this week by NASA, the Axiom-3 mission is scheduled for November of this year and will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Axiom was responsible for the first tourist mission ... More (Source: Digital Trends - Mar 20)
FLAMING SPACE DEBRIS RE-ENTERING ATMOSPHERE LIGHTS UP CALIFORNIA SKY - A mesmerizing display of lights streaking in the night sky over Northern California on Friday was caused by the re-entry of flaming space debris into Earth’s atmosphere, experts said. Specifically, flaming chunks of communications equipment, which were jettisoned from the International Space St... More (Source: The New York Time - Mar 20)
SATELLOGIC SELLS EARTH-IMAGERY SATELLITES - Satellogic, the South American company known for high-resolution multispectral imagery, is selling Earth-observation satellites for $10 million or less. Satellogic’s new Space Systems product is designed to appeal to customers eager to establish or expand their space capabilities rather than si... More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 19)
SPACEX CONDUCTS DOUBLEHEADER WITH STARLINK MISSION FOLLOWED BY LAUNCH FOR SES - Hot on the heels of Tuesday’s successful CRS-27 launch, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 was in action again for a pair of back-to-back missions from both coasts Friday, tasked with deploying communications satellites into orbit. The first of Friday’s two launches occurred at 12:26 PM PDT (19:26 UTC) from... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Mar 18)
ROCKET LAB DEPLOYS TWO CAPELLA RADAR SATELLITES AFTER LAUNCH FROM VIRGINIA - Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher delivered two all-weather radar Earth observation satellites into orbit for Capella Space Thursday night after liftoff from Wallops Island, Virginia, successfully completing the company’s second flight from the U.S. spaceport. Running five days late due to bad w... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 18)
NASA USES 30-YEAR SATELLITE RECORD TO TRACK AND PROJECT RISING SEAS - Observations from space show that the rate of sea level rise is increasing. Knowing where and how much rise is happening can help coastal planners prepare for future hazards. The average global sea level rose by 0.11 inches (0.27 centimeters) from 2021 to 2022, according to a NASA analysis of sat... More (Source: NASA - Mar 18)
CHINA LAUNCHES 2ND HORUS REMOTE-SENSING SATELLITE FOR EGYPT - China has launched a second remote-sensing satellite for Egypt, just weeks after lofting the first in the series to orbit. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 12:02 a.m. EDT on March 13 (0402 GMT, or 12:02 p.m. Beijing time). Orange exhaust... More (Source: Space.com - Mar 17)
SPACEX SUPPLY SHIP DOCKS AT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - A day-and-a-half after launching from Florida, SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft is on course for docking at the International Space Station Thursday to deliver fresh food, experiments, CubeSats, and a suite of U.S. military tech demo payloads. The automated linkup between the Dragon supply ship... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 16)
CHINA LAUNCHES CLASSIFIED SHIYAN-19 TEST SATELLITE FROM THE GOBI DESERT - China launched a new classified satellite Wednesday as part of an apparent space systems development test program. A Long March 11 solid rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 7:41 a.m. Eastern, March 15, rising into the dusk above the Gobi Desert. The... More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 16)
SATELLITE MANUFACTURERS CONTINUE TO DIVERSIFY - Companies with a history of manufacturing large geostationary satellites have succeeded in diversifying their product lines to attract new customers. “We are not on the precipice of change; The entire business has changed,” Cyrus Dhalla, Northrop Grumman Tactical Space Systems Division seni... More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 15)
