LIGHT POLLUTION HAS BRIGHTENED EARTH BY 16% SINCE 2014, SATELLITES FIND - Artificial lights at night brightened up planet Earth by 16% between 2014 and 2022, a new study using satellite images has revealed. But some areas, including those struck by war and natural disasters, or those in countries with effective light pollution and energy-saving policies in place, are bucking the trend. From space, Earth at night is a magnificent sight — a darkened sphere lined and dotted by blueish and golden lights revealing outlines of countries and continents. It has not always looked like that... More (Source: Space.com - Apr 10)
NORTHROP GRUMMAN TO BUILD HUGEO SATELLITE FOR HUNGARY’S 4IG - Hungarian company 4iG Space and Defense Technologies has signed with Northrop Grumman to develop the nation’s first communications satellite under a deal announced Tuesday. Northrop Grumman will build HUGEO — a Ka-band satellite based on its GEOStar-3 platform. 4iG said the satellite is set to be completed in 2030 and is a contract “worth several hundred million dollars.” More (Source: Via Satellite - Apr 9)
U.S. SPACE FORCE LAUNCHES DOW STP-S29A MISSION, DELIVERS EXPERIMENTAL AND RESEARCH PAYLOADS - The U.S. Space Force successfully launched the Department of War’s (DoW) Space Test Program S29A (STP-S29A) mission aboard a Minotaur IV rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. This mission delivered the the STPSat-7 space vehicle housing five DoW experiments and additional research CubeSats into low Earth orbit (LEO). More (Source: Space Systems Command - Space Force - Apr 9)
STATION CREW TALKS TO ARTEMIS II CREW AMID BUSY RESEARCH SCHEDULE - Four Expedition 74 astronauts had a ship-to-ship call with the four Artemis II astronauts on Tuesday after they flew around the Moon in a historic first for NASA and its international partners. The International Space Station residents also continued their ongoing biomedical research, trained to capture a U.S. cargo craft, and installed a small experimental robotic arm. The station crewmates called to the Artemis II crew, NASA Commander Reid Wiseman, NASA Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of CSA (Canadian Space Agency), who are returning to Earth aboard the spacecraft Integrity for a short conversation. More (Source: NASA - Apr 8)
NASA’S NORTHROP GRUMMAN CRS-24 MISSION OVERVIEW - NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 mission, or Northrop Grumman CRS-24, will deliver approximately 11,000 pounds of science and supplies to the International Space Station. This mission will be the second flight of the Cygnus XL, the larger, more cargo-capable version of the company’s solar-powered spacecraft. The Cygnus XL will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. More (Source: NASA - Apr 7)
CREW KICKS OFF WEEK PREPPING FOR CYGNUS CARGO MISSION - The Expedition 74 crew continues preparing for the next U.S. cargo mission due to visit the International Space Station. The orbital residents also serviced spacesuits, configured scientific hardware, and studied how microgravity affects blood pressure at the beginning of the week. NASA Flight Engineers Chris Williams and Jack Hathaway joined each other in the cupola on Monday and practiced maneuvering the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the Cygnus XL when it arrives to the space station. After the cargo spacecraft’s capture, ground controllers will remotely command Canadarm2 to install Cygnus XL on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port. More (Source: NASA - Apr 7)
ARTEMIS 2 ASTRONAUTS FLY AROUND THE MOON IN RECORD-BREAKING LUNAR LOOP BY NASA - Artemis 2's historic, action-packed lunar flyby is in the books. Artemis 2 looped around the moon's far side today (April 6), in a nearly seven-hour encounter that gave its four astronauts views of Earth's nearest neighbor that human eyes had never seen before. The Artemis 2 crewmembers also observed a total solar eclipse from beyond the moon and set a big spaceflight record, traveling farther from their home planet than anyone ever had before. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 7)
ARTEMIS ASTRONAUTS SEND DOWN EASTER MESSAGE, PREP FOR LUNAR FLY AROUND MONDAY - Taking time out to send Easter greetings down to Earth, the four Artemis 2 astronauts closed in on the moon Sunday, already seeing unexpected detail on the surface and giving scientists a taste of things to come during a pass over the lunar far side Monday evening. Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch also presented “astronaut wings” to Canadian crewmate Jeremy Hansen, making his first space flight, before getting down to work carrying out planned tests of new Artemis pressure suits. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 6)
ULA’S ATLAS 5 ROCKET LAUNCHES ITS HEAVIEST PAYLOAD EVER WITH FIFTH AMAZON LEO MISSION - United Launch Alliance launched its latest Atlas 5 rocket, which carried a batch of 29 Amazon Leo satellites to low Earth orbit. The mission was the largest and heaviest payload carried to orbit by an Atlas 5 rocket to date, according to ULA. The mission was called Amazon Leo 5 by ULA and Leo Atlas 5 (LA-05) by Amazon. This was the fifth launch of operational satellites by ULA and the ninth for the constellation, which included one flight by Arianespace’s Ariane 6 rocket and three flights on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 5)
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