NASA SETS COVERAGE FOR AGENCY’S SPACEX CREW-11 LAUNCH, DOCKING - NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is targeted for 12:09 p.m. EDT, Thursday, July 31, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The targeted docking time is approximately 3 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 2.   More
(Source: NASA - Jul 27)

RUSSIA LAUNCHES SATELLITE FOR IRAN TOWARD ORBIT ALONGSIDE 2 SPACE WEATHER PROBES - Two Russian space weather satellites are on their way to orbit, along with an Iranian spacecraft and a passel of cubesats. A Soyuz 2.1b rocket lifted off from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Siberia today (July 25) at 1:54 a.m. EDT (0554 GMT; 8:54 a.m. Moscow time), carrying Russia's Ionosfera-M 3 and 4 satellites toward Earth orbit. The Soyuz also carried 18 secondary payloads, according to RussianSpaceWeb.com, including an Iranian communications satellite called Nahid-2.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 26)

HOW NASA IS TESTING AI TO MAKE EARTH-OBSERVING SATELLITES SMARTER - A technology called Dynamic Targeting could enable spacecraft to decide, autonomously and within seconds, where to best make science observations from orbit. In a recent test, NASA showed how artificial intelligence-based technology could help orbiting spacecraft provide more targeted and valuable science data. The technology enabled an Earth-observing satellite for the first time to look ahead along its orbital path, rapidly process and analyze imagery with onboard AI, and determine where to point an instrument. The whole process took less than 90 seconds, without any human involvement.   More
(Source: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Jul 25)

SEE TIANZHOU 9 CARGO MISSION DOCK AT CHINA'S TIANGONG SPACE STATION - A new Chinese freighter spacecraft arrived at the Tiangong space station last week, packed with supplies. Tianzhou 9 launched July 14 atop a Long March 7 rocket at 5:34 p.m. EDT (2134 GMT; 5:34 a.m. on July 15 China Standard Time), sending the spacecraft into orbit. Just over three hours later, at 8:52 p.m. EDT (0052 GMT; 8:52 p.m. China Standard Time on July 15), Tianzhou 9 docked at the rear docking port of the Tiangong space station's Tianhe core module, according to China's human spaceflight agency, CMSA.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 25)

SHARP-EYED US-INDIAN SATELLITE SET TO LAUNCH JULY 30 TO MONITOR EARTH'S SURFACE, WARN OF NATURAL DISASTERS - The first equal partnership between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to take flight on July 30 with the launch of the NISAR Earth-observation satellite. Standing for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, NISAR will scan our planet to provide the most detailed map of the surface yet, and the most sensitive, able to see the ground or ice creeping by degrees of less than a centimeter.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 24)

NASA PROBES WILL STUDY HOW SOLAR WIND TRIGGERS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS "SPACE WEATHER" - SpaceX launched twin satellites for NASA Wednesday that will study how the electrically-charged solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetic field, creating constantly changing and occasionally dangerous "space weather" affecting satellites, electrical grids and other critical systems. The identical TRACERS satellites will operate in the magnetosphere, "the region around our Earth that is dominated by the planet's magnetic field, and it protects us from the stellar radiation and really from everything else that's going on in space," said Joseph Westlake, director of NASA's solar physics division.   More
(Source: CBS News - Jul 24)

NASA SETS LAUNCH COVERAGE FOR EARTH-TRACKING NISAR SATELLITE - A collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation, the satellite will provide a three-dimensional view of Earth in unprecedented detail. NASA will provide live coverage of launch activities for NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), which is set to lift off at 8:10 a.m. EDT (5:40 p.m. IST), Wednesday, July 30, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India’s southeastern coast.   More
(Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory - NASA - Jul 24)

BLUE ORIGIN ANNOUNCES CREW FOR NEW SHEPARD’S 34TH MISSION - Blue Origin today announced the six people flying on its NS-34 mission. The crew includes: Arvi Bahal, Gökhan Erdem, Deborah Martorell, Lionel Pitchford, J.D. Russell, and H.E. Justin Sun, the winning bidder for the first New Shepard seat in 2021. The proceeds from the $28 million bid benefitted 19 space-focused charities to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEAM and help shape the future of life in space. J.D. is flying for the second time; he previously flew on NS-28.   More
(Source: Blue Origin - Jul 23)

FAA: ‘REGIONAL POWER OUTAGE’ CAUSES LAST-MINUTE SCRUB OF NASA’S TRACERS MISSION - NASA’s next trip to space will be a rideshare mission with nine other satellites sharing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. However, it has to wait at least another day after a last minute scrub of the mission. About 45 seconds before the planned liftoff, the SpaceX launch director called, “Hold, hold, hold” and declared that the mission was aborted due to “air space concerns.”   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 23)

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