BREAKTHROUGH IN ATMOSPHERIC ANALYSIS: SATELLITE DELIVERS HIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTION OZONE PROFILES - A breakthrough in satellite observations has allowed scientists to obtain high spatial resolution ozone profiles, enhancing our understanding of ozone distribution and its impact on the atmosphere. The research, conducted by the research team led by Cheng Liu and Fei Zhao at the University of Science and Technology of China, utilized data from the Environmental Trace Gases Monitoring Instrument (EMI) on the Gaofen-5 satellite, the first Chinese ultraviolet-visible hyperspectral spectrometer. More (Source: Phys.org - Sep 2)
SPACE STATION CREW MEMBERS FOCUSED ON IN-ORBIT HANDOVER - NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members are settling into their new orbital home aboard the International Space Station while Crew-6 make their own preparations for a safe return to Earth in the coming days. Crew-7 NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov moved into the space station on Aug. 27. The crew launched on Aug. 26 from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. More (Source: NASA - Sep 1)
INVESTING IN SPACE: WHY THE PENTAGON IS SPENDING BILLIONS TO BUILD ITS OWN SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - Low Earth orbit satellite constellations are all the rage, but up to this point they’ve been the prospective domain of commercial entities. Now the U.S. military wants in on the action — thanks in part to inroads made by the likes of Starlink, OneWeb, Planet and more — and it’s spending big, turning to a variety of companies to build a satellite network unlike any the military has built before. More (Source: CNBC - Sep 1)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 22 STARLINK SATELLITES TOWARD ORBIT - SpaceX launched 22 of its Starlink internet satellites toward orbit tonight (Aug. 31) and brought the rocket back for a landing at sea. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station tonight at 10:21 p.m. EDT (0221 GMT on Sept. 1). The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth as planned, touching down about 8.5 minutes after liftoff on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 1)
FIREFLY READY FOR CALL-UP TO LAUNCH MILITARY ‘RESPONSIVE SPACE’ MISSION - Firefly Aerospace and Millennium Space Systems announced Aug. 30 that they are standing by waiting for orders from the U.S. Space Force to prepare to launch a satellite on short notice. The companies were selected last year to conduct a demonstration of a rapid-response space mission to low Earth orbit known as Victus Nox. Although this mission has been promoted as a 24-hour call-up, it is being planned in multiple stages and the companies have spent months rehearsing and preparing. More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 31)
OLD SOVIET SATELLITE BREAKS APART IN ORBIT AFTER SPACE DEBRIS COLLISION - A three-decade-old Soviet satellite has disintegrated in orbit some 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) above Earth, likely following a space debris strike. The disintegration of the satellite, either the Kosmos-2143 or Kosmos-2145 spacecraft, was reported on X, previously Twitter, by astrophysicist and space debris expert Jonathan McDowell. The event highlights the precarious situation in Earth's orbit where old objects accumulated throughout the more than 60 years of space exploration and utilization are now posing threats to new, still functioning satellites. More (Source: Space.com - Aug 31)
NASA DEEP SPACE NETWORK REACHES “CRITICAL POINT” AS DEMAND GROWS - Increasing demand but decreasing budgets are putting a strain on NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), threatening its ability to provide communications for the agency’s science missions and Artemis lunar expeditions. While pressures on the DSN, a system of antennas located in Australia, California and Spain used primarily for communications with spacecraft beyond Earth orbit, have been growing for years, the Artemis 1 mission and the demands it placed on the network laid bare the challenges NASA will face in the future, officials warned. More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 30)
STATION HOSTS 11 CREWMATES FROM FIVE COUNTRIES - Eleven astronauts and cosmonauts are living together aboard the International Space Station following the arrival of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission on Sunday. While the new crewmates get adapted to life in microgravity another crew is preparing for its departure this weekend. The orbital outpost’s newest crew of four, representing the U.S., Denmark, Japan, and Russia, arrived on Sunday aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov are familiarizing themselves with station safety procedures and getting used to life on orbit. More (Source: - Aug 29)
NASA TO DEMONSTRATE LASER COMMUNICATIONS FROM SPACE STATION - NASA uses the International Space Station — a football field-sized spacecraft orbiting Earth — to learn more about living and working in space. In 2023, NASA is sending a technology demonstration known as the Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) to the space station. Together, ILLUMA-T and the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), which launched in December 2021, will complete NASA’s first two-way, end-to-end laser relay system. More (Source: NASA - Aug 29)
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