L3HARRIS TO DEVELOP NEXT-GENERATION WEATHER SATELLITE CONCEPT - Aerospace and defence technology manufacturer L3Harris Technologies has won a contract to develop a next-generation geostationary weather imagers concept. Under this contract awarded by Nasa, L3Harris will design the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary and Extended Orbits (GEO-XO) satellite system imager. The GEO-XO imager will be equipped with additional spectral bands, advanced spatial resolution, and enhanced data compression algorithms.   More
(Source: Aerospace Technology - Apr 7)

WATCH NEXT SPACE STATION CREW LAUNCH LIVE ON NASA TV, NASA APP - Three space travelers, including NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, are poised to launch Friday, April 9, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station. NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app will provide comprehensive prelaunch and launch-to-docking coverage.   More
(Source: NASA - Apr 6)

SPACEX’S CREW DRAGON CAPSULE SWAPS DOCKING PORTS ON SPACE STATION - In the home stretch of nearly a half-year on the International Space Station, four astronauts suited up and rode their SpaceX-owned Crew Dragon “Resilience” spaceship to a new docking port outside the orbiting research lab Monday, a first-of-its kind maneuver for the new generation of commercial crew spaceships. The maneuver clears the way for arrival of the next SpaceX Crew Dragon mission at the space station later this month, and sets up for the docking of a Dragon cargo freighter in June carrying a new pair of solar arrays to upgrade the outpost’s power system.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 6)

PARAGUAY’S FIRST SATELLITE DEPLOYED FROM SPACE STATION – WILL HELP TRACK A TINY, LIFE-THREATENING PARASITE - On March 14, the Paraguayan Space Agency (AEP) deployed a satellite from the International Space Station to help track a tiny parasite that causes Chagas disease. The satellite, Guaranisat-1, is the first developed and put into orbit by Paraguay. An estimated 8 million people in Mexico, Central America, and South America have Chagas disease, which if untreated can be life-threatening. Large-scale population movements from rural to urban areas of Latin America and other parts of the world have increased the geographic distribution of the disease.   More
(Source: SciTechDaily - Apr 5)

ONEWEB, A NEW SATELLITE COMPANY FROM THE UK, IS GOING HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH SPACEX'S STARLINK TO PROVIDE A GLOBAL SPACE BROADBAND SERVICE - Space internet provider OneWeb recently blasted 36 satellites into orbit, steadily expanding its constellation in the face of Elon Musk's Starlink. The British-owned satellite broadband operator, which was rescued from bankruptcy by the UK government in November, wants to beam internet down to households and businesses across the world from satellites in orbit.    More
(Source: Yahoo News - Apr 4)

BUSY MONTH OF CREW ROTATIONS ON TAP AT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Seven astronauts and cosmonauts are gearing up for launches April 9 and April 22 to the International Space Station, replacing seven outgoing crew members set to land in Kazakhstan and off the coast of Florida on April 17 and April 28. The back-to-back crew rotations will make for a busy month on the orbiting research complex. Preparations for the arrival of the fresh crew members are already underway on the space station.   More
(Source: Spaceflight Now - Apr 3)

WITH 1ST SPACE STATION LAUNCH THIS SPRING, CHINESE ASTRONAUTS ARE TRAINING FOR FLIGHT - Chinese astronauts are undergoing intense training for the first crewed missions to construct the nation's new space station, work that is expected to begin in the next few months. At Wenchang, China's coastal launch center, teams are preparing a huge Long March 5 rocket to launch the first of three modules for the Chinese Space Station (CSS).   More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 3)

NEW REPORTS DETAIL ONGOING SPACE THREATS, AND RUSSIA IS RAISING CONCERNS - Security experts say that when it comes to threats in space, Russia is raising more concerns than China. These findings come from two annual reports published by nongovernmental organizations that provide open-source information about global developments in counterspace weapons and other space threats. Counterspace missions are defensive or offensive operations in space.    More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 3)

SPACEX ROCKET DEBRIS LANDS ON MAN’S FARM IN WASHINGTON - A pressure vessel from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage fell on a man’s farm in Washington State last week, leaving a “4-inch dent in the soil,” the local sheriff’s office said Friday. The black Composite-Overwrapped Pressure Vessel, or COPV, was a remnant from the alien invasion-looking breakup of a Falcon 9 second stage over Oregon and Washington on March 26, local officials said. The stage reentered the atmosphere in an unusual spot in the sky after sending a payload of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites to orbit.    More
(Source: The Verge - Apr 2)

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