SATELLITE SWARMS FOR SCIENCE ‘GROW UP’ AT NASA AMES - Teamwork makes the dream work, and at NASA that doesn’t apply only to humans. Researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley are developing satellite swarms, which are groups of spacecraft working together as a unit, without being managed individually by mission controllers. A swarm’s ability to perform autonomously will make new types of science and exploration possible, particularly as they venture farther into deep space.   More
(Source: NASA - Jun 14)

WOW! AMAZING VIDEO SHOWS INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CROSSING THE SUN DURING SPACEWALK - Capturing footage of the International Space Station (ISS) hurtling through space at approximately 17,500 mph (28,000 km/h) is no mean feat, yet French astrophotographer Thierry Legault has pulled it off yet again. In his latest stunning footage, captured on Friday (June 9), Legault imaged the ISS whizzing past three sunspot groups, the largest of them big enough to swallow Earth whole. The entire solar transit lasted just 0.75 seconds.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 13)

HOTSAT-1: SPACECRAFT TO MAP UK'S HEAT INEFFICIENT BUILDINGS - A novel British satellite designed to map the heat signature of buildings has been launched. The idea is to highlight those dwellings that are wasting energy and could benefit from better insulation. The relatively small spacecraft is appropriately called HotSat-1 and it will be operated by the London-based start-up Satellite Vu. Its infrared sensor has been developed with funds from the UK and European space agencies.   More
(Source: BBC News - Jun 13)

SPINLAUNCH LOOKS TO ELECTRIFY SATELLITE LAUNCHES - The world is currently in a transition from cars with gasoline-powered internal combustion engines to vehicles powered by electricity and batteries. A company named SpinLaunch is pursuing a somewhat similar strategy when it comes launching satellites into orbit, though it has developed an unusual technique for doing so. Instead of a launch vehicle that uses chemical propellants, SpinLaunch is developing an electric-powered system that uses a rotating arm in a large vacuum chamber to accelerate a payload vehicle faster and faster until it is released through a tube and heads toward space.   More
(Source: SpaceRef - Jun 13)

SPACEX LAUNCHES ANOTHER 52 STARLINK INTERNET SATELLITES - SpaceX’s 40th launch of the year sent another batch of 52 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral early Monday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 3:10 a.m. EDT (0710 UTC) Monday. The mission followed a familiar track and timeline, with the Falcon 9 heading southeast from Florida’s Space Coast to place the 52 Starlink payloads into an orbit inclined 43 degrees to the equator. It took about 65 minutes from liftoff through separation of the Starlink satellites, which occurred over the Western Pacific Ocean.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 13)

THE 1ST TRITON-X SATELLITE STARTS THE JOURNEY FOR THE INAUGURAL FLIGHT - The first satellite developed under the Triton-X multi-mission platform program for LEO is now on its way to be integrated onto the launcher for the upcoming inaugural flight. Developed under an ESA Partnership Project with LuxSpace, the Triton-X Genesis smallsat will demo the performances of newly developed and highly innovative elements that include the avionics architecture that embeds a high-performance on-board computer...   More
(Source: SatNews - Jun 12)

WATCH SPACEX LAUNCH 53 STARLINK SATELLITES EARLY MONDAY - SpaceX will launch another big batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit early Monday morning (June 12), and you can watch it live. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 53 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off Monday at 3:10 a.m. EDT (0710 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, or directly via the company. Coverage is expected to begin about five minutes before launch.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 12)

CHINA BREAKS ITS RIDESHARE RECORD WITH 26-SATELLITE LAUNCH - A Chinese Lijian-1 solid-fuel rocket launched on Wednesday (June 7), carrying 26 satellites to orbit — a rideshare record for the country. It was the second flight of the Lijian-1 rocket, which is China's largest operational solid propellant launch vehicle. Its inaugural mission launched in July 2022. Wednesday's liftoff occurred at 12:10 a.m. EDT (0410 GMT; 12:10 p.m. Beijing time), from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, according to a Chinese state media release. The 26 satellites housed in the Lijian-1 fairing were launched into low Earth orbit, where they will primarily serve "technology verification and commercial remote sensing information services."   More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 11)

SHOULD THE FAA REGULATE ALL SPACE ACTIVITIES? - The Outer Space Treaty (OST) requires nation-states to provide “authorization and continuing supervision” of the activities of their nationals in space. In recent months the National Space Council (NSpC), chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris, has asked federal agencies for their opinions on which agencies or departments should have this role for in-space activity. Here, “in-space activity” is basically everything other than launch and reentry operations, already regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); communications, regulated by the Federal Communications Commission; and Earth observation, regulated by the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jun 11)

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