CHINA LAUNCHES CARBON AND ECOSYSTEM MONITORING SATELLITE - China launched a carbon and ecosystem monitoring satellite and two smaller payloads with the country's 28th launch of 2022 late on Wednesday (Aug. 3). Liftoff of the Long March 4B rocket carrying the three satellites occurred at 11:08 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (0308 GMT or 11:08 a.m. Beijing time on Aug. 4) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China. More (Source: Space.com - Aug 6)
RUSSIA'S WITHDRAWAL FROM ISS ANOTHER SIGN OF ITS SPACE DECLINE - Russia announced this week that it will pull out of the International Space Station program after 2024. There certainly are important near-term challenges related to Russia's withdrawal from the ISS partnership that will need to be addressed, but the bigger issue may be the continuing decline of the Russian space enterprise and the potential security implications for the future. More (Source: UPI - Aug 5)
ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES US SPY SATELLITE ON MYSTERY MISSION - Another U.S. spy satellite has taken flight on a mystery mission. The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office's (NRO) NROL-199 spacecraft launched today (Aug. 4) atop a Rocket Lab Electron booster from New Zealand, rising off the pad at 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT; 5 p.m. local time in New Zealand). If all goes according to plan, Rocket Lab will deploy the satellite about an hour after liftoff. The launch occurred about two days later than planned after high winds delayed an attempted liftoff on Aug. 2. Rocket Lab shut down its webcast shortly after the Electron reached orbit at the request of the NRO. More (Source: Space.com - Aug 5)
ATLAS V ROCKET LAUNCHES MISSILE-DETECTING SATELLITE FOR U.S. SPACE FORCE - The United States' missile-tracking capabilities are about to get a boost. United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched the sixth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (SBIRS GEO-6) satellite this morning (Aug. 4), completing the SBIRS GEO constellation for the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC). An Atlas V rocket carrying the missile-detection satellite lifted off at 6:29 a.m. EDT (1029 GMT) today from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket's two stages separated a little over four minutes into flight, setting up the Centaur upper stage with SBIRS GEO-6 for a series of engine burns. More (Source: Space.com - Aug 5)
MOMENTUS DEPLOYS ADDITIONAL SATELLITES FROM VIGORIDE TUG - Momentus has deployed additional satellites from its first space tug that encountered technical problems shortly after its launch in May and is moving forward with a second launch later this year. The company said Aug. 2 that it deployed four satellites from the Vigoride-3 tug in July, in addition to two that were deployed three days after its launch May 25 on the SpaceX Transporter-5 rideshare mission. A seventh satellite, Bronco-Sat 1, was deployed from a second port on the Transporter-5 launch. More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 4)
MISSION ENDS FOR COPERNICUS SENTINEL-1B SATELLITE - On 23 December 2021, Copernicus Sentinel-1B experienced an anomaly related to the instrument electronics power supply provided by the satellite platform, leaving it unable to deliver radar data. Since then spacecraft operators and engineers have been working tirelessly to rectify the issue. Unfortunately, despite all concerted efforts, ESA and the European Commission announce that it is the end of the mission for Sentinel-1B. Copernicus Sentinel-1A remains fully operational and plans are in force to launch Sentinel-1C as soon as possible. More (Source: European Space Agency - Aug 4)
RUSSIA'S SPACE AGENCY TO LAUNCH IRANIAN SATELLITE INTO ORBIT - Russia will launch an Iranian satellite into space on Tuesday, the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced on Wednesday. The satellite, named Khayyam, was developed and manufactured at enterprises that are part of Roscosmos, according to the agency. The remote-sensing satellite will provide "accurate spatial data" to Iran to improve agricultural productivity, monitoring of water resources, management of natural disasters and monitoring of mines and Iran's borders, among other uses, according to Iranian media. More (Source: The Jerusalem Post - Aug 4)
DID RUSSIA JUST LAUNCH A SPACECRAFT TO STALK A US SPY SATELLITE? - A newly launched Russian spy satellite may be tasked with stalking one of its American counterparts. The Russian satellite, known as Kosmos 2558 (opens in new tab), was rumored to be an "inspector" craft even before it lifted off on Monday (Aug. 1), Netherlands-based satellite tracker Marco Langbroek noted in a blog post on Tuesday (opens in new tab) (Aug. 2). And those rumors are unlikely to die down anytime soon. More (Source: Space.com - Aug 4)
REPORT: U.S. SHOULD PUSH FOR GLOBAL RULES ON SPACE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT - Commercial and government activities in outer space are increasingly endangered by rapidly growing congestion in the space environment. And it’s unclear how much longer industries and governments can continue to operate safely in space without globally coordinated space traffic management, says a new report from the Atlantic Council. The report by the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security urges the U.S. government and allies to push for an international framework for space traffic management. Maxar Technologies provided funding for the report. More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 3)
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