NASA'S NEW FLEET OF SATELLITES WILL OFFER INSIGHTS INTO THE WILD CARDS OF CLIMATE CHANGE - NASA is about to announce its next generation of Earth-observing satellites. As soon as this month, it will lay out preliminary plans for a multibillion-dollar set of missions that will launch later this decade. This “Earth system observatory,” as NASA calls it, will offer insights into two long-standing wild cards of climate change—clouds and aerosols—while providing new details about the temperatures and chemistry of the planet’s changing surface. The satellite fleets also mark a revival for NASA’s earth science, which has languished over the past decade compared with exploration of Mars and other planets. More (Source: Science Magazine - May 6)
EUROPE PROPOSES ORBITING SATELLITE TELESCOPE THAT WILL KEEP AN EYE ON SPACE DEBRIS - The European Space Agency (ESA) has proposed a plan to build and launch a satellite with a telescope that can monitor space debris. If the member nations approved the funding, the space agency hopes to complete the project by 2025, reported Space.com. It will be the first of its kind space junk monitoring satellite.ESA is an intergovernmental organization made up of 22 member states. More (Source: Firstpost - May 6)
SPACEX CARGO LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION SET FOR JUNE 3 FROM LAUNCH COMPLEX 39A AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER - SpaceX’s 22nd Commercial Resupply Services mission – the second cargo resupply mission on the company’s upgraded version of its Dragon spacecraft – is targeted to launch Thursday, June 3, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Among the investigations arriving inside the Dragon’s pressurized capsule will be a variety of research experiments... More (Source: SpaceCoastDaily.com - May 5)
STARLINK LAUNCH MARKS 100 MISSIONS SINCE AN IN-FLIGHT FALCON ROCKET FAILURE - The oldest Falcon 9 booster in SpaceX’s operational rocket fleet sent 60 more Starlink internet satellites into space Tuesday with a launch from historic pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With the 60 satellites launched Tuesday, SpaceX has sent 1,565 Starlink spacecraft into orbit to beam broadband signals around the world, nearly nine times as many satellites in any other company’s constellation. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 5)
ROCKET DEBRIS FROM CHINA'S SPACE STATION LAUNCH IS FALLING BACK TO EARTH — BUT WHERE? - A large Chinese rocket is set to make an uncontrolled reentry back into Earth's atmosphere, but it is not yet clear exactly where or when the debris will hit our planet. China's Long March 5B rocket is "unpredictably" falling back to Earth after launching a part of the new T-shaped Chinese space station on Thursday local time in Wenchang, according to SpaceNews. The 22.5-metric-ton Tianhe space station module is in its correct orbit after separating as planned from the core stage of the rocket, which is now expected to re-enter in a few days or about a week. More (Source: Space.com - May 4)
ROSCOSMOS DISCUSSES ISS WITHDRAWAL STRATEGY AND NEW SPACE STATION FOR MID-2020S - Recently, Russian authorities began talking about a potential withdrawal from the International Space Station (ISS) project in 2025. In place of ISS, the Russian space industry would gain ROSS – a new orbital station that’s name stands for Russian Orbital Service Station. According to Roscosmos representatives, the withdrawal from the ISS will be gradual, which means that for some time the ISS and ROSS will work in space in parallel. At the same time, Russia and China have plans to build a lunar space station together. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - May 4)
FIRST PLEIADES NEO SATELLITE PLACED INTO ORBIT - The first of four Pleiades Neo earth-monitoring satellites was placed into orbit on April 28 aboard an Arianespace Vega rocket launched from French Guiana. The first-image milestone is expected this week, followed by a period of in-orbit calibration. The Pleiades Neo constellation is funded, designed, manufactured, owned and operated by Airbus, and is a follow-on to the current first-generation Pleiades satellites. More (Source: Spatial Source - May 3)
SPACEX CREW DRAGON MAKES 1ST NIGHTTIME SPLASHDOWN WITH US ASTRONAUTS SINCE APOLLO ERA - A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts returned to Earth early Sunday (May 2) with an ocean splashdown off the Florida coast, successfully completing the company's first full-fledged crewed mission to the International Space Station. The astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-1 mission for NASA splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City at 2:56 a.m. EDT (0656 GMT), with a recovery ship swiftly retrieving their Crew Dragon capsule from the sea. More (Source: Space.com - May 2)
CHINESE LONG MARCH 6 ROCKET DELIVERS NINE SMALL SATELLITES TO SPACE - Nine small Chinese satellites, including a technology experiment to test out ways to capture space debris, rode a Long March 6 rocket into orbit April 27 on a rideshare mission managed by China Great Wall Industry Corp., the government-owned enterprise charged with selling Chinese launch services on the commercial market. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 1)
Previous Next
