EOS DATA ANALYTICS TO LAUNCH THE FIRST AGRICULTURE-FOCUSED SATELLITE CONSTELLATION BY 2024 - EOS Data Analytics (EOSDA), a satellite imagery analytics provider, announced plans to launch seven optical EOS SAT satellites into a LEO (Low Earth orbit) by the year 2024. By launching its own satellite imaging constellation, the company aims to establish a full satellite data production vertical – from direct imagery collection to processing, analysis and delivery. One of the key objectives of the new satellite constellation will be monitoring of farmlands, making this project the first of its kind oriented towards agriculture.   More
(Source: PRNewswire - Feb 19)

BEFORE AND AFTER: SATELLITE CAPTURES TEXAS POWER OUTAGE FROM SPACE - Stunning images from above the Earth show the effect of power outages across Texas this week, which at one point left more than 4 million people without power. In the wake of multiple rounds of winter storms, demand for energy increased in Texas. The company that manages the power grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, was forced to shed some of the load, which caused blackouts after ERCOT had ordered utility companies to cut power usage.   More
(Source: KXAN.com - Feb 19)

SPACEFLIGHT SETS LAUNCH DATE FOR ITS LARGEST SATELLITE PASSENGER - Spaceflight Inc. will launch its largest satellite to date at the end of the month, the company confirmed Wednesday. The rideshare company, which is famous for booking entire rockets for large payloads of small satellites, selected NewSpace India to send Brazil’s 700-kilogram Amazonia-1 spacecraft into orbit on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket. NewSpace India, the commercial arm of India’s ISRO space agency, scheduled the Amazonia-1 mission to take off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, in Sriharikota, India, on Feb. 28th.   More
(Source: Via Satellite - Feb 18)

RUSSIA'S PROGRESS 77 CARGO SHIP DOCKS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - A Russian space vessel carrying an algae experiment, long-duration medical examinations and thousands of pounds of other cargo and supplies docked safely at the International Space Station Wednesday (Feb. 17) after a cosmonaut took manual control of the craft during its approach. The uncrewed cargo ship Russian Progress MS-16 cargo ship (also known as Progress 77) met up with the orbiting complex at 1:27 a.m. EST (0627 GMT), when it latched onto the station's Pirs docking component, according to an update from NASA.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 18)

HOW A SHOEBOX-SIZE WEATHER SATELLITE DEFIED EXPECTATIONS BEFORE CRASHING TO EARTH - A tiny weather satellite’s life ended in a fiery blaze as it descended into a predestined plunge into the Earth’s atmosphere. But all was not lost. The two-and-a-half-year mission for RainCube was a success for a shoebox-size weather satellite that was designed to showcase how tiny satellites, called CubeSats, could be less expensive while still providing robust weather information.   More
(Source: WJXT News4JAX - Feb 17)

NASA UPDATES COVERAGE OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CARGO SHIP DOCKING - In response to a winter storm currently affecting NASA personnel and broadcast capabilities in Texas, NASA is adjusting coverage of the arrival and docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station. Updates previously planned for NASA Television will be available only on NASA’s space station Twitter and other social media accounts and the space station blog. No live broadcast or NASA Television coverage of the docking is planned.   More
(Source: NASA - Feb 17)

CAPE-3 CUBESAT LAUNCHED - The University of Louisiana (UL) at Lafayette student-built CAPE-3 satellite was launched on January 17. A 1-U CubeSat, CAPE-3 includes a “digipeater and experimental UHF adaptive radio.” An AX-25 telemetry downlink has been coordinated on 145.825 MHz and a 1k2 frequency-shift keying (FSK) downlink has been coordinated on 435.325 MHz, “which may burst to 100 kHz bandwidth,” according to the IARU Amateur Satellite Coordination page. CAPE-3 is the third cube satellite in the CAPE series.    More
(Source: ARRL - Feb 16)

SPACEX SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOYS 60 STARLINK SATELLITES, BUT LOSES BOOSTER ON DESCENT - SpaceX successfully launched 60 more Starlink internet satellites Monday night from Cape Canaveral, but lost the Falcon 9 rocket’s reusable first stage booster during a landing attempt on a drone ship parked in the Atlantic Ocean. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 10:59:37 p.m. EST Monday (0359:37 GMT Tuesday) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, a day after weather kept the mission on Earth.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 16)

SPACE IS GETTING VERY MESSY WITH SATELLITES AND ROCKETS. THIS COMPANY AIMS TO FIX IT. - Astroscale is a space sustainability company headquartered in Tokyo that is committed to creating solutions for removing potentially dangerous space junk. As space tourism missions to the ISS (International Space Station) become more prevalent, even more attention will have to be paid to orbital highways to ensure their maintenance and cleanliness. It’s more than a courtesy, it’s a matter of space safety. “If the space tourism industry does take off, more people having the chance to visit space will help to underscore the urgency of the danger posed by orbital debris,”...   More
(Source: Observer - Feb 16)

Previous Next