MEET VSS IMAGINE: VIRGIN GALACTIC UNVEILS ITS FIRST SPACESHIP III SPACECRAFT - The company today (March 30) unveiled its second piloted space plane, a shiny silver vehicle called VSS Imagine. Like Virgin Galactic's other spacecraft, VSS Unity, VSS Imagine is designed to take people and scientific experiments to and from suborbital space. However, the newcomer is the first of the next-generation SpaceShip III line, which features upgrades that will "enable improved performance in terms of maintenance access and flight rate," company representatives wrote in a statement today. More (Source: Space.com - Mar 31)
INMARSAT LAUNCHES PROGRAMME TO BOOST AVAILABILITY OF SATELLITE IOT SOLUTIONS - Inmarsat has launched its Application and Solution Provider (ASP) programme with the intention of boosting adoption for IoT purposes. ASP creates an ecosystem for software, hardware, and solution providers that enables access to Inmarsat’s global satellite connectivity and helps companies to expand into new sectors and geographies. More (Source: IoT Tech News - Mar 31)
NASA TV TO AIR FIRST US COMMERCIAL CREW PORT RELOCATION ON SPACE STATION - NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts aboard the International Space Station will mark another first for commercial spaceflight Monday, April 5, when the four astronauts will relocate the Crew Dragon spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of new crew members in late April and the upcoming delivery of new solar arrays this summer. Live coverage will begin at 6 a.m. EDT on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. More (Source: NASA - Mar 30)
ISRO RESCHEDULES LAUNCH OF GISAT-1 SATELLITE CITING TECHNICAL REASONS - The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has rescheduled the launch of the GISAT-1 geo-imaging satellite due to a technical issue with the spacecraft. The GISAT-1 was initially planned to be launched on 5 March 2020 from Sriharikota spaceport but was called off just a day before lift-off. Later, the space agency planned to launch the satellite yesterday (28 March), depending on weather conditions. More (Source: Aerospace Technology - Mar 30)
AMERICA’S NEXT MISSILE WARNING SATELLITE ARRIVES IN FLORIDA - The fifth geosynchronous satellite in the Space Based Infrared System constellation was recently delivered to Florida ahead of its anticipated May launch date. SBIRS is the nation’s premier missile warning satellite, providing 24/7 coverage to detect missile launches all over the world. Notably, the U.S. Space Force credits the system with saving lives by providing a critical warning to seek cover after Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at U.S. and allied forces in Iraq in January 2020. More (Source: C4ISRNet - Mar 30)
STUDY FINDS NOWHERE ON EARTH IS SAFE FROM SATELLITE LIGHT POLLUTION - There appears to be nowhere left on Earth where astronomers can view the stars without light pollution from space junk and satellites, according to a new analysis. The study considered the tens of thousands of objects in orbit as of 2020—before an onslaught of thousands more satellites that companies plan to launch in the coming years. “It’s a bit of an eye-opener,” says John Barentine, director of public policy at the International Dark-Sky Association, who helped author the study, accepted today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and posted online. More (Source: Science Magazine - Mar 29)
NASA OFFERS UP TO $400 MILLION FOR PRIVATE COMPANIES DEVELOP SPACE STATIONS - The privatization of space travel and placing satellites into orbit has been great for NASA and the United States in general. NASA now wants to get private companies to develop and build new space stations and has offered up to $400 million in funding to as many as four companies. The funding would be offered under the Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) project. More (Source: SlashGear - Mar 29)
SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW JUST HOW BAD THE SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC JAM IS BECOMING - Here’s what the maritime traffic jam caused by the quarter-mile-long MS Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal looks like from space. The European Space Agency shared the satellite image on Friday. Taken on Thursday, it shows hundreds of boats backed up in the Gulf of Suez, waiting to pass through the Egyptian waterway. By now, the queue will likely be much longer. More (Source: HuffPost - Mar 28)
FALLING SPACEX DEBRIS PUTS ON A LIGHT SHOW IN THE SKY - If you live in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, you may have seen a strange meteor streaking across the sky Thursday night (March 25). But that was no chunk of asteroid or comet — it was likely SpaceX debris falling and burning up in Earth's atmosphere, experts say. On March 4, SpaceX launched a batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites to orbit aboard a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket. Experts think the re-entering upper stage of that rocket is what caused last night's sky show, which speckled the sky with bright glowing dots that moved across the sky. More (Source: Space.com - Mar 28)
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