BALKY CONNECTORS PREVENT FULL ACTIVATION OF EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PLATFORM - Two astronauts working outside the International Space Station Wednesday installed a European Space Agency data relay antenna and connected four of six cables to partially power a new ESA experiment platform. They also removed two solar array handling fixtures to clear the way for a future power system upgrade. But the two cables they were unable to connect to the Bartolomeo platform, attached to the front side of ESA’s Columbus laboratory module, will need to be connected later to accommodate a full suite of external payloads.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 28)

SIRIUS XM’S LATEST SATELLITE, BUILT BY MAXAR AND LAUNCHED BY SPACEX, SUFFERS FAILURE IN ORBIT - A recently launched Sirius XM satellite suffered “failures” during preliminary testing in space, the company said in a securities filing Wednesday. It did not disclose the cause of the malfunction. “During in-orbit testing of SXM-7, events occurred which have caused failures of certain SXM-7 payload units. An evaluation of SXM-7 is underway. The full extent of the damage to SXM-7 is not yet known,” Sirius XM said in the filing.   More
(Source: CNBC - Jan 28)

ELON MUSK AND JEFF BEZOS IN THE RACE FOR SATELLITE INTERNET - The two richest men in the world are in dispute. Elon Musk criticized Amazon through his Twitter and SpaceX accused the company led by Jeff Bezos of making "misleading claims" referring to what the ecommerce giant's spokespersons said regarding new Starlink strategies. SpaceX is seeking an affirmative response from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to its request to place the satellites of Starlink, its satellite internet system, at lower altitudes than planned.   More
(Source: Entrepreneur - Jan 28)

NASA ASTRONAUTS VICTOR GLOVER, MIKE HOPKINS CONDUCT SPACEWALK WEDNESDAY - Astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover Jr. are conducting a spacewalk Wednesday to upgrade and maintain the International Space Station. It is the first spacewalk experience for Glover, who is a few months into his first spaceflight on the station. This is the third spacewalk for Hopkins, who previously completed two spacewalks during his first six-month venture to the space station from September 25, 2013, to March 10, 2014.   More
(Source: FOX Carolina - Jan 28)

NASA TV BROADCASTS SCIENCE UPGRADE SPACEWALK ON WEDNESDAY - NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover are scheduled to depart the International Space Station’s Quest airlock Wednesday for the first in a series of spacewalks to upgrade station hardware and systems. The duo will set their spacesuits to battery power about 7:05 a.m. EST tomorrow, signifying the start of their spacewalk. NASA will begin its live coverage on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 5:30 a.m.   More
(Source: NASA - Jan 27)

BOEING TARGETS A MARCH 25 LAUNCH FOR NEXT STARLINER TEST FLIGHT FOR NASA - Boeing is planning to launch its CST-100 Starliner astronaut taxi on a second test flight on March 25, company officials announced Monday (Jan. 25). A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the uncrewed spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, after which Starliner will attempt to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station (ISS) — something the spacecraft failed to do during its first test flight, called Orbital Flight Test-1 (OFT-1), in December 2019.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 27)

AXIOM SPACE NAMES FIRST PRIVATE CREW TO VISIT SPACE STATION - The crew of the first entirely-private orbital space mission will include the second oldest person to launch into space, the second Israeli in space, the 11th Canadian to fly into space and the first former NASA astronaut to return to the International Space Station, the company organizing the history-making flight has announced. Axiom Space on Tuesday (Jan. 26) revealed its clients for its first privately-funded and operated mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) flight is being arranged under a commercial agreement with NASA.   More
(Source: Scientific American - Jan 27)

SATELLITES BEAT BALLOONS IN RACE FOR FLYING INTERNET - Satellites - once the poor relation of broadband providers, considered the slowest, most expensive option and a real last resort - have become the hot favourite in the race to connect the world in places land-based internet does not reach. Ambitious alternatives have bitten the dust. Last week, Google scrapped its Loon company, set up nine years ago to beam the internet down to rural areas via a network of large balloons but unable to "build a long-term, sustainable business".   More
(Source: BBC News - Jan 26)

IODINE THRUSTER USED TO CHANGE THE ORBIT OF A SATELLITE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER - For the first time ever, a telecommunications satellite has used an iodine propellant to change its orbit around Earth. The small but potentially disruptive innovation could help to clear the skies of space junk, by enabling tiny satellites to self-destruct cheaply and easily at the end of their missions, by steering themselves into the atmosphere where they would burn up.   More
(Source: SciTechDaily - Jan 26)

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