U.S. SPACE FORCE’S NEXT MISSILE WARNING SATELLITE ARRIVES AT FLORIDA LAUNCH BASE - A billion-dollar missile warning satellite built by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Space Force arrived at Cape Canaveral earlier this month to kick off final preparations for launch May 17 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. The military’s fifth Space Based Infrared System, or SBIRS, satellite designed to operate in geosynchronous orbit arrived at the Florida launch base March 18 on a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane, officials announced Wednesday. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 27)
MAJOR EARTH SATELLITE TO TRACK DISASTERS, EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE - Designed to spot potential natural hazards and help researchers measure how melting land ice will affect sea level rise, the NISAR spacecraft marks a big step as it takes shape. An SUV-size Earth satellite that will be equipped with the largest reflector antenna ever launched by NASA is taking shape in the clean room at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. More (Source: Phys.org - Mar 27)
HERNDON’S BLACKSKY LAUNCHING MORE 3D IMAGING SATELLITES - Herndon, Virginia-based BlackSky, a space startup whose small imaging satellites collect high-resolution images of Earth for government and commercial customers, is accelerating the expansion of its satellite constellation. BlackSky will add nine satellites this year through a launch partnership with Long Beach, California-based Rocket Lab, which specializes in small and cube satellite launches. The first of the nine additions was successfully launched March 22. The nine satellites will be deployed on a total of five Rocket Lab launches. More (Source: WTOP - Mar 27)
SPACEX DELAYS STARSHIP TEST FLIGHT - SpaceX scrubbed the launch of its next Starship test rocket Friday afternoon, with the next opportunity for the atmospheric test flight expected Monday. SpaceX plans to launch and land the rocket at company’s South Texas development complex after losing three previous prototypes in explosions. The privately-developed Starship test vehicle — designated SN11 — will be the fourth full-size Starship vehicle to take off from SpaceX’s test site in Cameron County, Texas. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 27)
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS WORK UNDERWAY TO FREE SHIP EVER GIVEN IN THE SUEZ CANAL - Satellite images give a unique vantage point of the stuck ship Ever Given, as crews work to free the mega container vessel that’s been blocking the Suez Canal for four days. Maxar Technologies’ WorldView-2 satellite captured high-resolution images on Friday morning, with a close-up look at the dredging operations underway to free the ship. The Ever Given, which is operated by Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine, has been stuck since Tuesday, when the ship ran aground during the heavy winds and low visibility of a sandstorm. More (Source: CNBC - Mar 27)
ORBITAL ASSEMBLY TO OPEN FIRST SPACE HOTEL IN 2027 FOR LONG-TERM STAYS - California-based Orbital Assembly has announced it will begin building the first-ever space hotel in 2025, which is expected to welcome its first guests in 2027. The company’s Voyager Station is a rotating space station that will produce artificial gravity by increasing and decreasing its rate of rotation. Gravity is essential for comfortable long-term habitation in space, and so the project has overcome this barrier by producing its own simulated gravity. As well as space tourists, the hotel is designed to welcome national space agencies conducting low-gravity research. More (Source: Globetrender - Mar 26)
PARAGUAY'S FIRST SATELLITE DEPLOYED FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - On March 14, the Paraguayan Space Agency (AEP) deployed a satellite from the International Space Station to help track a tiny parasite that causes Chagas disease. The satellite, Guaranisat-1, is the first developed and put into orbit by Paraguay. An estimated 8 million people in Mexico, Central America, and South America have Chagas disease, which if untreated can be life-threatening. Large-scale population movements from rural to urban areas of Latin America and other parts of the world have increased the geographic distribution of the disease. More (Source: EurekAlert - Mar 26)
SOYUZ ROCKET LAUNCHES 36 ONEWEB SATELLITES INTO ORBIT FOR MODIFIED SATELLITE INTERNET CONSTELLATION - A Soyuz rocket successfully sent 36 OneWeb satellites into orbit Wednesday (March 24) as the London-based company continues its recovery from a tough 2020. The European launch provider Arianespace launched the Soyuz rocket from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's far east at 10:47 p.m. EDT (0247 GMT or 11:47 a.m. local time Thursday, March 25). OneWeb satellites should have begun to deploy in groups of four beginning at 12:05 a.m. EDT (0405 GMT on Thursday, March 25), with the ninth and final group expected to deploy at 2:38 a.m. EDT (0638 GMT), if all goes according to plan. More (Source: Space.com - Mar 26)
SPACE FORCE TO LAUNCH FIFTH SBIRS SATELLITE IN MAY - A $1.6 billion Space Based Infrared System satellite arrived last week at Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The satellite, made by Lockheed Martin, is scheduled to launch May 17 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the U.S. Space Force announced March 24. The geosynchronous SBIRS GEO-5 is the fifth satellite of the Space Based Infrared System program. Lockheed Martin said the manufacturing of SBIRS GEO-5 was completed in December. SBIRS satellites use staring and scanning infrared sensors to detect missile launches and provide advance warning. More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 26)
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