NASA PICKS UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA TEAM TO BUILD SMALL SATELLITE WITH BIG MISSION - While others train their telescopes on stars and galaxies, astronomer Carlos Vargas cannot stop searching for the stuff in between. The University of Arizona researcher studies the invisible “oceans of gas” that surround galaxies and make up one of the universe’s largest and least understood reservoirs of matter.    More
(Source: Arizona Daily Star - Jan 20)

BOEING MAKING PROGRESS ON STARLINER SOFTWARE FOR TEST FLIGHT IN MARCH - Boeing said Monday it has re-qualified software for the company’s Starliner crew capsule after programming errors cut short the spacecraft’s first orbital test flight in 2019, and technicians at the Kennedy Space Center have connected the crew and service modules for the next unpiloted Starliner test flight to the International Space Station in March. NASA and Boeing officials are officially targeting March 29 for the second Starliner Orbital Flight Test, a repeat of the first test flight in 2019, when software problems prevented the capsule from docking with the space station.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 19)

SPACEX WILL LAUNCH ITS 1ST STARLINK SATELLITES OF 2021 ON MONDAY. HERE'S HOW TO WATCH. - SpaceX will launch its first batch of Starlink satellites in 2021 on Monday (Jan. 18) to expand the company's growing megaconstellation and you can watch the action live online. The Hawthorne, California-based company will loft 60 Starlink internet satellites on its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's historic Pad 39A here at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:45 a.m. EDT (1422 GMT).    More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 18)

VIRGIN’S SATELLITE LAUNCHER REACHES ORBIT FOR FIRST TIME - An air-launched rocket built by Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit reached orbit Sunday for the first time, delivering 10 experimental CubeSats for NASA and positioning the company for the start of commercial operations. The success adds another company to the growing club of private space companies capable of launching satellites. Virgin Orbit is second in a new wave of commercial small launch companies — after Rocket Lab — to accomplish the task of putting payloads in orbit.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 18)

RECENTLY LAUNCHED COMMUNICATION SATELLITE CMS-01 PLACED IN FINAL ORBIT - CMS-01 is India’s 42nd communication satellite that will replace the functions of GSAT-12 launched in 2011. It will remain in orbit for over seven years providing connectivity for e-learning, tele-health, and disaster management services. The satellite was placed in an elliptical Geostationary Transfer Orbit by India’s workhorse PSLV-C50 on December 20 after 20 minutes 11 seconds of a launch from India’s only spaceport at Sriharikota.   More
(Source: Hindustan Times - Jan 17)

SATELLITE BUILT BY BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ENDS A SUCCESSFUL JOURNEY - An amazing journey, made possible by Brown University students, has come to an end. On Dec. 26, EQUiSat, a satellite built by students, burned upon re-entering the earth’s atmosphere. But despite the loss, the project is still considered a success, since the satellite lasted much longer than the designers initially anticipated. The first estimates had the satellite orbiting the earth up for about six months, but it ended up surviving for more than two-and-a-half years.   More
(Source: WPRI.com - Jan 17)

ROCKET LAB CALLS OFF MICROSATELLITE LAUNCH DUE TO SENSOR ISSUE - The small-satellite launch company Rocket Lab called off its first launch of 2021 from New Zealand Saturday (Jan. 16) due to strange sensor readings ahead of liftoff. A Rocket Lab Electron booster was scheduled to launch a microsatellite for the European space technology company OHB Group from New Zealand's Māhia Peninsula at 2:38 a.m. EST (8:38 p.m. New Zealand time; 0738 GMT), but unexpected data from an inclinometer on the booster prompted a delay.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 17)

EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY TO BUILD MODULE FOR GATEWAY SPACE STATION - The European Space Agency (Esa) has signed a contract to begin building the module to supply communications and refuelling for the international lunar Gateway space station. The European System Providing Refuelling, Infrastructure and Telecommunications (Esprit) will consist of two separate units. The communications system will be used by astronauts to provide data, voice and video links to and from the lunar surface. It will be mounted on the Nasa Habitation and Logistics Outpost (Halo) module, which is scheduled for launch in 2024.   More
(Source: The Guardian - Jan 15)

BLUE ORIGIN TESTS PASSENGER ACCOMMODATIONS ON SUBORBITAL LAUNCH - Blue Origin says it is “very, very close” to flying humans on suborbital launches to the edge of space after a successful test flight of a human-capable rocket and capsule Thursday. The company’s New Shepard rocket and crew capsule took off at 12:17 p.m. EST (11:17 a.m. CST; 1717 GMT) Thursday from Blue Origin’s private launch site north of Van Horn, Texas, east of El Paso.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 15)

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