WORLD'S FIRST WOODEN SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED BY JAPAN IN 2023 - Japanese logging company Sumitomo Forestry and Kyoto University are planting the seeds for a 2023 launch of the world's first satellite made out of wood. The partners announced their intentions on Wednesday, saying the aim was basic research and proof of concept. They have agreed to conduct research on tree growth and the use of wood materials in space. They hope to promote technology for using wood in extreme environments on Earth.   More
(Source: Nikkei Asia - Dec 24)

EUROPE WANTS TO BUILD ITS OWN SATELLITE MEGA CONSTELLATION TO RIVAL SPACEX’S STARLINK - The European Union (EU) has revealed plans to develop a mega constellation of satellites in Earth orbit – despite major concerns about such constellations still being unresolved. Today, Wednesday, December 23, the European Commission (EC) said it would work with a number of companies to begin a year-long €7.1 million ($8.7 million) feasibility study to investigate the need for a “space-based communication system.”   More
(Source: Forbes - Dec 24)

ASTROSCALE SHIPS ITS SPACE JUNK REMOVAL DEMONSTRATION SATELLITE FOR MARCH 2021 MISSION - Japanese startup Astroscale has shipped its ELSA-d spacecraft to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan, where it will be integrated with a Soyuz rocket for a launch scheduled for March of next year. This is a crucial mission for Astroscale, since it’ll be the first in-space demonstration of the company’s technology for de-orbiting space debris, a cornerstone of its proposed space sustainability service business. The ELSA-d mission by Astroscale is a small satellite mission that will demonstrate two key technologies that enable the company’s vision for orbital debris removal.    More
(Source: TechCrunch - Dec 23)

RECENTLY LAUNCHED COMMUNICATION SATELLITE CMS-01 PLACED IN FINAL ORBIT - The communication satellite CMS-01 launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) last Thursday has been placed in its final circular orbit of about 36,000 kilometres after a few orbit raising manoeuvres. CMS-01 is India’s 42nd communication satellite that will replace the functions of GSAT-12 launched in 2011.   More
(Source: Hindustan Times - Dec 22)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION PASSES THROUGH JUPITER AND SATURN DURING GREAT CONJUNCTION OF THE TWO PLANETS - A NSW photographer has managed to capture an image that encapsulates a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event and one of humankind’s greatest engineering achievements in one go. The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn happened on Monday night, with the two planets appearing closer to each other in the night sky than they had in close to four centuries.   More
(Source: NEWS.com.au - Dec 22)

SPACEX CLOSES OUT RECORD-SETTING YEAR OF LAUNCHES FROM FLORIDA’S SPACE COAST - SpaceX hurled a secret cargo into space for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency Saturday, the 30th rocket launch to fly into Earth orbit from pads on Florida’s Space Coast in 2020. The Falcon 9 flight broke an annual record for missions to reach orbit from the Florida spaceport that stood for 54 years. It was the 31st major rocket launch from Florida’s Space Coast overall this year, including a high-altitude demonstration of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon abort system in January.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 20)

ASTRA WILL LAUNCH ITS 1ST SATELLITE MISSION IN EARLY 2021 - Astra is moving full-speed ahead after notching its first spaceflight success this week. The Bay Area startup's two-stage Rocket 3.2 soared high on a test flight from Alaska on Tuesday (Dec. 15), acing a series of important milestones and hitting its target altitude of 236 miles (380 kilometers), Astra representatives wrote in a blog post on Thursday (Dec. 17).    More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 20)

CAPELLA DELIVERS SUPER SHARP SATELLITE RADAR PICTURES - There is only one way to get persistent vision of the Earth's surface, and that is with satellite radar. Take a look at these images - they're the latest product from the San Francisco start-up Capella Space. The "spot" pictures have a resolution on the ground of 50cm by 50cm. This is a first for the commercial marketplace.   More
(Source: Yahoo News - Dec 19)

ARIANESPACE TARGETS EARLY 2021 FOR VEGA RETURN-TO-FLIGHT - Presenting the results of an inquiry into a European Vega rocket failure last month, officials said Friday that misleading instructions and inadequate preflight checks caused teams to overlook wrongly-installed cables on the launcher’s upper stage steering system. Arianespace and European Space Agency officials said they aim to resume Vega launches before the end of March, once technicians complete additional inspections of already-built rocket components to ensure they are free of the problem that caused the failure in November.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 19)

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