KUAIZHOU-1A FAILS DURING JILIN-1 LAUNCH - China launched a new high-resolution remote sensing satellite for the Jilin-1 satellite constellation on Saturday morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. However, the solid fuelled Kuaizhou-1A launch was declared a failure after several hours of waiting for information from Chinese state media. No specifics were noted other than the rocket failed to deliver the satellite into the designated orbit. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 13)
ISS TO CHANGE ORBIT TO AVOID SPACE DEBRIS - The orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) will be adjusted to ensure that it avoids a collision with a US spacecraft, Roscosmos said on Saturday. "On Monday, September 14, 2020, at 02:23 Moscow time, the International Space Station is predicted to approach the American BRICSat-2 satellite, which has turned into so-called ‘space debris’," the state corporation noted. More (Source: TASS - Sep 13)
NASA SPACE STATION ON-ORBIT STATUS 10 SEPTEMBER, 2020 - ISS REBOOST - As a free-flying, cube-shaped robot dubbed Astrobee zipped through the International Space Station today, the Expedition 63 trio aboard was occupied with upkeep and experiment maintenance tasks. Astrobee is autonomous, and therefore no additional burden to the busy schedule of Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. More (Source: Space Ref - Sep 12)
NASA'S AQUA SATELLITE CAPTURES DEVASTATING WILDFIRES IN OREGON - NASA's Aqua captured this image of a huge number of wildfires that have broken out in Oregon. Some began in August, but the majority started after an unprecedented and historically rare windstorm that swept through the Cascade foothills in the afternoon of Monday Sep. 7 through the morning of Tuesday Sep. 8. Wind gusts up to 65 mph were clocked during the event. More (Source: NASA - Sep 12)
US SPACE FORCE DEVELOPING A STRATEGY TO IMPROVE SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS - As the U.S. Space Force builds out its fiscal 2022 budget, the nascent service is developing a new strategy to govern how it builds and leases satellite communications and services, Lt. Gen. Bill Liquori explained during the Defense News Conference Sept. 9. The strategy follows the Enterprise SATCOM Vision the Space Force released in February. More (Source: C4ISRNet - Sep 11)
SPACEX’S DARK SATELLITES ARE STILL TOO BRIGHT FOR ASTRONOMERS - Starlink, a “megaconstellation” of hundreds of Internet satellites launched by the aerospace company SpaceX, has been causing headaches for astronomers by outshining celestial objects. Set to eventually include tens of thousands of spacecraft beaming high-speed Internet to the entire planet, Starlink has a downside for stargazing: the satellites reflect enough sunlight at night to be seen clearly with the naked eye (not to mention sensitive telescopes). More (Source: Scientific American - Sep 11)
HOW COLD WAR POLITICS SHAPED THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - On November 2, 2000, astronaut Bill Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev arrived at the International Space Station. The moment began a permanent human presence in space. Over the past two decades, 240 people from 19 countries have stayed in the world’s premiere orbital laboratory. The station is a paragon of space-age cosmopolitanism, but this enduring international cooperation was hard-won. More (Source: Smithsonian - Sep 11)
CHINA'S REUSABLE EXPERIMENTAL SPACECRAFT RETURNS TO EARTH AFTER TWO-DAY MYSTERY MISSION - China's mysterious reusable experimental spacecraft has safely landed after two days in space, according to state media, and may have deployed a satellite while in orbit. A brief report in the state-run Chinese media outlet Xinhua said the spacecraft, which launched on Friday (Sept. 4), landed on Sunday (Sept. 6). The launch has been linked with China's plans these past few years to build and operate a reusable space plane, although that connection has not yet been confirmed. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 10)
GERSTENMAIER WARNS AGAINST ENDING SPACE STATION PROGRAM PREMATURELY - The former head of NASA’s human spaceflight program, now working as a consultant to SpaceX, said he welcomes greater commercial activity in low Earth orbit but cautioned against ending the International Space Station prematurely. Bill Gerstenmaier discussed the importance of the ISS, from a technical and policy standpoint, during a virtual town hall meeting Sept. 5 by the Los Angeles-Las Vegas Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). More (Source: SpaceNews - Sep 9)
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