TRUMP SAYS 'NASA WAS CLOSED & DEAD' BEFORE HE TOOK CHARGE. THAT'S NOT TRUE. - President Donald Trump took to Twitter today (Aug. 5) to announce that he brought NASA back from being "Closed & Dead." In a tweet posted today, Trump said that he had resurrected the space agency. But the claim doesn't hold up under scrutiny: NASA has never closed since it was founded in 1958, and it has certainly never been "dead."    More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 6)

SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW AFTERMATH OF BEIRUT BLAST - New satellite photos show the aftermath of Tuesday's massive, deadly explosion at the port of Beirut. An image taken by the satellite company BlackSky shows extensive damage at the port following the blast. Several warehouses appear to be flattened and a cruise ship called the Orient Queen can be seen listing to one side, according to Allison Puccioni, an analyst and founder of Armillary Services, an independent firm partnered with BlackSky.   More
(Source: NPR - Aug 6)

HACKERS ARE BUILDING AN ARMY OF CHEAP SATELLITE TRACKERS - Even though the Defcon security conference has moved entirely online the year, the US Air Force is going forward with Hack-a-Sat, a months-long competition that culminates with hacking a real orbiting satellite starting on Friday. But another project at Defcon's Aerospace Village this week should have at least as much impact and a potentially much broader reach: an open source satellite communication tool made from about a hundred bucks worth of hardware.   More
(Source: WIRED - Aug 5)

TECHEDSAT-10 DEPLOYS FROM THE SPACE STATION - On July 13, TechEdSat-10, a six-unit CubeSat deployed from the International Space Station. The mission is demonstrating increased storage and power capabilities that could enable future science and exploration using small spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit. Included on TechEdSat-10 are improvements over previous CubeSat technologies in the areas of communications and radio systems, and new propulsion techniques.   More
(Source: NASA - Aug 5)

ASTRA'S 1ST ORBITAL LAUNCH ATTEMPT SCUTTLED BY WAYWARD BOAT - Astra was poised to send a rocket to Earth orbit for the first time ever last night (Aug. 2) — until a boat got in the way. The California-based startup had to call off the launch of its Rocket 3.1 booster from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Alaska's Kodiak Island for safety reasons after a ship wandered into downrange waters.   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 4)

NASA ASTRONAUTS SPLASHDOWN IN SPACEX CAPSULE AS HISTORIC MISSION RETURNS TO EARTH - NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Sunday, ending a historic two-month trip to space. The mission marked the first time that astronauts have launched from American soil since the final Space Shuttle flight in 2011. After deploying two drogue parachutes and then the capsule’s main parachutes, the spacecraft landed off the coast of Pensacola, Fla., at 2:48 p.m. EDT.   More
(Source: Fox News - Aug 2)

CHINA SAYS IT HAS COMPLETED A NAVIGATION NETWORK THAT COULD RIVAL THE U.S. GPS - China is celebrating the completion of its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System that could rival the U.S. Global Positioning System and significantly boost China’s security and geopolitical clout. President Xi Jinping, the leader of the ruling Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army, officially commissioned the system Friday at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. That followed a declaration that the 55th and final geostationary satellite in the constellation launched June 23 was operating after having completed all tests.   More
(Source: TIME - Aug 2)

HISTORY-MAKING NASA-SPACEX ASTRONAUTS UNDOCK FROM INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, SET FOR SPLASHDOWN - Two months after a history-making launch, the first NASA-SpaceX astronauts have undocked from the space station and are set for splashdown on Sunday. Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who left Earth on May 30, undocked from the International Space Station at about 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday and will splash down off the coast of Florida at 2:48 p.m. ET on Sunday. Their journey will be broadcast live by NASA.    More
(Source: ABC News - Aug 2)

ARIANE 5 ROCKET RETURNING TO HANGAR FOR SENSOR SWAP - Arianespace is returning an Ariane 5 rocket — loaded with three U.S.-built satellites — back to its final assembly building in French Guiana to replace a suspect sensor on the vehicle that prompted officials to cancel a launch attempt Friday. Arianespace said Saturday the troubleshooting will take several days. The European-built launcher was set for takeoff Friday from the Guiana Space Center on the northeastern shore of South America. But the automated countdown stopped around two minutes prior to launch time after a problem with a sensor on the Ariane 5’s first stage liquid hydrogen tank.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 2)

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