OVER 12,000 SATELLITES TO BE LAUNCHED IN NEXT 10 YEARS: NSR - The satellite industry for the next decade, through the lens of changing industry dynamics and Covid-19 impact, will see the launch of over 12,000 satellites of all mass ranges, according to a report by NSR. The report titled Global Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Markets, 10th Edition also forecasts that the satellite launches will generate a cumulative opportunity of $131.2bn in launch revenues alone.    More
(Source: SatelliteProME.com - Jul 22)

NASA SPACEWALKERS COMPLETE UPGRADE AT INT'L SPACE STATION - Two NASA astronauts on a spacewalk Tuesday completed a years-long project to upgrade the power system at the International Space Station. Bob Behnken and Chris Cassidy installed a final, new lithium-ion battery, adding to 23 of the new power cells that replaced 48 aging nickel-hydrogen power cells. The space station is powered largely by solar power stored in batteries that are accessible only from space.   More
(Source: UPI.com - Jul 22)

WATCH ISS SPACEWALK JULY 21 - On Tuesday, July 21, 2020, two NASA astronauts will perform the second in a pair of International Space Station (ISS) spacewalks, to finish a 3 1/2-year effort to upgrade the station’s power system. At completion, 24 new lithium-ion batteries and adapter plates will replace 48 aging nickel-hydrogen batteries. NASA TV’s live coverage of the spacewalk will begin on Tuesday at 10:00 UTC (6:00 a.m. EDT).   More
(Source: EarhSky - Jul 21)

SPACEX DELIVERS SOUTH KOREA’S FIRST MILITARY SATELLITE INTO ON-TARGET ORBIT - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket deployed South Korea’s first dedicated military satellite into orbit Monday a half-hour after a fiery launch from Cape Canaveral, helping fulfill an agreement between Lockheed Martin and the South Korean government in exchange for Korea’s purchase of F-35 fighter jets six years ago. South Korea’s Anasis 2 military communications satellite rocketed away from Cape Canaveral at 5:30 p.m. EDT (2130 GMT) Monday on top of a Falcon 9 launcher.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 21)

SPACEX GOING FOR ROCKET REUSE RECORD WITH SOUTH KOREAN SATELLITE LAUNCH - SpaceX aims to re-launch the Falcon 9 booster Monday that catapulted astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken toward the International Space Station in May, this time carrying a South Korean military communications satellite while pursuing a record for the quickest turnaround time between flights of an orbital-class rocket stage.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 20)

NOT A METEOR, BUT A RUSSIAN ROCKET RE-ENTERING EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE STREAKS ACROSS THE WEST TEXAS SKIES - West Texas skies lit up shortly after 2 a.m. as a strange object streaked across the sky. Initially, it appeared to be a meteor breaking up in the earth's atmosphere. But this object was moving too slow and didn't behave like a typical meteor. Upon further investigation, this object was not a space rock, but rather something built by humans.    More
(Source: NewsWest9.com - Jul 19)

SPACEX LAUNCH: HOW TO WATCH LAUNCH OF SOUTH KOREAN MILITARY SATELLITE MONDAY - SpaceX has had an unfortunate run of Falcon 9 postponements recently, with both a Starlink and Anasis-II mission launch getting delayed in the past two weeks. Anasis-II is a South Korean military satellite that was originally scheduled to launch on July 14. But SpaceX announced it was pushing back blast-off "to take a closer look at the second stage, swap hardware if needed" just a day before launch. SpaceX had also postponed its latest Starlink launch on July 8 and then again on July 11.    More
(Source: CNET - Jul 19)

SPACEX IS LAUNCHING A FLEET OF PIRATE-HUNTING SATELLITES - At the end of the year, a fleet of pirate-hunting satellites will take to the sky. A satellite intelligence company called HawkEye 360 says it’s booked a ticket on a SpaceX rideshare mission to launch a cluster of three satellites that will sail around the globe, tracking down pirates, poachers, and smugglers.   More
(Source: Futurism - Jul 18)

THIS SATELLITE TOW TRUCK COULD BE THE START OF A MULTIBILION-DOLLAR BUSINESS - On Monday, February 24, 2020, at about 9 p.m. U.S. Eastern time, a robotic spacecraft named MEV-1 is traveling some 22,000 miles above the Pacific Ocean in a geosynchronous orbit. A satellite at that location holds a fixed position over the equator because its speed matches that of Earth’s rotation. At the moment, MEV-1, which stands for Mission Extension Vehicle-1, is in pursuit of its client, a $200 million satellite called IS-901.   More
(Source: Air & Space Magazine - Jul 18)

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