NIGERIA TO LAUNCH NEW SATELLITE TO REPLACE NIGERIASAT-2 - Nigeria Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has announced that the country is working on launching a new satellite to replace NigeriaSat-2. NigeriaSat-2 was launched alongside NigeriaSat-X at the Yasny military base in Russia. The satellite was developed and built by UK-based film Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) and it was launched into orbit by Ukrainian Dnepr rocket. More (Source: SatelliteProME.com - Jun 9)
VIRTUALLY VISIT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - After several months of social distancing and staying home, a lot of people are experiencing major wanderlust. And given that we’re still involved in a global pandemic, taking a break from Earth may seem especially tempting. Though we’re not quite there when it comes to space tourism, we can at least get a glimpse of what life is like in orbit, thanks to a virtual tour of the International Space Station (ISS). More (Source: Lifehacker - Jun 8)
DID A HAM RADIO ENTHUSIAST ACTUALLY SPEAK TO CREW DRAGON? - In a strange turn of events, a ham radio enthusiast in Gujarat, India falsely claimed to have made contact with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley during their historic journey to the International Space Station last weekend. Engineer Adhir Saiyadh told the Ahmedabad Mirror he decided to try to connect with the ISS as it sped over India and "coincidentally got connected to their frequency and received a response from one of the commandants of the capsule," he said. But NASA says it simply isn't true. More (Source: Popular Mechanics - Jun 7)
CHINA WILL BEGIN CONSTRUCTING ITS SPACE STATION IN 2021 - The Chinese space agency is building a brand new space station, and they’re going about it in a suitably impressive way: an ambitious schedule of 11 planned launches crammed into only two years. When it’s done, the 66-ton space station will host crews of three astronauts for up to six months at a time, lasting for a planned 10 years before de-orbiting. More (Source: Universe Today - Jun 7)
WASHINGTON'S NEW BLACK LIVES MATTER STREET MURAL IS CAPTURED IN SATELLITE IMAGE - Washington's new BLACK LIVES MATTER street mural is so huge, you can see it from space. New satellite images from Planet Labs clearly show the bright yellow message amid the gray Lego-looking buildings on the street leading to the White House, its grandeur minimized by the distance. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned the mural, which spans two blocks of 16th Street, as protests across the nation and the globe continue against police brutality after the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. More (Source: CNN - Jun 7)
CHINA LAUNCHES 2 ROCKETS IN 2 DAYS, LOFTING 4 SATELLITES TO ORBIT - SpaceX's first astronaut launch wasn't the only spaceflight action last weekend. While NASA and SpaceX were busy supporting the historic Demo-2 mission from Florida last weekend — the first crewed orbital flight from the U.S. in nearly a decade — the Chinese were making space strides of their own. China once again picked up the pace of its launches with two successful rocket flights back to back, around the same time that Demo-2 blasted off toward the International Space Station on May 30. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 7)
ASTRONOMERS WARN ABOUT EFFECTS OF OTHER SATELLITE MEGACONSTELLATIONS - Astronomers who have spent the last year worried about the effect that SpaceX’s Starlink satellites will have on their observations say they are increasingly concerned about the impact from other proposed megaconstellations. Astronomers became alarmed about the effect the Starlink satellites would have after the launch of the initial set of 60 spacecraft in May 2019. More (Source: SpaceNews - Jun 5)
ASTRONAUTS 'CAPTURE THE FLAG' FOR SPACEX IN RACE TO REACH SPACE STATION - "Congratulations SpaceX, you got the flag." Just one day after riding SpaceX's Crew Dragon "Endeavour" to a historic docking with the International Space Station, spacecraft commander Doug Hurley held out a small American flag for the company behind his and fellow NASA astronaut Bob Behnken's arrival at the orbiting complex. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 5)
EARTH FROM SPACE: 'OVERVIEW EFFECT' COULD HELP TROUBLED COUNTRY, ASTROPHYSICIST NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON SAYS - Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks we could all use a strong dose of the overview effect right now. "Amid the turbulence of a pandemic & racedemic, I offer this reflection on what Earth looks like from space, as only an Apollo astronaut can tell it," the astrophysicist and science communicator, who directs the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, said via Twitter on Saturday (May 30). More (Source: Space.com - Jun 4)
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