NASA TV TO AIR LAUNCH, CAPTURE OF CARGO SHIP TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - NASA will broadcast the launch of a Japanese cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station beginning at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, May 20, live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are scheduled to launch the unpiloted H-II Transport Vehicle-9 (HTV-9) on a Japanese H-IIB rocket at 1:30 p.m. (2:30 a.m. Thursday, May 21, Japan time) from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. More (Source: NASA - May 15)
SATELLITE OPERATOR INTELSAT FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY - Satellite operator Intelsat, which launched the world's first commercial communications satellite Intelsat 1 in 1965, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday (May 13) in order to ease a multibillion-dollar debt and join an FCC spectrum clearing program. In a statement Wednesday, Intelsat representatives said the bankruptcy filing was spurred, in part, by the company's plan to join the FCC's accelerated clearing of the C-band spectrum to make way for faster 5G wireless satellite communications. More (Source: Space.com - May 15)
SPACEX READIES ROCKET FOR FINAL FALCON 9 LAUNCH BEFORE CREW FLIGHT - SpaceX fired up a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Wednesday in a pre-flight test for a Starlink satellite launch Sunday, moving closer to the company’s final mission before sending two NASA astronauts into orbit for the first time May 27. The test-firing occurred at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) Wednesday on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 14)
VIDEO FROM SPACE: COMPANIES SIGN DEAL TO LAUNCH 1ST 'EARTHTV' SATELLITE IN 2021 - We now know how Sen's first Earth-casting satellite will get to its orbital perch. Sen, a British company that plans to provide ultra-high definition (UHD) video of Earth to the masses, has signed a deal with California-based Momentus to get its first "EarthTV" satellite aloft in the summer of 2021. Under the contract, the little satellite will launch with Momentus' Vigoride space tug atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. More (Source: Space.com - May 14)
SPACE FORCE TROOPS PREPARING FOR POSSIBILITY OF HAVING TO RESCUE NASA ASTRONAUTS - As NASA and SpaceX prepare for a May 27 mission to fly astronauts to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center, a unit of the U.S. Space Force will be on alert should anything go wrong. The unit known as 45th Operations Group Detachment 3, based at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, is responsible to rescue astronauts on land or at sea if they have to abort the mission. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 13)
NASA INKS DEAL WITH ROSCOSMOS TO ENSURE CONTINUOUS U.S. PRESENCE ON SPACE STATION - With lingering uncertainty about when new U.S. commercial vehicles can regularly carry crews to the space station, NASA said Tuesday it will pay the Russian space agency more than $90 million for a round-trip ticket to the International Space Station on a Soyuz spacecraft later this year. According to NASA, the deal with Roscosmos — Russia’s space agency — will ensure continuous U.S. presence on the $100 billion lab complex in case of additional delays in getting new U.S. crew capsules ready for operational missions. More (Source: SpacedFlight Now - May 13)
TRY TO DOCK WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION WITH THIS SPACEX CREW DRAGON SIMULATOR - Later this month, SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon spacecraft will take its first human passengers to the International Space Station — and now you can get a firsthand view of what they’ll be seeing when they approach the orbiting lab. Today, SpaceX released a new online simulator that allows users to try their hand at manually docking with the ISS using the Crew Dragon’s controls. Spoiler alert: it’s actually pretty hard! More (Source: The Verge - May 13)
JOURNALISTS USE SATELLITE DATA TO TRACK POLLUTION, KIM JONG-UN AND MORE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC - Journalists are using satellite imagery to discover and share visual indicators of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing timely information that can help people make better decisions about global issues. “The first folks that were asking for Planet data were the news media, who were just trying to understand [what’s happening on the ground], especially since they can’t send journalists [out on location] anymore,” said Planet CEO Will Marshall in a video interview with Bloomberg Businessweek’s Hello World. More (Source: planet.com - May 13)
DARPA SET TO LAUNCH FIRST BLACKJACK SATELLITE LATER THIS YEAR - The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will launch its first Blackjack satellite into orbit later this year, with more to follow in 2021. With Blackjack, DARPA seeks to demonstrate the value of low earth orbit satellites for the Department of Defense. The small satellites will carry advanced technologies that will demonstrate space-based mesh networks and constellation autonomy. More (Source: C4ISRNet - May 13)
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