SPACEX’S STARLINK NETWORK SURPASSES 400-SATELLITE MARK AFTER SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH - SpaceX launched 60 more spacecraft Wednesday to join the Starlink fleet beaming broadband signals around the world, while the company’s engineers move closer to debuting a sunshade that could reduce the satellites’ impacts on ground-based astronomy. Riding 1.7 million pounds of thrust from nine Merlin main engines, a Falcon 9 rocket took off at 3:30:30 p.m. EDT (1930:30 GMT) Wednesday from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 24)

NASA SATELLITE REVEALS HUGE DROP IN AIR POLLUTION OVER PARTS OF INDIA SINCE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN - NASA satellite data reveals how aerosol levels in India have dropped dramatically since March 25, when the government imposed the world's largest lockdown on its 1.3 billion-strong population amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This lockdown, like in other parts of the planet, has significantly reduced industrial activities and caused large falls in road vehicle and plane traffic in the country.    More
(Source: Newsweek - Apr 23)

INTELSAT SATELLITE RESUMES OPERATIONS AFTER DOCKING OF ROBOTIC SERVICER - An Intelsat communications spacecraft running low on fuel has resumed commercial operations more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the Atlantic Ocean after getting an assist from a pioneering servicing satellite earlier this year. A first-of-its-kind Mission Extension Vehicle built in Virginia by Northrop Grumman docked with the Intelsat 901 satellite Feb. 25, accomplishing the first link-up between two satellites in geosynchronous orbit, a region high above the equator where spacecraft move at speeds that match the rate of Earth’s rotation.   More
(Source: SoacedFlight Now - Apr 23)

SPACEX SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES 60 MORE STARLINK SATELLITES AS IT CONTINUES TOWARDS 2020 SERVICE DEBUT - SpaceX has launched another big batch of Starlink satellites, the low Earth orbit spacecraft that will provide connectivity for its globe-spanning high-bandwidth broadband internet network. This brings the total number of Starlink satellites on orbit to 422, though the company plans to de-orbit two of those (the first two prototypes launched) shortly.   More
(Source: TechCrunch - Apr 22)

IRAN SAYS MILITARY SATELLITE LAUNCHED AMID US TENSIONS - Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced they had successfully launched the country's first military satellite on Wednesday, at a time of fresh tensions with US forces in the Gulf. The United States alleges Iran's satellite programme is a cover for its development of missiles, while the Islamic republic has previously insisted its aerospace activities comply with its international obligations.   More
(Source: Yahoo News - Apr 22)

SPACEX MODIFIES STARLINK NETWORK DESIGN AS ANOTHER 60 SATELLITES GEAR UP FOR LAUNCH - Another 60 Starlink satellites are ready for launch Wednesday to beam Internet signals to future SpaceX consumers as the company seeks regulatory approval to fly all 4,400 relay stations in the network’s first phase of deployment at lower altitudes than previously planned. SpaceX’s Starlink network is a multibillion-dollar program aimed at blanketing the planet in broadband connectivity, serving a wide range of consumers in homes, businesses, schools and hospitals.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 22)

TO ATTACK OR DETER? THE ROLE OF ANTI-SATELLITE WEAPONS - Last week, Russia conducted another anti-satellite (ASAT) test, apparently one of a series they have been undertaking as part of what increasingly looks to be a broad-ranging ASAT program. This follows a recent statement by the commander of US Space Command, General John Raymond, who acknowledged something that amateur space trackers have noticed for a few months...   More
(Source: The Space Review - Apr 22)

US GIRDS ITS SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE IN SPACE DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC - In 2016 a Navy satellite called MUOS-5 wasn’t doing well. Partway to its intended orbit, it simply stalled out — but because the spacecraft was already so far away, the dilemma’s details were hard to discern. That’s where the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program came in: GSSAP satellites can sidle up to and take pictures of other orbiters, beaming the portraits back to Earth. So from Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado, operators maneuvered the agile GSSAP satellite close to the inert MUOS-5 to inspect it.   More
(Source: CNBC - Apr 19)

AN OLD SATELLITE GETS A NEW LEASE ON LIFE, THANKS TO THE HELP OF A SERVICING SATELLITE - An old communications satellite in orbit around Earth is back in service again after being nudged into new life-saving orbit by another satellite. Intelsat 901, which has been in space since 2001, is now providing telecommunications coverage over the Atlantic again after being moved to a new location in space by a servicer satellite, extending the vehicle’s mission by at least five years.   More
(Source: The Verge - Apr 19)

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