RUSSIA READY TO LAUNCH MULTI-SATELLITE ORBITAL GROUPS - ROSCOSMOS CHIEF - The launch of British OneWeb communications satellites on March 21 by the Soyuz 2.1b carrier rocket showed that Russia is ready for deploying multi-satellite orbital groups, Head of Roscosmos space corporation Dmitry Rogozin said on Sunday. "By this launch we proved that our equipment is ready for a swift deployment of multi-satellite groups of complex orbital configuration," Rogozin wrote on his Twitter account. More (Source: TASS - Apr 6)
ASTRONAUTS TRAIN TO RIDE A DRAGON INTO SPACE - Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, two veteran space shuttle fliers, are gearing up to fly a privately-developed SpaceX Dragon capsule into orbit this year. The two astronauts participated in several major training events in March, including long-duration simulations to rehearse procedures they will execute during launch on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, their docking with the International Space Station, and then departure from the orbiting lab for return to Earth. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 5)
IS THIS THE OLDEST STILL-WORKING GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE? - Regular followers of space news will know that when satellites or space probes reach the end of their life, they either are de-orbited in a fiery re-entry, or they stay lifeless in orbit, often in a safe graveyard orbit where they are unlikely to harm other craft. Sometimes these deactivated satellites spring back into life, and there is a dedicated band of enthusiasts who seek out these oddities. More (Source: Hackaday - Apr 5)
COVID-19: HOW SATELLITES CAN HELP - The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has virtually paralyzed daily life as we know it. Even when the spread of this highly infectious disease has been stemmed, the world will face huge challenges getting back to normal. To help support experts working in Europe's research centers and technical organizations during these unprecedented times, ESA has issued two new initiatives related to understanding the effects that COVID-19 is imposing on society, the economy and the environment. More (Source: Phys.org - Apr 5)
PANDEMIC PROMPTS FEW CHANGES TO BUSY MONTH ON SPACE STATION - U.S. and Russian vehicles ferrying crews and cargo will continue traveling to and from the International Space Station this month, sustaining the orbiting lab in its 20th year of continuous human occupation amid an escalating pandemic on Earth. A new European platform was also robotically installed outside the space station early Thursday, giving the international research lab a new outdoor deck to host a range of materials science, Earth observation and space science instruments. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 4)
CELEBRATING THE WORLDS FIRST WEATHER SATELLITE - On April 1, 1960, NASA launched TIROS-1, the world’s first successful meteorological satellite. A couple years before, on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, which began the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The U.S.’s first operational satellite was launched a year later in 1958 as Explorer-1, which was the first U.S. satellite in orbit. More (Source: WBRZ - Apr 3)
NASA TV TO AIR U.S. CARGO SHIP DEPARTURE FROM SPACE STATION - Filled with more than 4,000 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo, a SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft is set to leave the International Space Station Monday, April 6. NASA Television and the agency’s website will broadcast its departure live beginning at 9:30 a.m. EDT. Robotic flight controllers at mission control in Houston will issue commands at 9:52 a.m. to release Dragon using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. More (Source: NASA - Apr 3)
CHINA TO LAUNCH COMMUNICATION SATELLITE FOR INDONESIA - China is preparing to launch a communication satellite, Palapa-N1, for Indonesia at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The satellite was developed under a contract signed between the China Great Wall Industry Corp under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) and the Palapa Satelit Nusantara Sejahtera of Indonesia in May 2017. More (Source: The Star Online - Apr 2)
US MILITARY MAY START MOVING TOWARDS LAUNCHING FLEETS OF TINY SATELLITES - With much of the commercial space industry focused on putting small satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO), how quickly will the U.S. military follow? Companies are shifting away from traditional large satellites towards small satellites. cubesats in LEO have been increasingly used in space since the 1990s. In recent years, advances in camera technology and computer miniaturization have allowed companies to do optical imaging or radar observations using smaller and smaller satellites. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 2)
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