ARISS CELEBRATING SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH CARRYING INTEROPERABLE RADIO SYSTEM TO ISS - Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is celebrating the successful launch and docking of the SpaceX-20 commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). One payload on the flight is the ARISS Interoperable Radio System (IORS), which ARISS calls “the foundational element of the ARISS next-generation radio system” on the space station. Amateur radio has been an integral component of ISS missions since 2000. The Dragon cargo capsule docked successfully with the space station on March 9.   More
(Source: ARRL - Mar 11)

CANCELLATION OF PSAT3 LAUNCH MEANS NO DARPA LAUNCH CHALLENGE WINNER - The launch of the PSAT3 CubeSat has been canceled, ending chances for winning the DARPA Launch Challenge. The challenge offered a $10 million prize for any launch provider that could deliver a rocket with only 30 days’ notice of what payloads they would have and where they would launch from — and then, to do it again only 30 days later.    More
(Source: ARRL - Mar 11)

SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH TAKES CHINA A STEP CLOSER TO COMPLETING BEIDOU NAVIGATION CONSTELLATION - China successfully launched a Beidou positioning, navigation and timing satellite Monday as the country nears completion of its answer to the GPS system. The Long March 3B/E rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 7:55 a.m. Eastern. The Beidou GEO-2 satellite was sent into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 10)

ASTRONAUTS CAPTURE SPACEX CARGO CAPSULE WITH ROBOT ARM FOR FINAL TIME - For the final time, a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule approached the International Space Station Monday for capture with the research lab’s robotic arm, delivering more than 4,300 pounds of food, experiments and spare parts. Future Dragon resupply missions will use a new spaceship design to automatically dock with the space station. The unpiloted cargo freighter completed a two-day pursuit of the space station Monday with an automated approach to the orbiting research outpost.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 10)

OLYMPIC ORBITER: 'GUNDAM SATELLITE' HITCHES RIDE TO ISS TO PROMOTE 2020 GAMES - A microsatellite carrying model robots from the popular science fiction anime “Mobile Suit Gundam” was successfully launched to promote the Olympics, organizers said Saturday. The so-called G-Satellite, which contains two figurines from the animated series, hitched a ride to the International Space Station on Friday aboard a SpaceX/Dragon cargo flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It will reach the ISS on Monday at 8 p.m. Japan time.   More
(Source: The Japan Times - Mar 8)

THE DSCOVR EARTH AND SPACE WEATHER SATELLITE IS BACK ONLINE AFTER A MONTHS-LONG GLITCH - A disabled satellite that tracks space weather is back online after nine months of efforts to get it communicating with Earth, according to a U.S. government update. The nearly five-year-old Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) went into a safe mode lockdown on June 27, 2019, due to issues with the attitude control system that keeps it properly oriented in space to receive commands and send data.    More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 8)

SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW THE IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS - A crowd at Mecca's Grand Mosque and the Kaaba on Feb. 14, 2020 (top) and a much smaller group of visitors on March 3, 2020, a day before fears over the novel coronavirus led to the the suspension of the "umrah" pilgrimage. Satellite images released on March 5, 2020 by Maxar Technologies reveal the impact of coronavirus on activities around the world.   More
(Source: USA TODAY - Mar 7)

ROCKET ISSUE DELAYS LAUNCH OF UAE'S FALCON EYE 2 SATELLITE FOR A MONTH: REPORT - A sharp-eyed satellite's launch has been pushed back from its expected Thursday (March 5) launch date until no earlier than April due to a rocket problem, according to a media report. Arianespace, which will be providing the launch from French Guiana, has not disclosed a reason for the delay. Nor did it release a new launch date for Falcon Eye 2, which is a high-performance optical observation satellite for commercial and military users in the United Arab Emirates.    More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 7)

SPACEX LAUNCHES CARGO TOWARD SPACE STATION, ACES 50TH ROCKET LANDING - SpaceX successfully launched an uncrewed Dragon spacecraft for NASA today (March 6), sending fresh supplies toward the International Space Station (ISS) — and also sticking another rocket landing, the 50th for the company overall. The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket used in today’s flight is a veteran; its first stage also lofted the previous Dragon cargo mission, in December 2019. The rocket blasted off from Pad 40 here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:50 p.m. EST (0450 GMT on Saturday, March 7), illuminating the skies above Florida’s Space Coast.    More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 7)

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