SPACEX TO DEBUT SATELLITE-DIMMING SUNSHADE ON NEXT STARLINK LAUNCH - A new sunshade, or visor, designed to reduce the brightness of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband Internet satellites will debut on the company’s next launch, a measure intended to alleviate astronomers’ concerns about impacts on observations through ground-based telescopes, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said. Beginning with the next launch of Starlink satellites — scheduled for 18 May from Cape Canaveral — SpaceX will try out a new light-blocking panel to make the spacecraft less visible to skywatchers and astronomers.   More
(Source: Astronomy Now Online - May 6)

BUILDING SATELLITES AMID COVID-19 - During these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 lockdown, trying to work poses huge challenges for us all. For those that can, remote working is now pretty much the norm, but this is obviously not possible for everybody. One might assume that like many industries, the construction and testing of satellites has been put on hold, but engineers and scientists are finding ways of continuing to prepare Europe's upcoming satellite missions such as the next Copernicus Sentinels.    More
(Source: Phys.org - May 6)

PENTAGON CALLS IRAN’S RECENT MILITARY SATELLITE LAUNCH A ‘SECURITY CONCERN’ AMID DETERIORATING RELATIONS - The nation’s top military officer said Tuesday that Iran’s recent military satellite launch, the first for the rogue regime, is a concerning feat. “Different missiles can do different things, one can carry a satellite and one can carry some sort of device that can explode. So, the bottom line is yes, it is a security concern anytime Iran is testing any type of long-range missile,” explained Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark Milley.   More
(Source: CNBC - May 6)

CHINA TO DEBUT NEW VERSION OF POWERFUL LONG MARCH 5 ROCKET THIS WEEK - A prototype for China’s next-generation human-rated spacecraft — flying on a test flight without astronauts — is scheduled to ride a new version of the country’s heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket into orbit this week. The Long March 5B rocket could take off as soon as Tuesday from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island in southern China, but Chinese officials have not officially announced the target launch date.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 6)

VIRGIN ORBIT’S FIRST LAUNCH COULD HAPPEN LATER THIS MONTH - Virgin Orbit could attempt its first orbital test launch later this month over the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles, capping a development program for an air-launched small satellite carrier that began in earnest eight years ago. The small satellite launch company, part of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, entered the final phase of pre-flight testing last week with a ground fueling test of its first flight-worthy LauncherOne rocket.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 5)

RUSSIA TO LAUNCH FIRST SATELLITE TO MONITOR ARCTIC CLIMATE IN 2020 - Russia is planning to launch a satellite called Arktika-M at the end of the year to monitor the Arctic climate and environment. The announcement was made by Vladimir Kolmykov, General Director of the Lavochkin aerospace company. Russia’s Arktika-M remote-sensing and emergency communications satellites aim to gather meteorological data in the polar regions, which will allow for improved weather forecasts and enable scientists to study climate change better.   More
(Source: SatelliteProME.com - May 5)

STAR POINTS: TRAINS OF ‘STARLINK’ SATELLITES SPREADING ACROSS NIGHT SKY - After a soggy day last month, the night sky cleared and the mud dried so I went for a nighttime walk. Stepping out from the forest at one point and looking up there was a very unusual sight like I have never experienced before. In the eastern sky there was a train-like parade of satellites. Turns out they are part of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation which had been launched five days earlier aboard one of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets.   More
(Source: Baltimore Sun - May 4)

SPACEX ACES LAST DRAGON PARACHUTE TEST BEFORE CREW LAUNCH - SpaceX completed Friday the last drop test of the Dragon crew capsule’s parachutes before the first launch of astronauts on the human-rated ship May 27, while technicians at Cape Canaveral have mated the spacecraft’s crew module with its unpressurized trunk section. The drop test from a C-130 cargo plane Friday was the 27th and final test of the “Mark 3” parachute design SpaceX will use for the Crew Dragon spacecraft.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 4)

HOW AMATEUR SATELLITE TRACKERS ARE KEEPING AN 'EYE' ON OBJECTS AROUND THE EARTH - Around the planet, a loosely knit but closely woven band of amateurs monitor the whereabouts of satellites — be they secretive spacecraft, robotic space drones, rocket stages, orbital debris or lost-in-space planetary probes. But what's the motivation behind this group of sky prowling spirits? What kind of tools are they using now or in the future to purge secrets from space — at times revealing what some countries don't want others to know about?   More
(Source: Space.com - May 3)

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