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)
SEE HOW CORONAVIRUS HAS CHANGED SOCIETY IN THIS VIDEO OF BEFORE-AND-AFTER SATELLITE VIEWS - The coronavirus pandemic continues around the world, satellites in space are revealing a radical shift in human behavior. Countries including the United States, Italy and China have advised against nonessential travel and many people around the world are either quarantined or self-isolated to reduce the spread of the disease, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. This has led to a drastic reduction in crowds at normally populated areas. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 1)
NASA SELECTS SPACE SCIENCE CUBESAT MISSION - NASA announced March 30 it will fund the development of a cluster of six cubesats that will fly in formation above geostationary orbit to study solar storms. NASA said it selected for development the Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE) mission as a “mission of opportunity” for its heliophysics program. The mission, with a total cost of $62.6 million, will launch by July 2023. More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 31)
HOLIDAY IN SPACE, ANYONE? SPACE X TO SEND TOURISTS TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Spacex recently announced a partnership to send three tourists to the International Space Station (ISS), the first private trip in more than a decade. Elon Musk’s company has signed a deal with Axiom Space to transport the tourists along with a commander on one of its Crew Dragon capsules in the second half of 2021. Axiom CEO Michael Suffredini said the flight “will represent a watershed moment in the march toward universal and routine access to space”. He did not reveal a price tag. More (Source: The Star Online - Mar 31)
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