CHINA'S MARS MISSION LIKELY STILL ON TRACK FOR JULY LAUNCH DESPITE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK - China is planning to launch its first solo interplanetary mission in July, but the new coronavirus has severely hindered and slowed activity in the country. Will the COVID-19 outbreak keep China from launching for Mars? Chinese authorities enacted a range of travel and enforced quarantine measures in January to combat the spread of infection. This meant many employees, including those in the space sector, could not return to work. More (Source: Space.com - Mar 13)
ASTRONAUTS TAKING PRECAUTIONS TO KEEP CORONAVIRUS FROM SPREADING TO SPACE - Astronauts preparing for an international space mission are taking precautions to avoid bringing coronavirus to space, according to a report. NASA’s Chris Cassidy along with Russian astronauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin are prohibited from leaving the Star City training center outside of Moscow ahead of their April 9 mission to the International Space Station, the Telegraph reported. More (Source: New York Post - Mar 13)
LOCKHEED MARTIN APP OFFERS A GLIMPSE INTO THE PLANNING OF A SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - Lockheed Martin developed an iPhone and iPad app called “Constellations” that visualizes the tradeoffs and calculations that go into designing a network of satellites in space. Company officials demonstrated a beta version of the app to reporters March 10 during the Satellite 2020 conference. The final product will be available on the Apple app store in a few weeks, a spokesman said. More (Source: SpaceNews - Mar 12)
THE SPACE FORCE IS ADDING ANOTHER SATELLITE TO ITS FIRST LAUNCH - A new space situational awareness satellite will hitch a ride into orbit alongside the United States Space Force’s latest anti-jamming communication satellite later this month when the service conducts its first launch since being established in December. Sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory and manufactured by the Georgia Institute of Technology, TDO-2 is a multi-manifest small satellite vehicle carrying multiple government payloads that will help provide space domain awareness for the Space Force. More (Source: C4ISRNet - Mar 12)
DOCKING, RENDEZVOUS AND NEWTON'S THIRD LAW – THE CHALLENGE OF SERVICING SATELLITES IN SPACE - If you want to build or fix something in space, you might think you'd need a human to do it. But what if you didn't? What if robotic spacecraft could be used to refuel satellites in orbit, add new instruments to outdated machinery and even build entire structures while in space? More (Source: Phys.org - Mar 12)
SPACEX CEO ELON MUSK SAYS THERE’S NOTHING TO FEAR FROM STARLINK BROADBAND SATELLITES (AND NO SPIN-OUT) - Will SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellite constellation ruin astronomy? Will it threaten the telecom industry? Will SpaceX spin out Starlink anytime soon? SpaceX’s billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, answered all three questions today at a fireside chat at the Satellite 2020 conference in Washington, D.C.: No, no and no. More (Source: GeekWire - Mar 11)
SPACEX ON TRACK TO LAUNCH FIRST NASA ASTRONAUTS IN MAY, PRESIDENT SAYS - SpaceX is closing in on its first human spaceflight, with President and COO Gwynne Shotwell telling reporters on Tuesday that the company is aiming to fly astronauts to space in about two months. “We’re gunning for May. We have work to do, NASA has work to do,” Shotwell said at the Satellite 2020 conference in Washington, D.C. Her comments mean SpaceX remains on schedule in its quest to be the first U.S. company to fly NASA astronauts in nearly a decade. More (Source: CNBC - Mar 11)
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)
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