NEW NASA-FUNDED CUBESAT POISED TO TAKE EARTH'S TEMPERATURE FROM SPACE - All of a sudden, a tiny NASA-funded satellite, one of many passengers aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, shot into the sky on a mission to prove its new technology could change the way we measure Earth, and eventually, the Moon. The Compact Infrared Radiometer in Space instrument on a CubeSat, also known as CIRiS, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to the International Space Station on Dec. 5.    More
(Source: Phys.org - Dec 19)

SPACEX’S SATELLITE LAUNCH ON MONDAY ALMOST WENT PERFECTLY… ALMOST - SpaceX has had an incredibly busy year. The company has been sticking to a schedule of satellite launches for a variety of clients, while also continuing to develop its Starship rocket-of-the-future, and running resupply missions to the International Space Station for NASA. With all that in mind, SpaceX’s latest launch, which took place on Monday night, was like icing on an already delicious cake.    More
(Source: BGR - Dec 19)

CHEOPS SATELLITE LIFTS OFF TO STUDY PLANETS BEYOND SOLAR SYSTEM - Europe’s Cheops planet-hunting satellite has left Earth a day after its lift-off was delayed by a technical rocket glitch during the final countdown. A 30cm telescope aboard has been designed to measure the density, composition and size of numerous exoplanets, which orbit stars beyond our solar system. According to the European Space Agency (Esa), Cheops will observe bright stars that are already known to be orbited by planets.   More
(Source: The Guardian - Dec 19)

ARIANESPACE LAUNCHES ESA’S CHEOPS SATELLITE TO STUDY EXOPLANETS - A Soyuz rocket successfully launched an Italian Earth observation satellite Dec. 18, with the European CHEOPS mission to analyze exoplanets and three small auxiliary payloads also along for the ride. The four-stage Russian Soyuz Guiana Space Center in French Guiana lifted off at 03:54 Eastern Wednesday, marking the 23rd Soyuz mission for Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center. A previous attempt one day earlier was scrubbed due to a launcher software issue.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 18)

CAPELLA SPACE TO LAUNCH SEVEN RADAR SATELLITES IN 2020 AS IT PREPARES FOR COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS - Space-based radar imagery provider Capella Space will launch seven satellites and start commercial operations in 2020, the company announced Dec. 16. The San Francisco-based startup deployed one small synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite in December 2018 to test the service. The next seven it plans to launch in 2020 are a new design, Payam Banazadeh, CEO and founder of Capella Space, told SpaceNews.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 17)

JAPAN TO LAUNCH INTELLIGENCE-GATHERING SATELLITE IN JANUARY - Japan will launch an H2A rocket carrying a government optical intelligence-gathering satellite in January from a launch site in southwestern Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Monday. The device will join the country's seven other reconnaissance satellites believed to be utilized for purposes such as monitoring development in North Korean missile sites.   More
(Source: Kyodo News Plus - Dec 17)

CHINA COMPLETES CORE OF BEIDOU GLOBAL SATELLITE NAVIGATION SYSTEM - Two Chinese Beidou navigation satellites successfully launched Monday on top of a Long March 3B rocket, completing the core of China’s independent positioning and timing network ahead of the start of global service next year. The 184-foot-tall (56-meter) Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang space base in southwestern China’s Sichuan province at 0722 GMT (2:22 a.m. EST; 3:22 p.m. Beijing time) Monday, according to statements issued by the country’s top state-owned aerospace contractor.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 17)

SPACEX FALCON 9 LAUNCHES HEAVYWEIGHT SATELLITE INTO ORBIT, NAILS ROCKET LANDING - SpaceX launched its 13th mission of the year Monday (Dec. 16) as a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster took to the skies for the third time carrying a satellite for a Singapore-based startup and Japanese broadband provider. The Falcon 9 rocket lit up the skies over Florida's Space Coast as it carried its payload, a heavyweight communications satellite, into space from Space Launch Complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Liftoff occurred at 7:10 p.m. EST (0010 GMT)   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 17)

GAOFEN SATELLITES UPGRADE CHINA'S CIVILIAN MAPPING PRACTICE - On December 10, China unveiled the first batch of high-resolution, three-dimensional images of Earth from its latest mapping satellite, Gaofen-7, marking the country's effort to ramp up its technical capacity for observing the planet. The satellite, launched on November 3, is China's first civil-use, optical transmission, three-dimensional surveying and mapping satellite that reaches sub-meter definition.   More
(Source: CGTN - Dec 16)

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