ROBOTIC TOOL OPERATIONS BRING IN-SPACE REFUELING CLOSER TO REALITY - NASA's Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3) completed an initial set of tool operations, bringing the idea of using water ice or methane from other worlds as fuel for spacecraft one step closer to reality. The ability to store and transfer cryogens (super-cold hydrogen, oxygen and methane) will help spacecraft journey father into our solar system and beyond.   More
(Source: Space Daily - Aug 18)

CHINA SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCTS FIRST LAUNCH OF SMART DRAGON-1 SMALL SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE - For the fourth time in less than 10 months – and the second one to claim a successful flight – China has debuted a new small satellite launch vehicle based on solid rocket motors with a payload of less than one tonne to Low Earth Orbit. The Smart Dragon-1 (SD-1) rocket, also known by its Chinese name Jielong-1, lifted off from the mobile launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China today at 04:11 UTC. Chinese media has later declared the launch a success.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Aug 18)

AIR FORCE SOLICITING BIDS FOR SMALL, MEDIUM SATELLITE LAUNCH PROGRAM - The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise is requesting industry bids for the Orbital Services Program-4. Proposals are due Aug. 29. OSP-4 is managed by the Rocket Systems Launch Program Office, which plans to award a multi-vendor indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract by the end of the year with an opportunity to on-ramp new providers in future years, the Air Force said in a news release.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Aug 17)

ROCKET LAB DELAYS ELECTRON LAUNCH DUE TO HIGH WINDS - The private spaceflight company Rocket Lab postponed the launch of an Electron rocket carrying four small satellites Friday (Aug. 16) due to high winds at the booster's New Zealand launch site. Rocket Lab initially hoped to launch the Electron's mission, called "Look Ma, No Hands," from the Māhia Peninsula during a 100-minute window that opened at 8:57 a.m. EDT (1257 GMT), but ground winds were just too strong.    More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 17)

YOU CAN WATCH ROCKET LAB LAUNCH 4 SATELLITES INTO ORBIT FRIDAY. HERE'S HOW. - A Rocket Lab Electron booster will launch a quartet of satellites into orbit Friday (Aug. 16) and you can watch it all live online. The Electron rocket is scheduled to loft the four satellites at 8:57 a.m. EDT (1257 GMT) from Rocket Lab's launch site on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand, where the local time at liftoff will be 12:57 a.m. on Saturday.   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 16)

SPAIN’S FIRST OPEN SOURCE SATELLITE - [Fossa Systems], a non-profit youth association based out of Madrid, is developing an open-source satellite set to launch in October 2019. The FossaSat-1 is sized at 5x5x5 cm, weighs 250g, and will provide free IoT connectivity by communicating LoRa RTTY signals through low-power RF-based LoRa modules. The satellite is powered by 28% efficient gallium arsenide TrisolX triple junction solar cells.   More
(Source: Hackaday - Aug 16)

WHY LOW-EARTH ORBIT SATELLITES ARE THE NEW SPACE RACE - Elon Musk made headlines in 2018 when he launched his old car toward Mars aboard one of his Space Exploration Technologies Corp. rockets. He got less attention in May for his first step toward a potentially far more lucrative venture, when SpaceX launched the first 60 of a planned 12,000 satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO). And Musk isn’t the only one pouring money into the sector: Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is one of several competitors with plans to send thousands of their own devices into the space just above our atmosphere. Nonetheless, doubts remain over whether these new satellite constellations will provide returns on their substantial initial investments -- and even whether there’s space in our sky for so many new devices.   More
(Source: Washington Post - Aug 16)

NASA TV TO AIR US SPACEWALK, BRIEFING ON SPACE STATION DOCKING PORT INSTALL - Experts from NASA will preview an upcoming spacewalk with two American astronauts outside the International Space Station to complete the outfitting of docking ports during a briefing at 2 p.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 16, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Live coverage of the briefing will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website.    More
(Source: Southgate Amateur Radio Club - Aug 16)

SPACEPLANE GETS A RIDE FOR SPACE STATION TRIPS - The Dream Chaser spaceplane, which will ferry cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), now has a rocket to launch on. Sierra Nevada, the private company that builds the spaceplane, has chosen the Vulcan rocket as its ride into orbit. The company hopes to start launching missions by 2021, to deliver supplies to astronauts on the ISS. Neither the Dream Chaser vehicle, nor the Vulcan rocket, has yet flown to space. Sierra Nevada was recently awarded the contract by Nasa to re-supply the ISS.   More
(Source: BBC News - Aug 15)

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