RICHARD BRANSON TAKES SATELLITE LAUNCH BUSINESS TO JAPAN WITH AIRLINE ANA - Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit said on Thursday it plans to bring its satellite launch system to Japan in partnership with airline operator ANA Holdings Inc, which will provide maintenance and possibly aircraft. Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system is undergoing testing with the aim of launching rockets bearing small satellites into space from a modified jumbo jet. The company said it will conduct its first orbital test flight later this year.    More
(Source: Reuters - Jun 7)

NASA'S FIRST SPACEX ASTRONAUTS PREPARED FOR 'MESSY CAMPING TRIP' TO SPACE STATION - The first US astronauts chosen to fly aboard a SpaceX capsule built for NASA shrugged off a spate of design and test mishaps, saying such setbacks were "part of the process" and the new technology was far more advanced than the space shuttle program that ended eight years ago. Space shuttle veterans Bob Behnken, 48, and Doug Hurley, 52 are slated for blastoff later this year or in 2020 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the debut manned flight of the Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station and back.   More
(Source: Firstpost - Jun 7)

CHINA’S FIRST SEA LAUNCH DECLARED A SUCCESS - A solid-fueled Long March 11 rocket fired out of a container aboard a barge in the Yellow Sea on Wednesday with seven satellites heading into orbit on China’s first space launch from an ocean vessel. The four-stage Long March 11 booster took off from the converted barge at 0406 GMT (12:06 a.m. EDT; 12:06 p.m. Beijing time) Wednesday, and headed southeast to send its payloads into orbit, soaring over the East China Sea then over the Pacific Ocean after passing between Okinawa and the southernmost of Japan’s main islands.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 6)

DOZENS OF SATELLITES JOINING VEGA'S RIDESHARE TO SPACE - More than 40 satellite missions will be launched at once by Europe's Vega launcher this autumn, thanks to the innovative modular "Lego-style" dispenser resting on its upper stage. Up until now the smallest classes of satellites—all the way down to tiny CubeSats, built from 10 cm modular boxes—have typically piggybacked to orbit. They have to make use of any spare capacity as a single large satellite is launched, meaning their overall launch opportunities are limited.   More
(Source: Phys.org - Jun 6)

INEXPENSIVE CHIP-SIZE SATELLITES ORBIT EARTH - A decade ago, while still a Ph.D. student at Cornell University, Zac Manchester imagined building chip-scale satellites that might work together to study Earth or explore space. On June 3, as NASA Ames Research Center announces the successful deployment of the largest swarm of ChipSats in history, Manchester, now an assistant professor at Stanford, is already envisioning the future of this technology. "This is like the PC revolution for space," said Manchester, who joined the aeronautics and astronautics faculty last year.    More
(Source: Phys.org - Jun 5)

ASTRONOMY GROUP SAYS STARLINK AND OTHER SATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS COULD THREATEN SCIENCE - The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is voicing concerns about the risk that SpaceX's Starlink and other planned massive satellite constellations in low Earth orbit pose to astronomy. The group, most famous for its role in "demoting" Pluto from the rank of planet, represents more than 13,000 astronomers worldwide. In its statement, released yesterday (June 3), the IAU pointed out that while there are several megaconstellations under development, no one knows quite what consequences such huge numbers of low Earth orbit satellites could have on astronomy.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 5)

LOCKHEED MARTIN OFFERING NEW SATELLITE IMAGE ANALYSIS SERVICE - Lockheed Martin is marketing a new artificial intelligence product that helps analysts identify objects in satellite imagery. In a demonstration, it searched the entire state of Pennsylvania and in two hours located every fracking site in the state. The company showed the system publicly for the first time at the GEOINT 2019 symposium that is heavily attended by intelligence analysts from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jun 5)

TOKYO 2020 TO LAUNCH FIRST-EVER OLYMPIC SATELLITE - In addition to recycling old cell phones into competition medals, as well as utilizing facial recognition software to identify athletes, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee is infusing some futuristic flair into the entire production with its new ‘G-Satellite Go to Space’ project. The project marks the first time in Olympic and Paralymic history taht a a satellite commission especially for the Games will orbit the earth independently.   More
(Source: SwimSwam - Jun 4)

SPACEX DRAGON RETURNING TO EARTH AFTER SPACE STATION CARGO DELIVERY - A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is returning to Earth today (June 3) after spending nearly a month docked at the International Space Station (ISS). The Dragon CRS-17 spacecraft departed the space station this morning and will end its journey home with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean around 5:55 p.m. EDT (2155 GMT, 2:55 p.m. local time), according to NASA's ISS blog. Flight controllers expect the spaceship to splash down about 202 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of Long Beach, California.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 4)

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