NASA SATELLITES TRACKING AMAZON FIRES SHOW HEAVY SMOKE, SCORCHED EARTH - NASA satellites have observed thick smoke billows and extremely high temperatures as record-breaking fires continue to scorch the Amazon. On Aug. 23, NASA's Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) photographed regions of northern Brazil and eastern Bolivia. The satellite observations covered swaths of land about the size of a football field, according to a statement from NASA.    More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 30)

IRANIAN ROCKET LAUNCH ENDS IN FAILURE, IMAGERY SHOWS - Satellite imagery shared exclusively with NPR shows that an Iranian rocket appears to have exploded on the launch pad Thursday. The imagery from the commercial company Planet shows smoke billowing from the pad at the Imam Khomeini Space Center in northern Iran. The pad had been given a fresh coat of paint in recent days, and numerous vehicles had been spotted around the site in preparation for the launch attempt.    More
(Source: NPR - Aug 29)

ARIANESPACE WILL LAUNCH OVZON-3 SATELLITE - Arianespace has announced the signature of a launch services contract with Ovzon for the company's first geostationary-orbiting telecommunications satellite: Ovzon-3. With offices in Sweden and the United States, Ovzon is dedicated to meeting the demand for increased mobile broadband connectivity in underserved regions. Ovzon-3 will have a mass at liftoff of approximately 1,500 kg. and will be placed in geostationary transfer orbit by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle in 2021 from the Guiana Space Center - Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana (South America).   More
(Source: Space Daily - Aug 29)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION JUST GOT A SERIOUS INTERNET UPGRADE - In present times, the internet has become a basic necessity. When it comes to productivity, we have no patience and want the best of internet signal and speed. Billions of people depend on the internet not only to be entertained but also, for their education. Without a doubt, the International Space Station crew needs it the most, as it has to be in constant touch with the control teams on Earth in order to keep functioning.   More
(Source: Mashable - Aug 29)

SPACEX LAUNCHES STARSHIP “HOPPER” ON DRAMATIC TEST FLIGHT - SpaceX launched its sub-scale Starship “hopper” spacecraft on a brief unpiloted up-and-down test flight at the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, test facility Tuesday, a dramatic demonstration of rocket technology intended to pave the way to a new, more powerful heavy lift booster and, eventually, crew-carrying interplanetary spacecraft. Running a day late because of a last-second technical glitch, the squat Starhopper’s powerful methane-fueled Raptor engine thundered to life at 6:02 p.m. EDT, pushing the stubby test vehicle straight up into a clear blue sky atop a jet of flame and a churning cloud of exhaust.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 28)

SPACEX’S DRAGON CAPSULE BACK ON EARTH WITH 3,400 POUNDS OF CARGO - A SpaceX Dragon supply ship departed the International Space Station and returned to Earth Tuesday to conclude its third round-trip flight to the orbiting research outpost, bringing home a spacesuit, mice and and numerous experiments. The space station’s Canadian-built robotic arm released the automated cargo capsule at 10:59 a.m. EDT (1459 GMT) Tuesday, around two-and-a-half hours after the arm removed the Dragon spacecraft from its berthing port on the research lab’s Harmony module.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 28)

NASA SATELLITES CONFIRM AMAZON RAINFOREST IS BURNING AT A RECORD RATE - As raging fires continue to sweep through the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, NASA satellites and astronauts aboard the International Space Station are tracking the flames from above. Their view confirmed that this is the most active fire year in Brazil since 2010. Fire detections by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite have been the highest since the year 2010 so far, with indications that 2019 may hit a record number of fires in the Amazon. NASA has been using MODIS sensors to detect thermal anomalies all over the world since 2003.   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 28)

SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE TO RETURN FROM SPACE STATION - A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft will return to Earth on August 27, bringing back experiments from the International Space Station (ISS), including investigations into how moss grows in space. The capsule originally launched July 25 from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, taking two days to reach the ISS. It successfully completed its cargo resupply mission and has been docked at the space station since then.    More
(Source: Astronomy Magazine - Aug 27)

SECOND TIME’S THE CHARM FOR SOYUZ DOCKING - Two days after a dramatic docking abort, an unpiloted Russian Soyuz spacecraft glided in for a picture-perfect link up with the International Space Station late Monday, using a different port the second time around and in the process confirming the problem Saturday was with faulty rendezvous equipment in the original docking port.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 27)

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