ULA BEGINS STACKING ATLAS 5 ROCKET FOR LATE JUNE LAUNCH - The bronze first stage of United Launch Alliance’s next Atlas 5 rocket arrived at its Cape Canaveral launch pad Friday, where it will be joined by five solid-fueled boosters, a Centaur upper stage and a U.S. Air Force communications satellite in the coming weeks ahead of liftoff set for June 27. Riding on a specially-outfitted trailer, the rocket’s first stage was trucked from the Atlas Space Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the nearby Complex 41 launch pad, where cranes lifted the 107-foot-long (32-meter) stage vertical and placed it on a mobile platform inside the Vertical Integration Facility.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 21)

LONG MARCH 3C ROCKET LAUNCHES BEIDOU SATELLITE TOWARD GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT - China launched a Beidou navigation satellite Friday using a Long March 3C rocket, adding another node to a growing space-based network that Chinese officials say will broadcast positioning and timing signals around the world next year. The Long March 3C launcher, fitted with a pair of liquid-fueled strap-on boosters, fired away from the Xichang space center at 1548 GMT (11:48 a.m. EDT) Friday, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, or CALT, the state-owned contractor that builds most Chinese satellite launchers.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 19)

SATELLITE DATA CAN HELP MONITOR SHIFTING AND SINKING GROUNDS - Land subsidence is the shifting and sinking of the ground, and it can be disastrous for low lying countries. Subsidence can be caused by several factors, including erosion, earthquakes, mining, and even rapid urbanization. Because of the risks that subsidence poses to urban areas and agriculture, it is crucial to find ways to monitor and map subsidence in regions where city infrastructure, buildings, homes, and crop yields are under threat.   More
(Source: Earth.com - May 19)

SPACEX DELAYS LAUNCH OF 60 STARLINK SATELLITES AGAIN, THIS TIME FOR SOFTWARE CHECKS - The first big batch of SpaceX internet satellites will have to wait at least another week to get aloft. Elon Musk's company scrubbed the launch of 60 Starlink spacecraft tonight (May 16) about two hours before their planned 10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 GMT on May 17) liftoff, citing a desire to update software and perform some more checks.   More
(Source: Space.com - May 17)

FIRST HAM SATELLITE — OSCAR 1 — WILL JOIN AMSAT’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AT DAYTON - A working prototype of OSCAR 1, Amateur Radio’s first satellite, will be on display at AMSAT’s Dayton Hamvention® booth. AMSAT’s exhibit will be in Building 1 (Maxim Hall) at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio. OSCAR 1 (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) was launched into orbit in 1961, at the dawn of the Space Age. Built by a group of California-based radio amateurs for about $60, OSCAR 1 was the first nongovernmental satellite. It transmitted a simple “HI” in CW for nearly 20 days and was heard in 28 different countries.    More
(Source: ARRL - May 17)

WATCH INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FLYBYS ALL NIGHT LONG - The annual International Space Station marathon viewing season begins later this week, when skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere can watch up to five ISS passes in one night. I've seen the International Space Station (ISS) pass over my house a hundred times yet never tire of the sight. Inside that bright light, a crew of several astronauts looks earthward with the same sense of wonder. Now in its 21st year in orbit, the ISS is the brightest, most recognizable satellite in the sky. Few naked-eye sky sights elicit more wows at public star parties than the Venus-bright "star" speeding through the constellations.   More
(Source: Sky & Telescope - May 16)

SPACEX DELAYS LAUNCH OF 60 STARLINK INTERNET SATELLITES OVER HIGH WINDS - SpaceX will have to wait at least one more day to start setting up its internet-satellite megaconstellation. A Falcon 9 rocket was scheduled to launch the first 60 of SpaceX's Starlink satellites tonight (May 15) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, but Mother Nature didn't cooperate: Strong high-altitude winds forced the company to push the attempt by 24 hours. SpaceX made that call just seconds before beginning its launch livestream at 10:45 p.m. EDT (0245 GMT).   More
(Source: Space.com - May 16)

SPACEX KICKS OFF ITS SPACE-BASED INTERNET SERVICE TOMORROW WITH 60-SATELLITE STARLINK LAUNCH - As wild as it sounds, the race is on to build a functioning space internet — and SpaceX is taking its biggest step yet with the launch of 60 (!) satellites tomorrow that will form the first wave of its Starlink constellation. It’s a hugely important and incredibly complex launch for the company — and should be well worth launching. A Falcon 9 loaded to the gills with the flat Starlink test satellites (they’re “production design” but not final hardware) is vertical at launchpad 40 in Cape Canaveral. It has completed its static fire test and should have a window for launch tomorrow, weather permitting.   More
(Source: TechCrunch - May 15)

SPACEX IS ABOUT TO TAKE THE LEAD IN THE SATELLITE INTERNET RACE - Elon Musk’s space company is planning to launch 60 of its own satellites in a single launch this week, the first of more than 4,000 spacecraft planned for the Starlink network. If successful, the flight will make SpaceX the frontrunner in a tight race to be the first operator of an internet satellite network. Why? SpaceX is the only competitor with its own rockets.   More
(Source: Quartz - May 15)

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