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)
CHINESE STARTUP TO LAUNCH REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE - China’s Smart Dragon-1 rocket will carry a heavy satellite developed by a commercial Chinese space company in its upcoming launch, according to Xinhua News Agency, which cited a report from Beijing Daily. The satellite, which weighs 65 kilograms (kg), was manufactured by Beijing Qiansheng Exploration Technology founded in 2017 with a license to develop microsatellites and satellite data applications. More (Source: Via Satellite - Aug 15)
SMALL SATELLITES GET SPECIAL TREATMENT UNDER FORTHCOMING CUSTOMER PORTAL - Orbital Transports has a vision of making space missions easy for companies wanting to fly small satellites. Earlier this month, the Chicago-based firm announced that by end of year, it will debut a portal that will be an "online storefront" for the products and services needed for a space mission. Orbital Transports says this is a differentiator in a crowded industry where several companies are trying to appeal to the small satellite market. More (Source: Forbes - Aug 15)
ROBONAUT TO RETURN TO ISS - As Russia prepares to launch an experimental humanoid robot to the International Space Station later this month, a similar NASA robot is being readied for a return to the station after repairs on Earth. In an Aug. 1 presentation at the ISS Research and Development Conference here, Jonathan Rogers, deputy project manager for Robonaut at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, said the robot will likely be flown back to the station late this year on either a Cygnus or Dragon cargo spacecraft. More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 13)
WILL SMALL SATELLITES HELP STOP BIG THREATS? - The Air Force’s primary early warning missile system could one day use small satellites to assist in the work,. Speaking at a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event, Col. Dennis Bythewood, program executive officer for space development at the Space and Missile Systems Center. said DATE that the service was considering using a setup comprised of hundreds of satellites for the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared system. OPIR will replace the Air Force’s current early warning missile system, the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS). Those satellites provide early warnings of ballistic missile attacks on the United States, its deployed forces, or its allies. More (Source: C4ISRNet - Aug 13)
SPACEX IS UTILIZING UBER’S BUSINESS STRATEGY TO BRING SATELLITES TO SPACE - We all like Uber Pool, right? Not only does it put a smile on our faces to rideshare at 3 a.m. across the Williamsburg Bridge, but it also cuts down on costs. Shouldn’t the same rideshare perks be true when it comes to SpaceX and satellites? Well, that Elon Musk is one crafty, crafty rascal. You might recall back in May, when SpaceX took the first steps to be the premiere company to deliver cheap, satellite-based internet to our planet. That’s right satellite internet for the planet Earth. More (Source: Observer - Aug 13)
ULA DELTA IV ROCKET SET TO LAUNCH GPS 3-SERIES SATELLITE FROM CAPE CANAVERAL AUGUST 22 - United Launch Alliance has announced their next rocket launch from Cape Canaveral will be on Thursday, August 22. The Delta IV rocket will launch the Global Positioning System (GPS) 3-series satellite, built by Lockheed Martin. This satellite will be the U.S. Air Force’s second third-generation navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. Launch window opens at 9 a.m. More (Source: SpaceCoastDaily.com - Aug 11)
RUSSIA INVENTS SELF-DESTROYING SATELLITE TO SOLVE BURGEONING ‘SPACE JUNK’ PROBLEM - Russia’s Roscosmos space agency has invented a satellite with the ability to destroy itself at the end of its life, offering a solution to the significant problem of space debris. The materials used in the satellite means it would “evaporate” when it is no longer useful, preventing it from adding to the increasing volume of defunct man-made objects that are floating around in space. More (Source: RT - Aug 11)
WHY LOW-EARTH ORBIT SATELLITES ARE THE NEW SPACE RACE - lon 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. More (Source: Bloomberg - Aug 10)
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