CAN WE USE SPECIAL SAILS TO BRING OLD SATELLITES BACK DOWN TO EARTH? - The growing problem of space debris in LEO (Low-Earth Orbit) is garnering more and more attention. With thousands of satellites in orbit, and thousands more on the way, our appetite for satellites seems boundless. But every satellite has a shelf-life. What do we do with them when they’ve outlived their usefulness and devolve into simple, troublesome space debris? In the next five years alone, it’s expected that we will launch up to 2600 more nanosatellites and cubesats.    More
(Source: Universe Today - Jul 11)

ROBOTIC SPACEX CARGO MISSION COULD AID SPACE SETTLEMENT - SpaceX's Dragon capsule will launch toward the ISS on July 21 with lots of intriguing experiments aboard. The next SpaceX mission to the International Space Station (ISS) may be uncrewed, but it could nonetheless eventually help humanity extend its footprint far beyond low Earth orbit. The company's robotic Dragon cargo capsule is scheduled to launch toward the ISS atop a Falcon 9 rocket on July 21 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 11)

ARIANESPACE VEGA LAUNCH FAILS, EMIRATI SATELLITE LOST - The fifteenth launch of a European Vega rocket ended in failure July 10, resulting in the loss of an imaging satellite for the United Arab Emirates. The Vega rocket, built by Italian manufacturer Avio, lifted off at 9:53 p.m. Eastern from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on the northern coast of South America. Telemetry data indicated a deviation from the rocket’s intended course around its second minute of flight. The rocket left its intended course during its second-stage burn.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jul 11)

POLISH SPACE STARTUP PUTS FIRST NANOSATS INTO ORBIT, EYES SATELLITE CONSTELLATION.. - Polish space startup SatRevolution successfully deployed its first two nanosats, the Swiatowid and the KRAKsat, into orbit from the International Space Station July 3. The company says the deployment, carried out by NanoRacks, marks the beginning of its initiative to place some 1,024 nanosats into orbit as part of its Real-time Earth-observation Constellation (REC) project. Grzegorz Zwolinski, the president of SatRevolution’s management board, told SpaceNews that, under the project, the business aims to place 16 nanosats into orbit by 2022.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jul 10)

EMERGING SMALL SATS COULD COMPLICATE SPECTRUM - Federal agencies ranging from the Federal Communications Commission to the National Institute of Standards and Technology are pushing advances in small satellite technologies, but there is a downside for spectrum holders, according to experts. Small satellite technology is a revolution the FCC can't ignore, Chairman Ajit Pai told a group of satellite industry executives at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on July 9.   More
(Source: FCW - Jul 10)

LIGHTSAIL 2 BEAMS 1ST PHOTOS HOME FROM ORBIT! HOW TO TRACK THE LITTLE SATELLITE. - The Planetary Society's solar-sailing spacecraft LightSail 2 beamed back its first views of Earth on Sunday (July 7). The images feature Earth's silhouette as the spacecraft floats into an orbital sunset. Sunlight scattering around the onboard cameras creates epic lens flares that would make the likes of action directors J.J. Abrams and Michael Bay proud.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 9)

SPACEX WINS NASA CONTRACT TO LAUNCH X-RAY TELESCOPE ON REUSED ROCKET - NASA has selected a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — flying with a reused first stage booster — to launch the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer mission from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in April 2021, bypassing Northrop Grumman’s air-launched Pegasus rocket for the task. The $50.3 million contract with SpaceX announced Monday covers “the launch service and other mission-related costs,” NASA said in a press release.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 9)

NOW YOU CAN CHECK IN ON BILL NYE’S SOLAR SAIL AS IT ORBITS EARTH - A new dashboard will let people track the progress of one of Earth’s most unique satellites from anywhere in the world. The Planetary Society just announced a new website that will constantly display the status of the crowdfunded satellite as it orbits the planet. LightSail 2 is the successor to LightSail, a spacecraft that launched in 2015 and whose primary mission was to show that a sail could unfurl in space. The team lost communication with the first LightSail a week after it made it to space, then got communication back, then lost it again, then, finally, got a gorgeous picture of the sail unfurled.    More
(Source: The Verge - Jul 8)

UAE SATELLITE LAUNCH POSTPONED FOR SECOND TIME - The launch of the UAE’s newest satellite has been delayed for a second time over poor weather. FalconEye1, a reconnaissance satellite, had been due to be launched from Guiana Space Centre on Saturday July 6 but this was postponed because of high winds on the eastern coast of South America.   More
(Source: The National - Jul 8)

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