FIRST EUROPEAN DATA RELAY SYSTEM SATELLITE FORGES 20,000 SUCCESSFUL LASER LINKS - The European Data Relay System (EDRS)--dubbed the "SpaceDataHighway" by its private operator, Airbus--has passed another milestone. EDRS-A, the first satellite in what will eventually be a global constellation, has made its 20,000th successful optical link to its customer satellites since its launch in January 2016, marking a world first in laser communication in space. This milestone provides further evidence that ESA's Partnership Projects initiative successfully develop sustainable end-to-end systems, right up to in-orbit validation. The system is a public-private partnership between ESA and Airbus, with significant investment by the German Space Administration DLR.   More
(Source: Space Ref - Apr 4)

CALIFORNIA'S 'SUPERBLOOM' OF WILDFLOWERS LOOKS SPECTACULAR FROM SPACE! - The Landsat 8 satellite, a collaboration between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, saw "an explosion" of wildflowers that covered green areas of deserts in Southern California, and DigitalGlobe satellites caught higher-resolution images of the blooms. The wildflowers blossomed following a wet winter in the region, NASA's Earth Observatory reported. USGS captured the images with the Operational Land Imager on the Landsat satellite looking down near the town of New Cuyama, which is about 130 miles (210 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. The DigitalGlobe images focused on a location about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Los Angeles.   More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 4)

PROGRESS CARGO FREIGHTER READIED FOR FAST-TRACK SPACE STATION DELIVERY - A Russian Progress resupply and refueling freighter is set for launch Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on top of a Soyuz booster. If everything goes according to plan, the cargo carrier will dock with the International Space Station less than three-and-a-half hours later. The Progress MS-11 supply ship is packed with more than 3.7 tons (3.4 metric tons) of propellant, food, hardware, water and breathing air for the space station and its six-person crew, according to a cargo manifest provided by NASA.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 4)

TWO SOYUZ ROCKETS ROLLED OUT FOR LAUNCHES ON DIFFERENT CONTINENTS - Russian ground crews working in starkly different environments on the barren steppes of Kazakhstan and in the lush jungles of South America are readying a pair of Soyuz rockets for two launches Thursday, one to resupply the International Space Station, and another to broaden the capacity of SES’s O3b Internet network. The two launches are scheduled five-and-a-half hours apart, beginning with the blastoff of a Soyuz-2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1101:35 GMT (7:01:35 a.m. EDT) carrying the Progress MS-11 cargo freighter with several tons of fuel, food and supplies for the space station and its six-person crew.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 3)

ISS AT INCREASED RISK OF IMPACT AFTER INDIAN ANTI-SATELLITE WEAPON TEST - All technologically advanced nations have at least a few space-based assets. In modern military conflict, those objects could become targets. Several countries have conducted tests with satellite-killing weapons, most recently India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced last week that the Mission Shakti test had successfully destroyed a satellite in low-Earth orbit. Now, NASA is expressing concern that the test could have placed the International Space Station at risk. Space is big, but the space around Earth is feeling much more cramped lately. As the cost of reaching orbit drops, more countries and companies have launched spacecraft that will never come down of their own accord. That problem is multiplied a thousand-fold if one of those objects breaks apart, say because a missile smacked into it.    More
(Source: ExtremeTech - Apr 3)

WHY THE AIR FORCE STILL CANNOT IDENTIFY MORE THAN A DOZEN SATELLITES FROM ONE DECEMBER LAUNCH - In the afternoon of December 3rd, 2018, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from the southern coast of California, lofting the largest haul of individual satellites the vehicle had ever transported. At the time, it seemed like the mission was a slam dunk, with all 64 satellites deploying into space as designed. But nearly four months later, more than a dozen satellites from the launch have yet to be identified in space. We know that they’re up there, and where they are, but it’s unclear which satellites belong to which satellite operator on the ground.   More
(Source: The Verge - Apr 3)

NASA CHIEF LABELS INDIAN ANTI-SATELLITE MISSILE TEST A 'TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE THING' - The head of NASA, administrator Jim Bridenstine, has called a recent Indian anti-satellite missile test, which destroyed a satellite in low Earth orbit and blasted 400 pieces of debris into space, a "terrible, terrible thing". "That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight," said Bridenstine, speaking at a livestreamed Town Hall gathering of NASA employees. "It's unacceptable and NASA needs to be very clear about what its impact to us is."   More
(Source: CNET - Apr 3)

BOEING CONFIRMS DELAY OF FIRST STARLINER CREW CAPSULE TEST FLIGHT TO AUGUST - Boeing said Tuesday the first orbital test flight of its commercial crew capsule, named the Starliner, will be delayed until August “in order to avoid unnecessary schedule pressure” and give priority on the Atlas 5 rocket’s manifest to a U.S. Air Force communications satellite. A statement issued by Boeing on Tuesday confirmed previous reports that the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, designed and built under a $4.2 billion contract from NASA, would miss its previous target launch date for an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station in April.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 3)

INDIAN MILITARY SATELLITE, 20 MORE PLANET IMAGING CUBESATS LAUNCHED BY PSLV - An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle blasted off and successfully deployed a military electronic surveillance satellite and 28 nanosatellites for companies in the United States, Lithuania, Spain and Switzerland at two different altitudes Monday, before the rocket’s upper stage began an extended mission as a solar-powered experiment platform in low Earth orbit. The 145-foot-tall PSLV lifted off at 0357 GMT Monday (11:57 p.m. EDT Sunday) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, an Indian spaceport on the country’s southeast coast around 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Chennai.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 1)

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