THE PERFECTLY FINE, ALREADY-PAID-FOR SATELLITES TRUMP WANTS TO DESTROY IN A FIERY ATMOSPHERIC REENTRY - NASA is planning to decommission premier satellite missions that gather information on planet-warming pollution and other climate vital signs beginning as soon as October, sources inside and outside of the agency told CNN. The destruction of the satellites — which will be abandoned and allowed to eventually burn up in a fiery descent into Earth’s atmosphere — marks the latest step by the Trump administration to scale back federal climate science. More (Source: CNN - Aug 15)
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION UNDERGOES CREW HANDOVER, CHANGE OF COMMAND - Expedition 73 aboard the International Space Station (ISS) continues to perform its scheduled science and maintenance activities on humanity’s premier orbiting outpost, now more than a quarter-century old. The Station has a new commander and a new set of crew members on the U.S. side of the complex, as four astronauts departed this week to conclude their tour of duty on board ISS. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Aug 15)
NEW SATELLITE LAUNCHED FOR CLIMATE ANALYSIS - A newly launched satellite will help with weather forecasting and climate analysis. UK Aerospace company Airbus, based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, built the MetOp-SG A1 under leadership from the European Space Agency (ESA). It was successfully launched into orbit on an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 01:37 BST. More (Source: BBC News - Aug 14)
CHINA LAUNCHES 8TH BATCH OF SATELLITES FOR 13,000-STRONG INTERNET MEGACONSTELLATION - China is ramping up construction of its national satellite-internet megaconstellation. A Long March 5B rocket lifted off from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the island of Hainan on Wednesday (Aug. 13) at 2:43 a.m. EDT (0643 GMT; 2:43 p.m. local time), carrying a batch of satellites aloft for the Guowang broadband network. More (Source: Space.com - Aug 14)
ULA LAUNCHES VULCAN ROCKET ON FIRST SPACE FORCE MISSION - United Launch Alliance fired off it’s first fully operational Vulcan rocket Tuesday, boosting two military satellites into space in the first Space Force-sanctioned flight of a new launcher that eventually will replace the company’s Atlas 5 and already-retired Deltas. Equipped with four solid-fuel strap-on boosters for additional takeoff power, the 198-foot-tall Vulcan’s two methane-fueled BE-4 engines thundered to life at 8:56p.m. EDT, instantly propelling the rocket away from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 13)
SPACEX RIVAL AST SPACEMOBILE PREPARES TO DEPLOY NEARLY FIVE DOZEN SATELLITES - Satellite designer AST SpaceMobile said it’s preparing to deploy nearly five dozen satellites to power cellular-based broadband networks, a move that establishes the company as a rival to Elon Musk’s dominant SpaceX. The company, based in Texas, released its second-quarter earnings after the bell on Monday, reporting that its satellites are fully funded and preparing for deployment with more than $1.5 billion on its balance sheet. More (Source: MSNBC - Aug 13)
LAUNCH ROUNDUP: VULCAN AND ARIANE TO LAUNCH AHEAD OF STARLINK MISSIONS - After a week of weather delays across the U.S, launch cadence increases as providers strive to catch up with the backlog. A navigational technology satellite and a classified payload are expected to launch atop Vulcan, followed by an Ariane 6 carrying a weather satellite, and a Chinese Chang Zheng 5B rocket; all these launches are scheduled for around Wednesday of this week. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Aug 12)
SPACEX LAUNCHES AMAZON’S PROJECT KUIPER SATELLITES ON FIFTH SCHEDULED ATTEMPT - After four scheduled and unsuccessful launch attempts, the fifth time proved to be the charm as SpaceX managed to launch 24 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet service from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday morning. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida happened at 8:35 a.m. EDT (12:35 UTC), a couple hours after sunrise. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 12)
BAD WEATHER FOR FALCON 9 BOOSTER RECOVERY PREVENTS LAUNCH OF AMAZON’S PROJECT KUIPER SATELLITES - For a fourth time in as many days, SpaceX was unable to launch 24 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet service from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Technical issues with the Falcon 9 rocket prevented launches on Thursday and Friday and poor weather stymied launch attempts on Saturday and Sunday. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 11)
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