NEW SATELLITE WILL SHIFT SHAPE WHILE IN SPACE - While the U.S. and Russia often steal the scene when it comes to wondrous space missions, in Europe the U.K is launching a new satellite that is sure to surprise its international partners. The Eutelsat Quantum satellite, built by the firm Airbus, will be the first commercial satellite equipped to shapeshift while in orbit. Operators will be able to reconfigure the satellite in real time, modifying elements such as its frequency and the areas of the earth it covers. Speaking with Phys.org, Yohann Leroy, deputy CEO of French satellite operator Eutelsat, said that “what is really new is the level of flexibility that the satellite will provide […] thanks to a combination of technologies that we will put on board the satellite.” More (Source: Futurism - Feb 28)
RUSSIA CLAIMS IT NOW HAS LASERS TO SHOOT SATELLITES - A defense source tells Russian media that military engineers have advanced work on the next big anti-satellite weapon. Russian defense companies have created a plane-mounted laser that can hit satellites — at least according to an anonymous source quoted by Russian news agency Interfax. On Saturday, an Interfax report cited the source as saying that weapons maker Almaz-Antey has “completed work on the anti-satellite complex,” which includes the laser and associated ground control gear. More (Source: Defense One - Feb 28)
STATION HATCHES CLOSED, TRIO PREPARES TO HEAD HOME - At 2:58 p.m. EST, the hatch closed between the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking. Expedition 54 crewmates Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba of NASA and Commander Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos are scheduled to undock their Soyuz at 6:08 p.m. NASA Television will air live coverage of undocking beginning at 5:45 p.m. More (Source: NASA - Feb 28)
EUTELSAT QUANTUM — EUROPE'S NEW-GENERATION ULTRA-FLEXIBLE SATELLITE - This Monday, Eutelsat, Airbus and ESA presented the new Quantum satellite in Portsmouth, UK. A communications satellite of the latest generation, it is much more versatile than anything that came before. On July 9th 2015, less than three years ago, Eutelsat, Airbus, and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed an agreement for the construction of a telecommunications satellite called the "Quantum" that would be very different from all its predecessors. And now construction is finished: On Monday, the engineering partners presented the Quantum in the British coastal town of Portsmouth, with ESA astronaut Tim Peake in attendance. More (Source: Deutsche Welle - Feb 27)
JAPAN LAUNCHES H-2A ROCKET CARRYING RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITE - Japan on Tuesday launched an H-2A rocket carrying a government intelligence-gathering satellite from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan. The optical reconnaissance satellite will be used for such purposes as monitoring developments at North Korean missile launch facilities, increasing the number of the nation's intelligence-gathering satellites to seven. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. launched the H-2A F38 rocket from JAXA's launch site in Kagoshima Prefecture. More (Source: Kyodo News Plus - Feb 27)
SPACE HOTELS COULD BE REALITY BY 2021 - For many of us, space tourism seems pretty far off. But according to the Daily Mail, the ultra-wealthy could be making reservations in a space hotel as early as 2021. Once again, we are all super jealous of rich people and their extravagant travel plans. Billionaire hotel mogul, Robert Bigelow, founder of private space company Bigelow Aerospace, has announced the company’s plans to send an inflatable hotel into orbit and create a new space station. More (Source: Travel Weekly - Feb 27)
JAPANESE SPY SATELLITE LAUNCH DELAYED BY POOR WEATHER FORECAST - A bad weather forecast has prompted Japanese space officials to delay the launch of an H-2A rocket with a high-resolution government-owned reconnaissance satellite by at least 48 hours until Monday night, U.S. time. Ground crews at the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan’s primary spaceport in the southwestern part of the country, will keep the H-2A rocket protected inside a vertical assembly building before rollout to the launch pad around a half-day before liftoff. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 25)
SPACEX POSTPONES FALCON 9 LAUNCH OVER PAYLOAD FAIRING CONCERNS - SpaceX officials have postponed the launch of a Spanish-owned telecommunications satellite from Cape Canaveral planned for this weekend to conduct additional testing on the Falcon 9’s payload fairing pressurization system, the company announced Saturday. SpaceX did not set a new launch date, but the mission was expected to be pushed back multiple days from its previous Sunday launch target. “Standing down from this weekend’s launch attempt to conduct additional testing on the fairing’s pressurization system,” SpaceX said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Once complete, and pending range availability, we will confirm a new targeted launch date.” More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 25)
ASTRONAUT: TRUMP'S PLAN FOR THE SPACE STATION A HUGE MISTAKE - Donald Trump's administration is floating a proposal to return to the moon -- and to shut down the International Space Station to help pay for it. The first part of this idea is good. The second is horrible. If enacted, it could well spell the end of NASA's human spaceflight for the foreseeable future. There is a wild card here, too: I refer to the commercial spaceflight efforts of companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. For the first time, visionary leaders of commercial companies are striving to build space infrastructure and exploration programs funded by commercial activities. Yes, there is the possibility of NASA partnering with them, but that is not the pressing question in my view now; the continuation of ISS is. More (Source: CNN - Feb 23)
Previous Next
