ROCKET COMPANY DEVELOPS MASSIVE CATAPULT TO LAUNCH SATELLITES INTO SPACE WITHOUT USING JET FUEL: '10,000 TIMES THE FORCE OF EARTH'S GRAVITY' - A California company has tech that will likely draw attention from the Punkin Chunkin community. That's because SpinLaunch is developing a large rotating arm that uses kinetic energy to fling 440-pound satellites into low orbit, with successful tests already in the books. Importantly, the process doesn't need rocket fuel to work. It's all powered by electricity. More (Source: Yahoo - Jun 17)
SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET SUFFERS RARE LAST-SECOND ABORT DURING STARLINK SATELLITE LAUNCH - A SpaceX rocket suffered a last-second abort during the attempted launch of 22 Starlink internet satellites from Florida on Friday afternoon (June 14). The SpaceX booster, a workhorse Falcon 9 rocket that has flown 15 times before, aborted its liftoff while igniting its nine first-stage engines at 5:07 p.m. EDT (2107 GMT) atop the Space Launch Complex 40 pad of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 17)
'NO EMERGENCY SITUATION' ON INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, NASA SAYS AFTER ASTRONAUT MEDICAL DRILL AUDIO CAUSES STIR - It sounded like a nightmare scenario: An astronaut commander on the International Space Station in distress, suffering from decompression sickness and a flight surgeon on Earth stuck in traffic giving advice that was broadcast live on an official NASA livestream. But while it seemed all-too-real, the scenario was actually audio from a simulation on Earth that, somehow, made it out on NASA's public broadcast, sparking news and social media reports of a dire situation in space. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 17)
OVZON’S FIRST BROADBAND SATELLITE REACHES GEOSTATIONARY SLOT - Ovzon’s first fully owned satellite has reached its geostationary position after a five-month journey in space and passed initial health checks, the Swedish broadband operator announced June 14. Per Norén, Ovzon’s CEO, said Ovzon 3 will enter service “within a few short weeks,” once manufacturer Maxar Technologies completes the remaining in-orbit tests. SpaceX launched Ovzon 3 on a Falcon 9 rocket Jan. 3, closing a chapter on years of launch and manufacturing setbacks for a satellite originally slated to fly in 2021. More (Source: SpaceNews - Jun 15)
TO CALIBRATE TELESCOPES ON EARTH, NASA'S LAUNCHING AN 'ARTIFICIAL STAR' TO ORBIT - Come 2029, skywatchers can glimpse at least one "star" in the sky made by humans. Earlier this week, NASA announced plans to place a small satellite in Earth orbit at a little over 22,000 miles (35,400 kilometers) above our planet's surface — far enough for the satellite to mimic a real star to telescopes on Earth. Scientists say the satellite, named Landolt, wouldn't be bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye, but if you happen to have a personal telescope at home, you may be able to spot a shoebox-sized object hovering above the United States in a stationary position. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 15)
ONE SATELLITE CRASH COULD UPEND MODERN LIFE - Earlier this year, two satellites from two adversarial countries nearly collided while orbiting Earth at thousands of miles an hour. The first, an American spacecraft on a NASA mission to study the planet’s upper atmosphere, wasn’t built to maneuver in orbit. The second, a Russian surveillance spacecraft, was defunct, and thus uncontrollable. The only thing people on Earth could do was watch. Darren McKnight, a space-debris expert, stayed up all night on February 28, monitoring the trajectories of the satellites, which, combined, weighed several thousand pounds. More (Source: The Atlantic - Jun 15)
UNPRECEDENTED RESOLUTION: MAXAR SATELLITE PHOTOGRAPHS ISS AND STARLINER - Maxar is primarily known for its high-quality satellite images of the earth’s surface. They are used for monitoring, disaster and warfare assessment. Maxar satellites regularly photograph the front line, the results of strikes on facilities in the Russian rear and traces of war crimes in the occupied territories. More (Source: Universe Space Tech - Jun 14)
BOEING STARLINER STUCK ON SPACE STATION AS MORE LEAKS DISCOVERED - After years of delays and technical problems, Boeing's Starliner finally made it to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board last week. But when exactly it'll be able to undock and deliver its crew of two back to the surface remains to be seen. Teams have discovered an astonishing five different helium leaks so far, each representing yet another thorn in the spacecraft's already cursed development. The gas is "used in spacecraft thruster systems to allow the thrusters to fire" while navigating through space, according to Boeing. More (Source: Yahoo - Jun 14)
SPACEX LAUNCHING 22 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM FLORIDA JUNE 13 - SpaceX is scheduled to launch 22 more of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit from Florida's Space Coast on Thursday (June 13). The Starlink satellites will lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during a two-hour window that opens at 4:46 p.m. EDT (2046 GMT). SpaceX had planned to launch the mission on Wednesday evening (June 12) but pushed the try back by about 24 hours. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 13)
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