Boeing preparing to ship milestone O3b mPower satellites for launch
Original Publication Date: 2023-05-04 22:08
SES needs to provide upgraded broadband services from medium Earth orbit (MEO) Boeing is preparing to ship the fifth and sixth O3b mPower satellites this month to Florida for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9. The first pair were launched in December on a Falcon 9 and are still undergoing on-orbit health checks. The second pair launched on a Falcon 9 on April 28 and are several months away from climbing to their final MEO positions.
Debate rages about future of New Horizons
Original Publication Date: 2023-05-04 20:32
NASA and the science team for a spacecraft in the outer reaches of the solar system are locked in a dispute. The uncertainty about the future of the New Horizons mission started last year. The spacecraft, launched in 2006, flew by Pluto in 2015 and the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth.
Lockheed Martin announces reorganization of its space business
Original Publication Date: 2023-05-04 20:17
Lockheed Martin is consolidating several businesses focused on space into three sectors. Commercial civil space, national security space, and strategic and missile defense. Lockheed Martin, one of the nation’s largest defense contractors, had $66 billion in sales in 2022. The company reported in January that its space backlog is nearly $30 billion.
CesiumAstro to supply communications payloads for Space Development Agency satellites
Original Publication Date: 2023-05-04 11:23
CesiumAstro will supply electronic phased-array payloads for seven U.S. Military satellites. Raytheon is producing missile-detection sensor satellites for a low Earth orbit constellation. CesiumAstro founder: Agreement with Raytheon marks a major milestone for the company.
Shuttling off to space — 56 new SpaceX Starlink satellites depart Cape Canaveral for orbit – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-05-04 00:00
A Falcon 9 launched 56 Starlink satellites to LEO from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was the seventh launch and landing for this Falcon 9, first stage booster, which previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19.
European space and telecoms players form partnership to bid for IRIS² Constellation – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-05-05 00:00
Group of European space and telecommunications players have come together to form a partnership. The open consortium will be governed by Airbus Defence and Space, Eutelsat, Hispasat, SES and Thales Alenia Space. The consortium will encourage start-ups, mid-Caps and SMEs to join the partnership.
NOAA is preparing for the hurricane season – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-05-04 00:00
This week is National Hurricane Preparedness Week, a time to start pre-season preparations and understand the risks from hurricanes. The Pacific hurricane season begins May 15 and the Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1. NOAA satellites monitor the ocean and atmospheric conditions that lead to the development of tropical storms and hurricanes.
STN service transforms MENA satellite broadcasting – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-05-04 00:00
STN offers enhanced interference protection when uplinking to the Eutelsat 8West B satellite. No weather-related outages are assured by using two uplink sites located more than 5,000 kilometers apart. The signals are uplinked from two geographically diverse sites located on a different continents.
New Study of Uranus’ Large Moons Shows 4 May Hold Water
Chlorides and ammonia are likely abundant in the oceans of Uranus' largest moons. The moon Miranda may have held enough heat to maintain an ocean at some point. Digging into what lies beneath and on the surfaces of these moons will help scientists choose the best science instruments to survey them.
SpaceX surpasses 4,000 Starlink satellites on-orbit with Starlink Group 5-6 launch
Original Publication Date: 2023-05-04 00:13
The 30th launch of 2023 placed 56 Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit. Following launch, SpaceX landed booster B1069-7 on its autonomous spaceport drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG), stationed 630 km downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. This landing marked SpaceX’s 189th successful landing and 115th consecutive landing.