Atlas 5 launches weather satellite, reentry tech demo mission
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-10 11:37
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 401 lifted off at 4:49 a.m. Eastern Nov. 10. A problem loading liquid oxygen in the rocket’s Centaur upper stage delayed the liftoff by 24 minutes. JPSS-2 is the second of four planned polar-orbiting weather satellites in the JPSS program.
HawkEye 360 to launch satellites on Rocket Lab’s first mission from U.S. soil
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-09 21:17
Rocket Lab will have a 13-day launch window starting December 7. The mission, named “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,’ will be Rocket Lab USA’s first from U.S. Soil. The company to date has only launched missions from New Zealand.
China scraps expendable Long March 9 rocket plan in favor of reusable version
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-09 15:27
Long March 9 rocket project has been under development at CALT for a number of years. The original plan was to build an expendable rocket capable of delivering 100 metric tons or more to LEO. A pair of the new rockets will be capable of sending a crewed spacecraft and, separately, a landing stack to lunar orbit.
NASA investigating “very minor” Artemis hurricane damage
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-11 12:12
NASA official says initial inspections of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft turned up only “very minor damage” to the vehicle. Jim Free, NASA associate administrator for exploration systems development, said remote inspections of the vehicle, using launch pad cameras, showed no major damage. He did not state if any repairs, or lost time for pre-launch preparations, would further delay the launch.
Momentus upbeat about second Vigoride mission
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-11 00:04
Momentus says it has "higher confidence" In second space tug set to launch in December. The company’s Vigoride 5 tug is on track to launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-6 rideshare mission. Vigoride 5 follows the company’s first tug, Vigoride 3, launched in May.
UK grants Starlink and Telesat NGSO licenses
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-11 00:02
SpaceX gets approval to increase the number of NGSO gateways in the U.K. From three to nine. Ofcom also granted a license to Telesat for a competing constellation bound for non-geostationary orbit. Ofcom said Nov. 10 it is also continuing to review how it manages spectrum.
Advanced Space wins $72 million Air Force contract for lunar experiment
Original Publication Date: 2022-11-10 22:41
The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded a $72 million contract to Advanced Space. The spacecraft is projected to launch in late 2025 and will conduct two years of on-orbit experiments. Oracle will operate in the vicinity of Earth-moon Lagrange Point 1, about 200,000 miles from Earth.
NASASpaceFlight.com
OneWeb has resumed deployment of its satellite constellation with the launch of 36 satellites aboard India’s GSLV Mk.III rocket. The mission – which marks the first commercial launch for the GSLV – lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sunday, Oct. 23.
Commercial Archives
Rocket Factory Augsburg has revealed the second stage for its upcoming RFA ONE rocket. The company’s tweet showed a second stage, integrated with a Helix engine. This engine will power both the first and second stages. NASASpaceflight spoke to RFA about the reveal and RFA’s test campaign for the second stage pathfinder.
International Archives
Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has revealed the second stage for its upcoming RFA ONE rocket. The company’s tweet showed a second stage, integrated with a Helix engine. This engine will power both the first and second stages. NASASpaceflight spoke to RFA about the reveal and RFA’s test campaign for the second stage.
News – Spaceflight101
Russia's Rockot booster is set to blast off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 17:57 UTC with the Sentinel-3B multi-function satellite. The rocket will carry the multi-function Sentinel-3B satellite into orbit. It is the latest addition to Europe's Copernicus satellite fleet.
ISS Updates – Spaceflight101 – International Space Station
A veteran NASA spacewalker and an EVA rookie from Japan ended their week with nearly six hours of work outside the International Space Station on Friday. The restoration of the Station’s Mobile Servicing System started last year and continued in January to provide Canadarm2 with a new pair of grappling hands.
Featured – Spaceflight101
SpaceX's Falcon 9 took to the skies over Florida’s Cape Canaveral Monday afternoon. The Falcon 9 lifted a flight-proven Dragon spacecraft into orbit for a critical delivery of science gear, supplies and maintenance hardware. The Dragon is the first of at least six cargo ships inbound to the U.S. Segment of ISS this year.
Re-Entry: Long March 11 Rocket Body – Spaceflight101
The CZ-11 fourth stage used leftover propellant for a partial de-orbit maneuver, lowering its perigee to 120 Kilometers to significantly accelerate its orbital decay. It is reportedly built around a YF-50 main engine and in a nominal mission conducts the orbital circularization after the three CZ-11 stages finish their job.
NASA to Brief Media on First Earth Water-Monitoring Satellite Mission
NASA will host a virtual media briefing to discuss the upcoming launch of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite. The briefing will livestream on NASA Television, Facebook and YouTube, as well as the agency’s app and on its website. Questions can be asked on social media during the briefing using #AskNASA.
Satellites Help Scientists Track Dramatic Wetlands Loss in Louisiana
NASA-funded researchers quantified those wetlands losses at nearly 21 square miles (54 square kilometers) per year since the early 1980s. Some of those wetlands were submerged by rising seas; others were disrupted by oil and gas infrastructure and hurricanes. But the primary driver of losses was coastal and river engineering.
As Psyche Mission Moves Forward, NASA Responds to Independent Review
NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) share response to independent review board's findings. Review board convened to determine why Psyche missed its planned 2022 launch opportunity. Board recommended increasing staffing, establishing open communications and an improved reporting system. Board will meet again in spring 2023 to assess progress.
NASA to Discuss Psyche Independent Review Board Results
NASA will host a community town hall at 12 p.m. EDT (9 a.m. PDT) on Friday, Nov. 4. Members of the science community, academia, media, and public, are invited to join the discussion online. Following the town hall, NASA will host a media call.
NASA Prepares to Say ‘Farewell’ to InSight Spacecraft
InSight’s seismometer has detected more than 1,300 marsquakes since the lander touched down in November 2018. The lander data has yielded details about Mars’ interior layers, its liquid core, the surprisingly variable remnants beneath the surface.
NASA Solar System Ambassadors: Sharing the Science for 25 Years
NASA’s Solar System Ambassadors Program is celebrating its 25th anniversary in fall 2022. The program is funded by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and is managed by NASA’’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. In the spirit of a genuine grassroots endeavor, the Solar System Ambassadors program was originally called the Galileo Ambassador Program.
Haunting Portrait: NASA’s Webb Reveals Dust, Structure in Pillars of Creation
Mid-infrared light excels at observing gas and dust in extreme detail. The densest areas of dust are the darkest shades of gray. The red region toward the top, which forms an uncanny V, is where the dust is diffuse and cooler. Notice that no background galaxies make an appearance – the interstellar medium in the densest part of the Milky Way’s disk is too swollen with gas and dust to allow their distant light to penetrate.