ULA gearing up for first Vulcan launch
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-17 05:39
All major components for the first Vulcan Centaur rocket are now at the launch site. United Launch Alliance prepares for a launch in late December. The primary payload for Cert-1 is Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander. ULA plans to ramp up the Vulcan launch rate to twice a month by the end of 2025.
Lockheed Martin to demonstrate space-based 5G network
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 22:18
Lockheed Martin plans to launch a payload to orbit next year to demonstrate 5G connectivity from space. The experiment is part of a larger project, known as 5G.MIL, that the company started in 2020. The company ultimately hopes to forge what it calls an “all-domain network’
OHB, feeling undervalued, going private in deal with KKR
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 21:56
European space company OHB announced a deal with investment company KKR in August. KKR offered to purchase shares floating on the public market and not held by OHB’s majority owners. CEO Marco Fuchs: "We decided we did not want to continue as a listed company"
Norway buys Telenor’s satellite business to expand space ambitions
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 20:54
Norwegian state-run telco Telenor announced plans to sell its satellite division. Space Norway, part of the country's space agency, will buy Telenor Satellite. Deal would help consolidate the country's space interests. Telenor Satellite owns and operates three geostationary spacecraft at 1 degree West.
Firms are tackling challenges to unlock the potential of hyperspectral imagery
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 19:26
Hyperspectral imagery satellites scan tens or hundreds of bands of light allowing for a more nuanced understanding of phenomena on Earth. This includes determining material composition and subtle changes in objects, like the health of crops or quality of water. There are many challenges, including managing bandwidth tradeoff versus spatial resolution, the sheer volume of data, and the laws of physics.
Project Kuiper ready for satellite production after successful prototype tests
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 15:00
Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites are entering production next month without design changes. Two recently launched prototypes aced end-to-end tests, the broadband constellation’s vice president of technology said. The tests put Amazon’s constellation plans on track to start launches in the first half of 2024.
China launches new-gen Haiyang ocean monitoring satellite
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 13:55
China launches first of a new series of Haiyang ocean observation satellites. Haiyang-3 (01) will operate in a dawn-dusk sun-synchronous orbit. It will provide all-weather ocean observation using an X-band SAR payload. The satellite was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology.
Lockheed Martin jets into nuclear electrical spacecraft power – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 00:00
Lockheed Martin awarded $33.7 million for Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-Orbit Nuclear (JETSON) High Power program. JETSON will use a fission reactor that generates heat, which is then transferred to Stirling engines to produce between 6 kWe and 20 kWe of electricity. The reactor draws heavily from the design and lessons of the 2018 Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) demonstration led by NASA and the DoE’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
SpaceX’s Starship’s second flight test tomorrow and ‘numerous lessons learned’ from first launch – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 00:00
The second flight test of a fully integrated Starship is set to launch Friday, November 17. A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 35 minutes before liftoff. As the most powerful launch system ever developed, Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights.
Rogue Space Systems and RocketStar’s innovative water-based propulsion system to provide payload hosting program – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 00:00
Rogue Space Systems Corporation, a developer of in-space services, will have a new hosted payload demonstration with RocketStar, Inc. RocketStar’s propulsion system uses water, an abundant and environmentally friendly propellant that can be sourced in space from asteroids, moons, or other planetary bodies. This sustainable approach has the potential to drastically cut mission costs and extend the operational life of spacecraft.
Airbus’ patented “Detumbler” designed to tackle on-orbit debris – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 00:00
Airbus' patented Detumbler device designed to prevent satellites at the end of their lives from tumbling. Developed in 2021 by Airbus, and supported by the French Space Agency CNES under their Tech4SpaceCare initiative. The Detumbler includes a central rotor wheel and magnets that interact with the Earth's magnetic field.
Space ready optics for satellite data relay systems – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 00:00
Resolve Optics is a leading OEM designer and supplier of high performance optical systems for satellite data relay systems. The impact of cosmic radiation on a lens or optical system is a major consideration when designing for use in space. All optical elements within our radiation tolerant optical designs are made using cerium oxide doped glass or synthetic silica. This enables them to withstand radiation doses of up to 100,000,000 rads.
EUMETSAT Polar System satellites are now involved in testing + integration with Airbus D&S – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-16 00:00
Metop Second Generation A1 and B1 are the first pair of a total of six satellites in the EUMETSAT Polar System – Second Generation (EPS-SG) system. These first two satellites are undergoing testing and integration of their instruments at the Airbus Defence and Space cleanroom in Toulouse, France. The anticipation is that they will be launched in the 2025-2026 timeframe into their LEO polar orbit at about 835 km altitude.
NASA’s Deep Space Optical Comm Demo Sends, Receives First Data
Test data also was sent simultaneously via the uplink and downlink lasers. The technology demonstration isn’t transmitting Psyche mission data. It works closely with the Psyche mission-support team to ensure DSOC operations don’t interfere with those of the spacecraft.
Webb Follows Neon Signs Toward New Thinking on Planet Formation
The research team thinks that the differences in neon signatures in the SZ Cha system are the result of a variable wind that, when present, absorbs UV light and leaves X-rays to pummel the disk. Winds are common in a system with a newly formed, energetic star, the team says, but it is possible to catch the system during a quiet, wind-free period.
NASA Data Reveals Possible Reason Some Exoplanets Are Shrinking
The study looked at star clusters Praesepe and Hyades, which are 600 million to 800 million years old. Nearly 100% of stars in these clusters still have a sub-Neptune planet or planet candidate in their orbit. Judging from the size of these planets, the researchers think they have retained their atmospheres. But the research is far from complete and it is possible that the current understanding of photoevaporation and/or core-powered mass loss could evolve.
NASA’s Cold Atom Lab Sets Stage for Quantum Chemistry in Space
Cold Atom Lab could reveal subtle changes in the strength of a magnetic field. The molecules likely don’t occur in nature, but it’s possible they could be used to make sensitive detectors. Using a quantum gas with two types of atoms and an interferometer in the microgravity of the space station, they could test the equivalence principle.
Trailblazing New Earth Satellite Put to Test in Preparation for Launch
NISAR is the first space hardware collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation, or ISRO. Scheduled to launch in early 2024, the satellite will scan nearly all the planet’s land and ice twice every 12 days. It will be able to observe movements from earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic activity.
Launch Roundup: Waiting for Starship, three other flights planned this week
Original Publication Date: 2023-11-15 17:57
Starship Integrated Flight Test-2 (IFT-2) is scheduled to launch from Texas this week. Three other launches have been scheduled, from China as well as both main coasts of the United States. The first launch of the week happened at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China on Thursday, Nov. 16.