As clock ticks on Amazon’s constellation, buying Starship launches not out of the question
Original Publication Date: 2022-10-27 18:27
Amazon's Project Kuiper needs half of its internet constellation operating by July 2026. Most of the rockets that are under contract to launch these satellites are new vehicles that have not yet flown. Amazon VP Dave Limp: The availability of heavy-lift rockets to deploy Kuiper satellites is "a constrained resource"
Russia escalates rhetoric on commercial satellites, calls them ‘legitimate targets for retaliation’
Original Publication Date: 2022-10-27 22:04
Russian official says commercial space systems "may become a legitimate target for retaliation" Russia in recent months has aimed its wrath at SpaceX’s internet satellite network Starlink. U.S. Defense and intelligence agencies have increasingly relied on commercial imaging satellites. Pentagon plans to increase its use of commercial space services.
Next Artemis 1 launch attempt on schedule for mid-November
Original Publication Date: 2022-10-28 11:27
NASA and industry officials say preparations for the next Artemis 1 launch attempt remain on track. A rollout of the rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B on Nov. 4 would set up a launch attempt on Nov. 14. NASA has secured backup launch dates of Nov. 16 and Nov. 19. If the vehicle does not launch by Nov. 19 there may be only one chance to try again before the end of that launch period.
Chinese commercial remote sensing satellite firm to double size of constellation
Original Publication Date: 2022-10-28 10:31
Chinese commercial firm Changguang Satellite Technology says it will expand its under-construction Jilin-1 constellation. The 138 satellites will now constitute a first phase, to be completed by 2023. The second phase will then see the constellation to be expanded to 300 satellites by 2025.
Major Gomspace satellite customer withholding payments
Original Publication Date: 2022-10-28 02:14
Gomspace halted work on a contract accounting for just under half its annual revenues. The company has about $3.6 million in unpaid invoices and $1.6 million of work-in-progress. Gomspace expects 2022 revenue to total roughly $17 million to $23 million as a result.
U.S. national defense strategy calls for ‘resilient, redundant’ space networks
Original Publication Date: 2022-10-27 20:43
Unclassified version of the U.S. National defense strategy released Oct. 27. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says China “remains our most consequential strategic competitor for the coming decades” Strategy warns that China and other rivals are likely to target U.S. Satellites in a conflict.
Boeing’s Starliner charges approach $900 million
Original Publication Date: 2022-10-27 01:09
Boeing announced a charge of $195 million recorded in its fiscal third quarter. It comes after a $93 million charge reported in its second quarter financial results July 27. The latest charge brings the total losses announced by Boeing on the Starliner program to $883 million.
Russian cargo ship docks at space station – Spaceflight Now
Original Publication Date: 2022-10-28 00:00
Russia's Progress MS-21 resupply spacecraft completed an automated docking with the International Space Station at 10:49 p.m. EDT Thursday. The cargo delivery marks the 82nd launch of a Progress supply ship toward the space station. Three of the 82 Progress missions have failed to reach the space station.
Live coverage: More Starlink satellites launched from California – Spaceflight Now
Original Publication Date: 2022-10-27 00:00
Live coverage of the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with 53 Starlink internet satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter @SpaceX and @SpaceXNews.
NASASpaceFlight.com
OneWeb launches 36 satellites aboard India's GSLV Mk.III rocket. Mission marks the first commercial launch for the GSLV. Launch took place at 12:07 AM local time (18:37 UTC on Saturday, Oct. 22) OneWeb has resumed deployment of its satellite constellation.
Commercial Archives
SpaceX's 49th Falcon 9 flight of 2022 has lifted off from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California with 53 Starlink satellites. The launch occurred on time on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 6:14 PM PDT (01:14 UTC on Friday, Oct. 28). Falcon 9 launched to the southeast into a 53.2-degree inclined orbit to help fill out the fourth shell of Starlink satellites orbiting at 540 kilometers in altitude.
International Archives
Roscosmos launched Progress MS-21 atop a Soyuz-2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, at 8:20 PM EDT on Oct. 25. The Progress MS-21 spacecraft conducted a standard two-day autonomous rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS)
Chinese Long March 3B Launches APStar-6C Communications Satellite – Spaceflight101
China conducted a rare commercial launch of a Long March 3B rocket with the APStar-6C communications satellite for APT Satellite Holdings to join their constellation of Geostationary Communications Satellites. Long March 3B lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 16:06 UTC on a mission of under half an hour to lift the spacecraft into an elliptical Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard Reaches new Heights in latest Test Flight – Spaceflight101
Blue Origin's reusable New Shepard launch system reached new heights in a test designed to expand the vehicle’s operational envelope by sending it to a peak altitude of 107 Kilometers. Sunday’s flight marked the second for this particular set of hardware, following up on the successful December 2017 mission that debuted “Crew Capsule 2.0”
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. 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 Falcon 9 takes to the skies over Florida’s Cape Canaveral Monday afternoon. First of at least six cargo ships inbound to the U.S. Segment of ISS this year. Dragon spacecraft to deliver science gear, supplies and maintenance hardware to the orbiting laboratory.
News – Spaceflight101
Europe's Copernicus satellite fleet is gearing up for the arrival of its next addition on Wednesday. A Russian Rockot booster set to blast off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 17:57 UTC with the Sentinel-3B multi-function satellite. Read more
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.
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.
NASA and ESA Agree on Next Steps to Return Mars Samples to Earth
The next step in the unprecedented campaign to return scientifically selected samples from Mars was made on Oct. 19. The two agencies will proceed with the creation of a sample tube depot on Mars. The sample depot, or cache, will be at “Three Forks,” an area located near the base of an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater.
NASA’s InSight Lander Detects Stunning Meteoroid Impact on Mars
NASA’s InSight lander recorded a magnitude 4 marsquake last Dec. 24. Scientists determined the quake resulted from a meteoroid impact when they looked at before-and-after images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The meteoroid is estimated to have spanned 16 to 39 feet (5 to 12 meters) – small enough that it would have burned up in Earth’s atmosphere, but not in Mars’ thin atmosphere, which is just 1% as dense as our planet’s.
Methane ‘Super-Emitters’ Mapped by NASA’s New Earth Space Mission
NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission is mapping the prevalence of key minerals in the planet’s dust-producing deserts. EMIT has demonstrated another crucial capability: detecting the presence of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In the data EMIT has collected since being installed on the International Space Station in July, the science team has identified more than 50 “super-emitters” in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Southwestern United States.
Edward Stone Retires After 50 Years as NASA Voyager’s Project Scientist
Linda Spilker will succeed Stone as Voyager’s project scientist. Jamie Rankin, a research scientist at Princeton University, has been appointed deputy project scientist. The twin Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977, on a mission to explore Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 1 continued its journey out of the solar system, while Voyager 2 continued on to Uranus and Neptune.
NASA to Host Briefing on InSight, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Findings
NASA will host a virtual media briefing at 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT) on Thursday, Oct. 27. The virtual briefing will livestream on NASA Television, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The public can submit questions on social media during the briefing using #AskNASA.
NASA to Discuss Latest EMIT Findings, Helps Address Climate Change
NASA will host a media teleconference at 3 p.m. EDT (12 p.m. PDT) Tuesday, Oct. 25, to discuss the latest findings of the agency's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) EMIT was installed on the International Space Station in July. Its primary mission is to map the prevalence of key minerals in the planet’s deserts in order to advance understanding of airborne dust’s effects on climate.