NASA retaining plans to select a single Artemis lunar rover
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-02 21:57
NASA awarded feasibility study contracts to three companies for the first phase of its Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) Services contract. The company will be able to offer the rover to other customers when not in use by NASA. Collins Aerospace announced June 25 that it would no longer continue work on an Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) task order.
Rocket Lab launches fifth Synspective satellite
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-02 20:30
Rocket Lab launches fifth radar imaging satellite for Japanese company Synspective. Rocket Lab is continuing work with its largest commercial customer. The satellite is also the company’s first to go into a mid-inclination orbit. Rocket Lab is scheduled to report its second quarter financial results after the markets close Aug. 8.
China launches second secretive high orbit internet satellite
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-02 10:49
China launches second of a new series of geostationary communications satellites. Long March 3B rocket lifted off at 9:14 a.m. Eastern Aug. 1 (1314 UTC) China already operates a series of ChinaSat (Zhongxing) geostationarycommunications satellites.
SES searching for cost savings to tackle video woes
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-01 20:53
SES is bracing for a 5% hit to annual media revenue in 2025. SES declined to disclose the broadcast customer, which is likely Oi, one of the largest telcos in Latin America. SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said the operator will first look to mitigate the loss of the long-term broadcast contract.
SDA is set to award satellite servicing contracts
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-01 20:32
SDA will not hire companies to conduct demonstration or to deorbit satellites. The agency will pay companies to share technical designs and business-case analysis. SDA leaders want to know whether there will soon be a commercial market for these services. Longstanding international guidelines called for deorbiting satellites within 25 years of the end of their mission.
Rocket Lab sends off “Owl For One, One For Owl” smallsat mission for Synspective – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-02 00:00
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) provider in launch services and space systems, today successfully launched its 51st Electron rocket and deployed a single satellite to low Earth orbit for Synspective. The mission, named “Owl For One, One For Owl” in a nod to Synspective’s StriX satellites named after the genus for owls, lifted off at 04:39 a.m., August 3rd NZT (16:39 UTC, August 2nd) from Launch Complex 1, Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. This mission was the fifth launch of a total of 16 launches booked on Electron for Synspective and the second launch for the Japanese company this year.
SpaceX’s Cygnus mission ready to resupply the ISS on Saturday – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-02 00:00
SpaceX is targeting Saturday, August 3 for Falcon 9’s launch of Northrop Grumman’s 21st Cygnus mission (NG-21) to the International Space Station. The instantaneous launch window is at 11:29 a.m. ET, with a backup launch opportunity available on Sunday, August 4 at 11:02 a.m.ET. A live webcast of this mission will begin about 20 minutes prior to liftoff.
SpaceX is back in the groove with Friday’s launch of 23 Starlink small satellites – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-02 00:00
SpaceX is targeting Friday, August 2 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 1:01 a.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 4:19 a.m. PT. A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX.
Amendment 37: DRAFT F.11 Stand-Alone Landing Site-Agnostic Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon released for community comment.
F.11 Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon: Stand Alone Landing Site Agnostic (PRISM SALSA) will solicit proposals for investigations. This PRISM opportunity is for science investigations that are stand-alone (i.e., single instruments rather than suites) and location agnostic.
August’s Night Sky Notes: Seeing Double
Double star systems typically come in two types – binary and optical doubles. Binary stars are two stars that are gravitationally bound and orbit each other. Optical double stars only appear to be close together when viewed from Earth. With a small telescope, in moderately light polluted skies, summer offers great views of these stellar groupings.