Space Force awards $200 million contract to Northrop Grumman for UK radar site
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-23 23:13
The U.S. Space Force awarded a $200 million contract to Northrop Grumman. The contract is for the second site of the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability. The initiative is part of the AUKUS security alliance involving Australia, the U.K. And the U.S.
The case for an international space artifacts museum
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-23 13:00
NASA's report on the rationale for ISS decommission suggests that the agency’s imagination (and budget) seem to be running dry. Madhu Thangavelu: The ISS and observatories like Hubble have deep meaning associated with them. We should find ways to protect and preserve our collective heritage as a species, he says.
Mynaric’s manufacturing woes threaten to delay production of U.S. military satellites
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-22 22:46
Mynaric is a key supplier of optical communications terminals for satellites destined for the U.S. Space Development Agency. Optical terminals are devices installed on satellites that allow them to send and receive data to and from each other using laser beams. Optical inter-satellite links are critical for SDA’s constellation, as they provide essentially fiber optic in space. High bandwidth is crucial for transmitting large volumes of data quickly and efficiently.
Amazon expands Kennedy Space Center facility to accelerate satellite deployments
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-22 21:02
Amazon is investing $19.5 million to expand its satellite processing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The investment will support a secondary, 3,900-square-meter support facility at the site. The building would help accelerate launch cadence amid a looming regulatory deadline.
Norwegian spaceport receives government license
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-22 20:40
Andøya Spaceport announced Aug. 22 that it received a license from Norway. The license allows the spaceport to conduct up to 30 launches a year, including four during overnight hours. The spaceport will be the initial launch site for Isar Aerospace, the German company.
China launches ChinaSat-4A communications satellite
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-22 15:01
China launches new communications satellite to geostationary belt. Long March 7A rocket lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island. Launch success was announced 45 minutes after liftoff. Launch was China’s 37th of 2024.
SpaceX now will launch Group 9-5 Starlink small sats on Saturday – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-23 00:00
SpaceX’s launch of Group 9-5 launch is now planned for Saturday, August 24 at 12:37 a.m. PDT. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. The weather forecast calls for a temperature of 57°F, broken clouds, 68% cloud cover and a wind speed of 7mph.
NASA’s EXCITE Mission Prepared for Scientific Balloon Flight
EXCITE aims to fly for over a dozen days from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility’s site in Antarctica. “At the pole, the stars we’ll study don’t set, so our observations won’t be interrupted,” an EXCITE team member says.
Hubble Reaches a Lonely Light in the Dark
The Tucana Dwarf galaxy resides about 3 million light-years away. It is at the far edge of our Local Group of galaxies. The Tucana Dwarf galaxy is located in the constellation of Canarias. It is about 3 million light years away from Earth in the constellation of Tucana.