NASA loses contact with ICON spacecraft
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-08 13:02
NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer has not communicated with ground stations since Nov. 25. Engineers believe the problem is with the spacecraft’s avionics or communications subsystems. NASA has ruled out damage to the spacecraft from an explosion of debris impact. The $252 million ICON mission was designed to study the interaction of space weather with terrestrial weather.
3 Technical Accelerators for Space Domain Awareness
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-08 14:00
Transform space traffic management and empower strategic missions. The race is on to develop space capabilities for a growing array of national security, civil, and commercial priorities. With the satellite population expected to reach as many as 100,000 assets by the end of the decade, the challenge is formidable.
Antenna maker Anywaves plots aggressive US expansion
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-09 22:50
French satellite antenna maker Anywaves has raised around $3 million. Anywaves CEO Nicolas Capet says funds will accelerate sales and marketing efforts. The majority of customers, about 80%, are based in Europe. Anywaves has so far focused on producing generic antennas in S- and X-band.
House committee leaders introduce bipartisan bills to update satellite rules
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-09 19:44
Bipartisan legislation seeks to reform FCC's satellite licensing rules. Bill aims to update regulations covering foreign ownership, space sustainability, license processing timelines. Lawmakers say legislation is needed to modernize FCC for rapidly changing space industry. The legislation has to clear many hurdles before reaching the President for consideration.
Space Development Agency’s first launch slips to March due to satellite glitch
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-09 18:55
York Space's satellites will need filters to address a "noisy power supply" Issue. The first launch of the Space Development Agency's constellation will slip to March 2023. York Space Systems, based in Denver, Colorado, won a $94 million contract in August 2020. The first Tranche 0 launch was originally planned for September.
Japanese billionaire selects crew for circumlunar Starship flight
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-09 13:06
Yusaku Maezawa announced the eight people he selected, along with two alternates. The announcement was the culmination of a competition he started more than a year and a half ago. The ages of the crew range from 22 to 47, and seven of the eight prime crew members are men.
NASASpaceFlight.com
India launches a new ocean monitoring satellite on Saturday morning. The PSLV rocket delivered the EOS-06 spacecraft into a low Earth orbit. The mission, PSLV C54, lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 11:56 local time (06:26 UTC)
Commercial Archives
Blue Origin has quietly been making progress on its orbital New Glenn vehicle. This progress has been made alongside the ongoing investigation into an in-flight abort of the fourth suborbital New Shepard mission of the year, which continues to keep that program grounded. Blue Origin has not released any further information on the New Glenn program.
International Archives
China successfully debuted the Jielong-3 orbital rocket from the Tai Rui Barge in the Yellow Sea. Liftoff happened at 06:35 UTC, and the success of the mission was confirmed a bit later. The payload for this mission was a rideshare of 14 satellites.
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 will 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.
Re-Entry: Long March 11 Rocket Body – Spaceflight101
The CZ-11 fourth stage used leftover propellant for a partial de-orbit maneuver. It lowered its perigee to 120 Kilometers to significantly accelerate its orbital decay. The rocket re-entered the atmosphere on April 29, 2018 after only three days in orbit.
Practice Makes Perfect for Student Inventions at JPL Competition
The Invention Challenge is back at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. This year's contest was dubbed the “Sticky Wicket Contest’ Teams created devices that launched bouncy rubber balls at five croquet-inspired targets. Hammers and mallets, giant rubber bands and bungee cords, PVC piping and lots of wood were used.
Water-Tracking SWOT Satellite Encapsulated in Rocket Payload Fairing
The SWOT satellite, or the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission, is now encapsulated in its payload fairing. The fairing protects the satellite from aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent. Once in orbit, SWOT will measure the height of water in freshwater bodies and the ocean on more than 90% of Earth’s surface.
Water Mission to Gauge Alaskan Rivers on Front Lines of Climate Change
Swot is being jointly developed by NASA and CNES, with contributions from the CSA and the UK Space Agency. “SWOT is going to allow us to see what’s going on in Alaska hydrologically in ways that we haven’t before,” says Tamlin Pavelsky, NASA’s SWOT freshwater science lead.
NASA Press Events at 2022 Fall AGU Meeting
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter began the era of powered-controlled flight on Mars on April 19, 2021. OSIRIS-REx is on track to deliver a sizable sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023. At this roundtable, mission leads will outline what needs to happen for a safe delivery of the asteroid sample.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Gets the Dirt on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover snagged two new samples from the Martian surface on Dec. 2 and 6. One of these two samples will be considered for deposit on the Martian surface sometime this month. Scientists want to study Martian samples with powerful lab equipment on Earth to search for signs of ancient microbial life.
NASA Sets Coverage for SWOT Water Survey Mission Launch
NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. Live launch coverage will begin at 6 a.m. EST (3 a.m. PST) on NASA Television, YouTube, Twitter, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. SWOT will survey nearly all water on Earth’s surface for the first time, measuring the height of the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes.
NASA Is Testing a New Robotic Arm That Really Knows How to Chill Out
The arm uses gears that require no lubrication or heating to function in the cold. A sensor embedded in COLDArm’s “wrist’ gives the arm feedback, allowing it to “feel” what it’s doing in all directions. Like the Mars helicopter, COLDArm could operate autonomously.