Maxar Technologies acquired by private equity firm in $6.4 billion deal
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-16 12:51
Maxar Technologies is being acquired by the private equity firm Advent International. Advent International, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is a global firm with $89 billion in assets. The acquisition is expected to be completed in mid-2023. Maxar gained global attention with its high-resolution satellite images of the Ukraine war.
Perseverance prepares to deposit Mars sample cache
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-18 02:44
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover will soon start depositing a cache of samples. The first of 10 sample tubes will be placed on the surface as soon as Dec. 19. Perseverance is depositing the tubes to create a depot that could be retrieved by later missions.
NASA postpones spacewalk to support Soyuz investigation
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-17 14:20
NASA says spacewalk by astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio will be pushed back to Dec. 21. The spacewalk is the second of two planned to install a new set of solar arrays on the station. The postponement would allow flight controllers to use the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. A coolant leak on a Soyuz spacecraft docked there remains uncertain.
SpaceX launches first pair of O3b mPower satellites
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-17 03:17
SpaceX launches first O3b mPower satellites for SES’ next-generation broadband constellation. Boeing-built satellites promise 10 times more throughput than predecessors in medium Earth orbit. SES operates 20 first-generation O3b satellites in MEO, which offer lower latency.
White House revamps membership of National Space Council advisory group
Original Publication Date: 2022-12-16 20:57
The National Space Council announced a new roster of 30 members. The board will be chaired by Lester Lyles, a retired U.S. Air Force general. Of the 27 members who were previously appointed to the UAG, only seven were retained. The new roster reflects a new emphasis on climate change and workforce issues.
NASASpaceFlight.com
India launches a new ocean monitoring satellite on Saturday morning. The EOS-06 spacecraft was delivered 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
SpaceX has launched the a pair of Falcon 9 missions approximately 23 hours apart from the company’s two Florida launch pads. The first mission carried the first two satellites for a new constellation known as O3b mPOWER to orbit on Friday, Dec. 16. This was followed by a different Falcon 9 sending 54 more Starlink internet satellites into low Earth orbit on Saturday, Dec. 17.
International Archives
The Yaogan 36 mission launched on a Chang Zheng 2D from Xichang on Wednesday. On Friday, the launch of Shiyan 21 atop a Chang Zheng 11 rocket was conducted. In total, four launches were conducted from China this week. This includes the failed ZhuQue-2 methane rocket demo flight on Wednesday.
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
A SpaceX Falcon 9 took to the skies over Florida’s Cape Canaveral Monday afternoon. The flight-proven Dragon spacecraft was lifted into orbit for a critical delivery of science gear, supplies and maintenance hardware to the International Space Station. It is the first of at least six cargo ships inbound to the U.S. Segment of ISS this year.
News – Spaceflight101
Russia's Rockot booster is set to blast off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 17:57 UTC with the Sentinel-3B multi-function satellite. Sentinel-3B is the latest addition to Europe's Copernicus satellite fleet. It is due to launch on Wednesday with a Russian Rockot booster.
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.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover to Begin Building Martian Sample Depot
Perseverance’s prime mission will conclude on Jan. 6, 2023 – one Mars year (about 687 Earth days) after its Feb. 18, 2021, landing. Called the Delta Top Campaign, this new science phase will begin when Perseverance finishes its ascent of the delta’s steep embankment.
Two Exoplanets May Be Mostly Water, NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Find
A team led by of researchers at the University of Montreal has found evidence that two exoplanets orbiting a red dwarf star are “water worlds,” where water makes up a large fraction of the entire planet. These worlds, located in a planetary system 218 light-years away in the constellation Lyra, are unlike any planets found in our solar system.
NASA’s Juno Exploring Jovian Moons During Extended Mission
NASA’s Juno mission is scheduled to obtain images of the Jovian moon Io on Dec. 15. Juno is in the second year of its extended mission to investigate the interior of Jupiter. The solar-powered spacecraft performed a close flyby of Ganymede in 2021 and of Europa earlier this year.
NASA Sensors to Help Detect Methane Emitted by Landfills
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Methane is the source of roughly a quarter to a third of global warming caused by humans. Methane produced by the waste sector contributes an estimated 20% of human-caused methane emissions. The aim of the new initiative is to establish a baseline assessment of global waste sites that emit methane at high rates.
Latest International Water Satellite Packs an Engineering Punch
KaRIn will measure the height of water in the ocean, “seeing” features like currents and eddies that are less than 13 miles (20 kilometers) across. It will also collect data on lakes and reservoirs larger than 15 acres (62,500 square meters) and rivers wider than 330 feet (100 meters) across.
NASA’s Lunar Flashlight Has Launched – Follow the Mission in Real Time
The spacecraft’s avatar is an exact model of the real thing, down to its four solar arrays, science instrument, and thrusters. Users can change their perspective of the SmallSat and see where it is in space, whether on its long trek to lunar orbit or when it’s zooming above the lunar surface, collecting science data.
Practice Makes Perfect for Student Inventions at JPL Competition
The Invention Challenge returned to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. 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 went into the designs.