NASA selects Falcon Heavy to launch Roman Space Telescope
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-19 23:10
NASA has selected SpaceX to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The contract is valued at $255 million for the launch and other mission-related costs. Roman is the next large, or flagship, astrophysics mission after the James Webb Space Telescope. The value of the launch contract is much higher than most previous NASA awards for Falcon Heavy missions.
Impulse and Relativity announce proposal for joint Mars landing mission
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-20 11:09
Relativity Space and Impulse Space say they are working on a robotic Mars lander. They anticipate launching as soon as the late 2024 window for missions from Earth to Mars. The companies offered few technical details about the design of the lander. Only NASA and China’s space program have successfully landed and operated spacecraft on Mars.
UK’s ‘Astra Carta’ movement sees space sustainability as chance to lead
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-20 06:00
The U.K. Has its sights set on meeting emerging demands in its quest to become a major global space power. Few on the horizon are more pressing than the need to improve orbital sustainability. Alongside investments in startups building businesses to clean up orbital debris, the British government is seeking to shape regulations.
Isar Aerospace to launch from French Guiana
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-21 11:09
Isar Aerospace has signed an agreement with the French space agency CNES to launch its Spectrum rocket from French Guiana. The new pad, which will be in addition to one at Andøya, Norway, will host launches starting in the first half of 2024. The French Guiana site will be able to support up to 10 launches a year.
NASA authorization included in CHIPS Act
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-20 23:22
Revised version of NASA authorization bill moves forward. Bill authorizes agency’s Artemis lunar exploration effort. Bill also extends operations of the International Space Station. Bill endorses concept of a new generation of “Great Observatories’ in astrophysics, bill says.
Spire adding microwave sounders to improve weather forecasts
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-20 21:44
Spire Global plans to fit future smallsats in its fleet with microwave sounders. RAL Space’s Hyperspectral Microwave Sounder (HYMS) instrument would enable Spire to measure moisture. Spire’s constellation of more than 100 multipurpose satellites currently uses radio occultation.
NASA sets late August and early September launch dates for Artemis 1
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-20 20:23
NASA has reserved three days in late August and early September for the first launch of its Space Launch System rocket. Orion will spend up to six weeks in cislunar space before splashing down off the coast of San Diego. Crews have been working on SLS and Orion since it returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
NASASpaceFlight.com
India launched its 55th Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) – in its Core Alone (CA) configuration – carrying nine payloads to a low Earth orbit (LEO) These included POEM, to demonstrate using the fourth stage as a hosted payload bus. PSLV-C53 launched from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on June 30, 2022.
Commercial Archives
The Flight Support Booster-2 test is scheduled for Thursday, July 21 at 1:00 PM MDT (19:00 UTC) The test is part of an ongoing program to ensure the continued safety and flight-worthiness of the large solid rocket boosters. The boosters will provide 75% of the SLS system’s total thrust through its first two minutes of flight.
International Archives
China launched two satellites on July 15 onboard a Chang Zheng 2C. Liftoff was at 22:57 UTC and confirmed to be a success a few minutes later. The payloads went to a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) and are called Siwei Gaojing-2 1/02, or SuperView Neo-2 01/02. They are operated and constructed by China Siwei Survey and Mapping Technology Co. Ltd.
Chinese Long March 3B Launches APStar-6C Communications Satellite – Spaceflight101
China successfully launches APStar-6C communications satellite. Long March 3B rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 16:06 UTC on a mission of under half an hour. The satellite will deliver VSAT services, video distribution, Direct-to-Home television and high-throughput cellular backhaul.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard Reaches new Heights in latest Test Flight – Spaceflight101
Blue Origin's New Shepard reached a new altitude of 107 Kilometers on Sunday. Sunday’s mission was the eighth in Blue Origin’s New Shepard flight test program. The mission was the second for “Crew Capsule 2.0” featuring large panoramic windows. Blue Origin is operating New Shepard under a commercial launch license from the FAA.
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
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 part of the Copernicus constellation of European satellites.
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.
NASA, SpaceX Launch Climate Science Research, More to Space Station
Microgravity causes changes in human immune cells that resemble this condition but happen faster than the actual process of aging on Earth. Cell-free technology could provide a simple, portable, and low-cost tool for medical diagnostics, on-demand production of medicine and vaccines.
NASA’s New Mineral Dust Detector Readies for Launch
EMIT will identify the composition of mineral dust from Earth’s arid regions. Desert regions produce most of the mineral dust that makes its way into the atmosphere. The imaging spectrometer will also provide information on the color and composition of dust sources globally for the first time.
NASA Reveals Webb Telescope’s First Images of Unseen Universe
The James Webb Space Telescope is a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) The full set of the telescope’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data, which uncover a collection of cosmic features elusive until now, are available at: nasa.gov/webbfirstimages.
President Biden Reveals First Image From NASA’s Webb Telescope
President Joe Biden released the first full-color image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Monday during a public event at the White House in Washington. “These images are going to remind the world that America can do big things, and remind the American people – especially our children – that there’s nothing beyond our capacity,” said President Biden. The full set of Webb’s first images will be released at 10:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, July 12, in a live broadcast on NASA Television.
NASA’s Perseverance Scouts Mars Sample Return Campaign Landing Sites
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is scouting locations for a planned Mars Sample Return. The rover is taking samples at Jezero Crater's ancient river delta. Mars Sample Return is a historic endeavor that would retrieve and deliver samples of that faraway terrain for intensive study in laboratories on Earth.
NASA Shares List of Cosmic Targets for Webb Telescope’s First Images
The James Webb Space Telescope will soon reveal unprecedented and detailed views of the universe. The observatory will release its first full-color images and spectroscopic data. The images will be released in NASA’s live broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT (7:30 p.m. PDT) Tuesday, July 12.
NASA Highlights Climate Research on Cargo Launch, Sets Coverage
Dragon is scheduled to dock at 11:20 a.m. EDT on Saturday, July 16. Dragon will dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost. It returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.