NASA to assess SLS work and next launch opportunities after rollback
Original Publication Date: 2022-09-28 00:49
NASA is studying what work to do on the rocket to prepare for a next launch attempt. SLS and Orion spacecraft arrived back in the VAB at 9:15 a.m. Eastern Sept. 27. The agency is now planning work to perform on the SLS while in the VAB.
China seeks new partners for lunar and deep space exploration
Original Publication Date: 2022-09-28 07:35
China's partner Russia not mentioned during space Congress in Paris. China is looking to build partnerships for its upcoming missions to the moon and deep ventures into the solar system. China is inviting proposals for payloads to join its already planned and approved Chang’e lunar missions due to launch before the end of the decade.
NASA and Astra modify TROPICS launch contract
Original Publication Date: 2022-09-29 11:44
Astra Space had a contract for three launches of its Rocket 3.3 vehicle. The first launch in June failed to reach orbit, resulting in the loss of two TROPICS satellites. Instead of launching TROPICS cubesats, the contract will be used for “the launch of comparable scientific payloads”
House committee questions FCC orbital debris rule
Original Publication Date: 2022-09-29 10:24
FCC is set to vote on a proposal to set a five-year deadline for deorbiting low Earth orbit satellites. House Science Committee leaders are questioning the FCC's authority to do so. The rule would apply to satellites licensed by the FCC as well as those seeking U.S. Market access.
Guetlein: improved space domain awareness essential for national security
Original Publication Date: 2022-09-29 00:05
Lt. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein: Space provides the "overmatch" Needed for military forces to be successful. Guetlein, commander of Space Systems Command, spoke at a conference in Hawaii. He emphasized the need for improved cooperation with industry, academia and international partners.
Lamborn: ‘Merit on both sides’ of debate over Space National Guard
Original Publication Date: 2022-09-28 23:12
Rep. Doug Lamborn is a key congressional proponent of establishing a Space National Guard. Lamborn last year introduced legislation to establish a Space National Guard as a reserve component of the Space Force. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Space Force chief of space operations Gen. John “Jay” Raymond support creating a hybrid active-reserve component.
Watch live: Center of weakening Tropical Storm Ian nears Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now
Original Publication Date: 2022-09-28 00:00
NASA moved the Artemis 1 moon rocket back inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on Tuesday. Hurricane Ian brings heavy rain and gusty winds to the Space Coast. Watch live views from our cameras at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as Hurricane Ian makes landfall on the Space Coast.
SpaceX, ULA postpone launches as Hurricane Ian moves toward Florida – Spaceflight Now
Original Publication Date: 2022-09-28 00:00
Hurricane Ian forces SpaceX to postpone several launches at Cape Canaveral. Crew-5 mission now tentatively rescheduled for no earlier than Oct. 5 at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) SpaceX also planned to launch a Falcon 9 rocket Friday with another batch of Starlink internet satellites.
NASASpaceFlight.com
The SSLV or Small Satellite Launch Vehicle conducted its launch debut from Sriharikota, India on Sunday, August 7. An issue with the fourth stage resulted in the satellites being deployed in an unusable orbit. The SSLV program’s genesis was a December 2015 National Institute of Advanced Studies proposal to create a “Small Satellite Launch Vehicle-1”
Commercial Archives
The Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station are bracing for the arrival and effects of Hurricane Ian. Updates will be provided here and on NASASpaceflight’s Twitter through the approach, passage, and final effects of the storm on the space center.
International Archives
Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft will land outside of Dzhezkazgan on Thursday, Sept. 29. MS-21 launched three Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station on March 18 of this year. MS-21 completed a 195-day mission in low Earth orbit.
Chinese Long March 3B Launches APStar-6C Communications Satellite – Spaceflight101
China launched a rare commercial launch of a Long March 3B rocket with the APStar-6C communications satellite for APT Satellite Holdings. Long March 3B lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 16:06 UTC on a mission of under half an hour to lift the spacecraft into an elliptical Geostationary Transfer Orbit. Confirmation of launch success was provided by APT Satellite around 40 minutes after liftoff when the satellite had been separated into its target orbit.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard Reaches new Heights in latest Test Flight – Spaceflight101
Blue Origin returned to its West Texas testing grounds on Sunday for the eighth flight of its reusable New Shepard launch system. The mission was designed to expand the vehicle’s operational envelope by sending it to a peak altitude of 107 Kilometers, a new record for New Shepard. Demonstrating that New Shepard can reliably lift its Crew Capsule above the Karman Line represents an important objective of the company’s drive toward beginning sub-orbital tourism flights.
News – Spaceflight101
Russia's Rockot booster set to blast off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 17:57 UTC with the Sentinel-3B multi-function satellite. Europe's Copernicus satellite fleet is gearing up for the arrival of its next addition on Wednesday with a Russian Rockot booster.
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 on Friday. 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 lifts Dragon spacecraft into orbit for critical delivery of science gear, supplies and maintenance hardware to the International Space Station. First of at least six cargo ships inbound to the U.S. Segment of ISS this year. SpaceX Falcon 9 takes to the skies over Florida’s Cape Canaveral Monday afternoon.
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. The rocket lifted a cluster of five commercial Earth-imaging satellites into a 500-Kilometer orbit.
NASA-Built Weather Sensors Capture Vital Data on Hurricane Ian
Two instruments that were designed and built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to provide forecasters data on weather over the open ocean captured images of Hurricane Ian. COWVR (short for Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer) and TEMPEST (Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems) observe the planet’s atmosphere and surface from aboard the International Space Station. Ian made landfall in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province at 4:30 a.m. EDT, according to the National Hurricane Center.
NASA’s Asteroid-Striking DART Mission Team Has JPL Members
DART will be at a point 6.8 million miles (11 million kilometers) from Earth when it impacts Dimorphos. The spacecraft will be closing in on the space rock at about 4 miles (6.1 kilometers) per second. During the final hours of its one-way journey, DART will utilize an autonomous onboard navigator.
NASA’s Juno Will Perform Close Flyby of Jupiter’s Icy Moon Europa
Juno will be the closest a NASA spacecraft has approached Europa since Galileo came within 218 miles (351 kilometers) on Jan. 3, 2000. The close flyby will modify Juno’s trajectory, reducing the time it takes to orbit Jupiter from 43 to 38 days. It will be the second encounter with a Galilean moon during Juno’s extended mission.
NASA’s InSight ‘Hears’ Its First Meteoroid Impacts on Mars
InSight’s seismometer has detected over 1,300 marsquakes. The Sept. 5, 2021, event marks the first time an impact was confirmed as the cause of such waves. The Red Planet is next to the solar system’s main asteroid belt.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Investigates Geologically Rich Mars Terrain
The rover has collected four samples from an ancient river delta in the Red Planet’s Jezero Crater since July 7. Jezero Crater hosts a delta – an ancient fan-shaped feature that formed about 3.5 billion years ago at the convergence of a Martian river and a lake. Perseverance is currently investigating the delta’s sedimentary rocks.
NASA to Host Briefing on Perseverance Mars Rover Mission Operations
The briefing will livestream on NASA Television, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as the agency’s app. Questions can be asked on social media during the briefing using #AskNASA. Perseverance marks the first step in the Mars Sample Return campaign, which would return scientifically promising samples to Earth.
NASA’s AIRS Instrument Records Typhoon Hinnamnor Before Landfall
AIRS, launched in 2002, was the first instrument to reveal the 3D distribution of rain within tropical storms like Hinnamnor. These 3D images have made a major contribution to knowledge of how hurricanes and typhoons develop, improving forecasts and saving lives. One of six instruments aboard Aqua, AIRS provides data that is improving weather forecasts and advancing our understanding of Earth's climate.