Airbus and Astroscale expand in-orbit servicing partnership
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-12 21:57
Astroscale UK is looking into using robotic arm technology from Airbus for future debris removal and satellite refueling missions. The companies announced a memorandum of understanding Aug. 12 to focus on U.K.-based in-orbit servicing and manufacturing opportunities. Publicly traded Astroscale has raised more than $375 million in private funding rounds.
NASA watchdog finds quality control problems with Boeing SLS work
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-12 10:17
NASA's internal watchdog sharply criticized the work Boeing is doing on the next version of the Space Launch System. The Office of Inspector General said there were significant issues with Boeing’s work on the Block 1B version of SLS. The report attributed the problems to a lack of an acceptable quality management system and trained workforce.
NOAA is forecasting severe geomagnetic storm – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-12 00:00
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is monitoring the sun following a series coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that began on August 11. Potential impacts of this level of storming include degradation of high frequency communications at high latitudes and increased drag on satellites in LEO. A severe geomagnetic storm includes the potential for aurora to be seen faintly as far south as Alabama and Northern California.
ParaZero contarcted for 50 drone safety systems for military ops + medical missions – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-13 00:00
ParaZero Technologies Ltd. Has entered into a partnership with a Tier 1 leading defense OEM company to adapt and integrate the firm’s drone safety system for operational military and medical missions use. The Company received the first order as part of a wider collaboration that aims to enhance the efficiency and safety of medical field mission’s deliveries.
SpaceX ready to send second pair of WorldView Legion 3-4 satellites – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-12 00:00
Two WorldView Legion satellites built by Maxar Space Systems for Maxar Intelligence arrived and are preparing for launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX will be launching Maxar’s WorldView Legion satellites on Thursday, August 15 between 6 – 9 am PDT, date and time may change. These are the second pair of six planned WorldView Legion satellites, which will enhance Maxar Intelligence’s constellation by delivering industry-leading resolution and accuracy.
SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites after yesterday’s last second abort – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-12 00:00
Falcon 9 launched 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the 17th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SES-22, ispace’s HAKUTO-R MISSION 1, Amazonas-6, CRS-27, Bandwagon-1, and now 12 Starlink missions.
U.S. + Australia collaborate to enhance GPS resilience in contested environments – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-12 00:00
The Australian Department of Defence recently joined forces with the Joint Navigation Warfare Center to put GPS devices to the test. The goal was to assess their performance under simulated jamming conditions and enhance their resilience in contested environments. As the world faces evolving challenges, partnerships like these remain essential for maintaining an edge in contested environments.
The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon Blue Moon
The best conditions for viewing these meteors would be if the sky is clear with no clouds or high hazes. Give your eyes time to adapt to the dark. Since some meteors are faint, you will tend to see more meteors from the "corner of your eye"
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Gaia detects more than 350 possible asteroid moons
Original Publication Date: 2024-08-12 19:23
Astronomers have found more than 350 possible moons around asteroids. They used data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope. This is the first time the telescope has been used to discover new binary asteroids. The wobble in the signal that this method relies on could also be caused by a single rotating irregularly shaped asteroid.