Eutelsat and OneWeb agree multi-orbit merger plan
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-25 13:46
Eutelsat and OneWeb say they have agreed a plan to merge their businesses. The deal would combine Eutelsat’s satellite fleet in geostationary orbit with OneWeb’s constellation in low Earth orbit. Eutelsat already owns 23% of OneWeb and has been building a position in the startup.
Second module docks at China’s space station, large rocket stage tracked in orbit
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-24 20:10
China adds new experiment module to its space station. Wentian launched atop of a Long March 5B rocket at 2:22 a.m. Eastern. Wentian used its own propulsion system to match orbit with Tianhe, the core module of China’s under-construction space station.
Roman Space Telescope top challenge for new NASA astrophysics director
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-24 14:59
Mark Clampin is currently director of the science and exploration directorate at Goddard Space Flight Center. He succeeds Paul Hertz, who announced last year his intent to step down from the position after a decade. Clampin says a key priority for him is to keep the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on track for a launch as soon as October 2026.
HawkEye 360 opens satellite manufacturing facility in Virginia
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-26 07:37
HawkEye 360 has opened a new manufacturing facility near its northern Virginia headquarters. The facility will host up to 70 employees handling development and operations of its constellation. A major aspect of the facility is that it will allow the company to build the satellites in-house. The company’s goal is to have 20 clusters of three satellites each in orbit by the end of 2025.
DoD signaling demand for satellite support services in geostationary orbit
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-25 19:56
Defense Innovation Unit is funding space projects that the agency hopes will spur commercial investments. The agency is now turning more attention toward the GEO belt, 22,000 miles above the Equator. In-space satellite refueling and robotic servicing vehicles are two areas where DoD is expected to increase investments.
Streamlined and ready for Africa’s growth markets: Q&A with Avanti Communications CEO Kyle Whitehill
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-25 07:11
Avanti Communications slashed its $810 million debt burden by two-thirds in April. CEO Kyle Whitehill expects Avanti to return to growth this year. Avanti plans to focus more on cellular backhaul, governments and selling capacity to other satellite operators.
NASASpaceFlight.com
India launched its 55th Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on June 30, 2022. The launch carried nine payloads to a low Earth orbit (LEO) These included POEM, to demonstrate using the fourth stage as a hosted payload bus. This launch was the second orbital launch for India in 2022.
Commercial Archives
SpaceX launched the Starlink 4-25 mission Sunday, at 9:38 AM EDT (13:38 UTC) A Falcon 9 rocket carried another 53 satellites for the Starlink internet constellation. The satellites were deployed into an initial orbit of about 230 by 340 kilometers in altitude.
International Archives
China has launched the Wentian Laboratory Cabin Module on Sunday, July 24 at 06:22 UTC. The module is one of two planned for launch this year to China’s Tiangong space station. The second is the Mengtian module which is slated to launch in October. Both will dock to the Tianhe core module of the station, which was launched in April 2021.
Chinese Long March 3B Launches APStar-6C Communications Satellite – Spaceflight101
China successfully launched the APStar-6C communications satellite for APT Satellite Holdings. The Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the 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 launched their reusable New Shepard launch system on Sunday. The mission was designed to expand the vehicle’s operational envelope by sending it to a peak altitude of 107 Kilometers. Sunday’s flight marked the second for this particular set of hardware, following up on the successful December 2017 mission that debuted “Crew Capsule 2.0”
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. The flight-proven Dragon spacecraft will deliver 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
Europe's Copernicus satellite fleet is gearing up for the arrival of its next addition on Wednesday. A Russian Rockot booster is 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, 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.
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NASA’s Curiosity Captures Stunning Views of a Changing Mars Landscape
Curiosity entered safe mode after a temperature sensor provided an inaccurate measurement. Engineers are still analyzing the exact cause of the issue. The rover’s aluminum wheels are also showing signs of wear. The team has decided to increase its wheel imaging to every 1,640 feet (500 meters)
US-European Satellite Will Make World’s First Global Freshwater Survey
SWOT will measure the water height – whether it be in a lake, river, or reservoir. It will also measure its extent, or surface area. That crucial information will enable scientists to calculate how much water moves through freshwater bodies. Once in orbit, SWOT will be sending back about one terabyte of unprocessed data a day.
NASA, ESA to Discuss Mars Sample Return Mission
NASA and the ESA recently held a systems requirement review as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign’s conceptual design phase. The briefing will present the architecture proposal that is expected to be finalized in September 2022. The Mars Sample Return campaign may revolutionize humanity’s understanding of Mars.
NASA, SpaceX Launch Climate Science Research, More to Space Station
Microgravity causes changes in human immune cells that 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, and environmental monitoring on future space missions.