SpaceX readies Falcon 9 for Wednesday launch of 22 Starlink smallsats – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-15 00:00
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, August 16 at 8:14 p.m. ET (00:14 UTC on August 17) for a Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit. This is the 13th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission.
Spire Global’s $6.5 Million NASA contract renewal for Earth Observation Data – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-15 00:00
Spire has been awarded a $6.5 million, 12-month contract renewal to continue participation in NASA’s Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program. The contract represents a $500,000 increase from the previous award of $6 million in June 2022. Spire will continue to deliver its comprehensive catalog of Earth observation data, associated metadata and ancillary information from its fully deployed satellite constellation.
Momentus awarded innovation research contract from SDA – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-15 00:00
Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) has signed a contract with the U.S. Defense Department’s Space Development Agency. Under this award, Momentus will tailor the capabilities of the firm’s Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle to support a full range of DoD payloads and mission requirements.
Milestone reached for MTG-S1 – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-08-15 00:00
The first Meteosat Third Generation weather satellite, MTG-S1, has been equipped with its main instrument, the Infrared Sounder. The Copernicus Sentinel-4 instrument, an ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared light spectrometer, or UVN for short, has also been fitted. The satellite will be used to further improve atmospheric observations for weather forecasting as well as deliver information every hour to monitor air quality.
NASA’s Europa Probe Gets a Hotline to Earth
The antenna will be installed on the spacecraft in October 2022. It will then be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The long journey to Jupiter begins with launch from Kennedy in October 2024. It's been quite a journey for the antenna, and for the designer and lead engineer.