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.
NASA: no notification by Russia to end ISS participation
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-26 16:45
NASA officials say they have received no official notification from Roscosmos of plans to end cooperation on the International Space Station. Russian media reported that Yuri Borisov, who took over as director general of Roscosmos, told Russian president Vladimir Putin that the agency had decided to end cooperation after 2024. Roscosmos will instead focus on developing its own national space station called the Russian Orbital Service Station.
Massive Long March 5B booster predicted to reenter on July 31
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-26 18:00
First stage of Long March 5B rocket which launched China's Wentian space station module could reenter the atmosphere around July 31. Aerospace Corporation experts have been closely tracking the 53.6-meter-tall stage. They predict a reentry centered on 11:07 UTC (7:07 a.m. Eastern) 31 July, plus or minus 24 hours.
NASA prepares to award SLS launch services contract to Boeing-Northrop joint venture
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-27 08:50
NASA is preparing to award a contract to a Boeing-Northrop Grumman joint venture. The contract would shift procurement of SLS launches to a services contract. NASA envisions EPOC as a means of saving money and opening the door to other uses. The baseline contract would cover missions Artemis 5 through 9.
CAS Space puts six satellites in orbit with first orbital launch
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-27 08:43
Chinese launch services provider CAS Space successfully placed six small satellites in orbit. The four-stage Lijian-1 rocket lifted off from an erector-launcher at 12:12 a.m. Eastern. The rocket had a take-off weight of 135 tons, a total length of 30 meters and a fairing diameter of 2.65 meters.
ESA selects Viasat for multi-orbit satellite communications study
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-26 22:12
Viasat has been selected to study multi-orbit satellite networks for the European Space Agency. The study will be conducted by the U.S.-based satellite broadband operator’s British subsidiary. Viasat is currently working through regulatory approvals to buy British satellite operator Inmarsat.
Startup Wallaroo Labs wins Space Force contract to model performance of AI on edge devices
Original Publication Date: 2022-07-26 21:24
Wallaroo Labs will model the performance of machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms during space missions. The contract was awarded by SpaceWERX, the technology arm of the U.S. Space Force. The five-year-old startup, based in New York City, developed a software platform.
NASASpaceFlight.com
India launched its 55th Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on June 30, 2022. It 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 launches 53 satellites for the Starlink internet constellation. The satellites were deployed into an initial orbit of about 230 by 340 kilometers in altitude at an inclination of 53.2 degrees. The satellites separated from the second stage of the launch vehicle slightly more than 15 minutes after liftoff.
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 launches rare commercial rocket with APStar-6C communications satellite. Long March 3B lifted off from 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.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard Reaches new Heights in latest Test Flight – Spaceflight101
Blue Origin's reusable New Shepard launch system reached a new altitude of 107 Kilometers on Sunday. 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” The flight was the eighth in Blue Origin’s New Shepard flight test program that was off to a bumpy start in 2015 when the company lost their first Propulsion Module.
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 set to blast off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 17:57 UTC with the Sentinel-3B multi-function satellite. Russia's Rockot booster is set to blast off on Wednesday with a Sentinel-3Bmulti-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. 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.
Documentary Series: JPL and the Space Age
JPL and the Space Age uses rare archival footage and interviews with many of JPL’s pioneering engineers and scientists. Each episode of JPL and the Space age was written, produced and directed by JPL Fellow and national Emmy Award-winning documentarian Blaine Baggett.
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My Favorite Martian Image: ‘Enchanted’ Rocks at Jezero Crater
The rocks of the crater floor are igneous in origin, having formed billions of years ago from molten rock that cooled. Could Enchanted Lake’s layered rocks contain evidence that Mars once was home to microscopic life? Maybe. Over the next several weeks, the rover will analyze – and perhaps sample – one or more rocks in the area.
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 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.