Satellite News
Atlas 5 rocket delivers two military inspector satellites to high-altitude orbit
Two satellites for a once-classified U.S. military program to track and inspect other spacecraft in orbit — a mission the Space Force’s top general equates to a “neighborhood watch” — lifted off from Cape Canaveral Friday on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.
The Proba-3 Program Takes an Important Step in the Integration of its Two Satellites
In the future, spacecraft formation flying technology will be used to replace bulky structures (such as telescopes) with small independent platforms, which are easier to launch into space and can be combined to form large assemblies that work as a single entity, while achieving equivalent performance. In parallel, Proba-3 will perform scientific observations taking images of the Sun’s corona by means of a coronagraph instrument, placed in one of the spacecraft.
PLATO clears decisive hurdle
The European Space Agency (ESA) has given the green light to build the flight models of the spacecraft and science payload for the PLATO mission to search for extrasolar planets.
SpaceX passes 2,000 Starlink satellites launched
SpaceX passed the threshold of more than 2,000 Starlink satellites launched after a Falcon 9 placed another set of broadband internet spacecraft into orbit Jan. 18.
ESA considering moving up radar satellite launch after Sentinel-1B malfunction
The European Space Agency is considering accelerating the launch of a new Earth science satellite after an existing one malfunctioned last month and remains out of service.
Exploration News
NASA Solar Sail Mission to Chase Tiny Asteroid After Artemis I Launch
NEA Scout will visit an asteroid estimated to be smaller than a school bus – the smallest asteroid ever to be studied by a spacecraft. Launching with the Artemis I uncrewed test flight, NASA’s shoebox-size Near-Earth Asteroid Scout will chase down what will become the smallest asteroid ever to be visited by a spacecraft.
Plus Ultra’s lunar comsats to hitch rides on ispace moon landers
Spanish-German startup Plus Ultra Space Outposts plans to deploy the bulk of its proposed lunar communications and navigation constellation with ispace, the Japanese lunar transportation venture selling accommodations on its moon-bound landers.
Launcher News
China’s new generation carrier rocket Long March-8 ready for launch
China plans to launch its new generation carrier rocket Long March-8 Y2 between late February and early March from the southern island of Hainan,
NewSpace News
Nanoavionics Confirms Signal Receptions From 3 On-Orbit Smallsats Launched By Transporter-3
The rideshare mission that went into orbit on January 13, 2022, included one of the largest and heaviest cubesats ever built and launched. The 16U smallsat is the first of five satellites contracted to NanoAvionics by British company Sen, to establish video streaming media to provide real-time, Ultra-High Definition (UHD) videos of Earth.
EO Firm Satellogic To Acquire Million$$$ In Investment + Will Go Public
Liberty Strategic Capital, a private equity firm founded and led by former Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin, has entered into a definitive agreement to invest $150 million in Satellogic, Inc. Satellogic specializes in high-resolution imagery of the Earth’s surface obtained through a constellation of LEO satellites. Liberty’s contemplated investment brings the total capital raised to more than $265 million,
ICEYE Receives NRO Contract To Demo SAR Satellite Capabilities
ICEYE US, a subsidiary of ICEYE, has received a contract from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This contract enables ICEYE US to participate in the NRO’s evaluation of commercial, remote sensing companies operating synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.
AAC Clyde Space Receives Provisioning Order From Space Forge
AC Clyde Space recently received an order from Space Forge to provide space products for a demonstration spacecraft designed to leverage the space environment for production and experiments, capable of performing multiple trips to space. The reusable spacecraft is intended to deorbit in a controlled maneuver to deliver its products and results back to Earth after six months on-orbit, thereby enabling efficient production and revolutionary experiments by leveraging the micro gravity on-orbit. The design will benefit from AAC Clyde Space’s standard satellite platform heritage, adjusted for re-entry into the atmosphere and landing on Earth. Back on Earth the satellites will be recovered, refurbished and eventually re-launched.
Space Safety News
Future trillion dollar ‘space economy’ threatened by debris
According to NASA, it is estimated that millions of pieces of space debris orbit around Earth. A major portion of these debris objects as well as active satellites reside in the low Earth orbit region, at altitudes between 200 and 1000 km.
Chinese satellite in near miss with Russian ASAT test debris
A Chinese satellite experienced a near miss Tuesday with a piece of debris created by Russia’s destructive anti-satellite test conducted in November.
Science & Technology News
The ISS Connected Via the SpaceDataHighway
The Airbus’ SpaceDataHighway – developed with the support of ESA – provides broadband connectivity services between the International Space Station (ISS) and the Earth. With the Columbus Ka-band (ColKa) terminal now installed and fully tested on-board the ISS, a SpaceDataHighway satellite will start to relay data via a bi-directional link in real time between the ISS Columbus Laboratory and the Columbus Control Centre located at the German Aerospace Center DLR near Munich .
Tom Cruise Movie’s Producers Aim to Add Film Studio to the Space Station in 2024
The production company that’s playing a key role in a space movie project involving Tom Cruise says it’s working with Axiom Space to add a sports and entertainment facility to the International Space Station by the end of 2024. The inflatable module, known as SEE-1, would be built by Axiom for Space Entertainment Enterprise and … Continue reading “Tom Cruise Movie’s Producers Aim to Add Film Studio to the Space Station in 2024
Space Flight Destroys Your Red Blood Cells
It’s really true: space wants to kill us from the inside out. A new study on astronauts living on board the International Space Station shows that while in space, the astronauts’ bodies destroyed 54 percent more red blood cells than they normally would on Earth.
A Suctioning Sleeping bag Could Solve eye Problems in Space
It is intended to force bodily fluids to move into the lower body, relieving the pressure they cause on the brain and eyes. To do so, it compresses the legs in a pattern to force blood to flow more directly to them, distributing the blood more like it would be on Earth.
