Ukraine war disrupts GPS in Finland, Mediterranean
GPS interferences have intensified in places as far away as Finland, the Mediterranean and Iraq since Russia invaded Ukraine, forcing aircraft to reroute or change destination, according to European aviation authorities. Disruptions to Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), which include GPS, are caused by the “jamming” or “spoofing” of satellite signals.
Russian trio blast off for ISS in shadow of Ukraine war
Three Russian cosmonauts blasted off to the International Space Station Friday, as Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine brought the Kremlin’s relations with the West to their lowest point since the Soviet era.
US astronaut to ride Russian spacecraft home during tensions
Satellite News
Telesat mulls downsizing delayed LEO plan as costs mount
Telesat is considering ordering fewer satellites for its planned low Earth orbit broadband constellation as inflation and supply chain woes drive up the price tag and push out its completion to 2026.
RUAG Space Presents Their New Company Name — Beyond Gravity
RUAG Space has been operating on the market as Beyond Gravity since March 15, 2022, and will also legally change names as of May 1, 2022. The new name and brand identity are intended to sharpen the focus outward, position the space unit prominently on the markets, which are profoundly changing
NASA sharpens focus of James Webb Space Telescope
The agency planned to release more images Wednesday demonstrating the improving focus of the $10 billion observatory.NASA plans to release the first science images this summer after it prepares and commissions all instruments on the observatory.
Exploration News
NASA rolls out its mega Moon rocket — here’s what you need to know
NASA’s massive new rocket eased onto its launchpad Friday, ready for a battery of tests that will clear it to blast off to the Moon this summer on an uncrewed flight. .
NASA Releases Details on how Starship Will be Part of its Return to the Moon
The path back to the moon is long and fraught with danger, both in the real, physical sense and also in the contractual, legal sense. NASA, the agency sponsoring the largest government-backed lunar program, Artemis, has already been feeling the pain on the contractual end. Legal battles have delayed the development of a critical component … Continue reading “NASA Releases Details on how Starship Will be Part of its Return to the Moon” The post NASA Releases Details on how Starship Will be Part of its Return to the Moon appeared first on Universe Today.
ESA suspends work with Russia on ExoMars mission
ESA has formally halted plans to launch its ExoMars mission on a Russian rocket in September in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ESA will conduct a “fast-track industrial study” to look at options for launching the ExoMars rover after suspending plans to launch it on a Russian Proton rocket. A new plan for ExoMars would involve more than replacing the Proton rocket. Russia also built a landing platform called Kazachok that would have to be replaced. The rover itself includes Russian instruments and radioisotope heating units supplied by Russia.
Mars Orbiter Captures Images of China’s Rover From Space
China’s Tianwen-1 lander and Zhurong rover touched down on the Martian plain Utopia Planitia on May 14, 2021 after spending about three months orbiting the Red Planet. While the Chinese Space Agency has shared images of the rover and lander (including a cute family portrait taken by a wireless remote camera), NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter … Continue reading “Mars Orbiter Captures Images of China’s Rover From Space” The post Mars Orbiter Captures Images of China’s Rover From Space appeared first on Universe Today.
Launcher News
Poland Launches Cooperation With Virgin Orbit
Polish Space Agency (POLSA), the agency overseeing Poland’s space development, conveyed its strong interest in bringing a domestic launch capability to Poland, a development uniquely made possible through Virgin Orbit’s air-launched LauncherOne system.
Sierra Space Signs MoU with MHI
Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company with 1,100 employees, more than 500 missions and over 30 years of space flight heritage, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), a leading company in the space development industry in Japan, announced today that the companies have jointly signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU agreement outlines plans for Sierra Space and MHI to collaborate on a wide range of technologies regarding the development of Orbital Reef,
Astra-1 Success!
Our maiden flight with Astra, dubbed “Astra-1,” successfully lifted off Tuesday, March 15 from the Pacific Spaceport on Kodiak Island Alaska. It successfully deployed all payloads from Portland State Aerospace Society and an undisclosed organization., while NearSpace Launch’s hosted payload will remain onboard.
SpaceX to launch reusable booster for record 12th time
SpaceX raised a veteran Falcon 9 booster vertical on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral late Thursday, ready for a record-setting 12th mission Friday night with 53 more Starlink internet satellites.
NewSpace News
Terran Orbital To Support The Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer
Terran Orbital Corporation (“Terran Orbital”), a vertically integrated provider of end-to-end satellite solutions, announced that its wholly-owned, Tyvak Nano Satellite Systems, Inc., was awarded a contract by Lockheed Martin to build 42 satellites for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer, the Initial Warfighting Capability Tranche of the National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA).
Orbit Fab gets $12 million to integrate refueling port with military satellites
by Sandra Erwin — March 17, 2022
Orbit Fab, a venture-funded startup offering a refueling service in space, announced it has won a $12 million deal to ensure its fueling interface works with U.S. military satellites.
Space Safety News
A large solar storm could knock out the power grid and the internet
On Sept. 1 and 2, 1859, telegraph systems around the world failed catastrophically. The operators of the telegraphs reported receiving electrical shocks, telegraph paper catching fire, Today, a geomagnetic storm of the same intensity as the Carrington Event would affect far more than telegraph wires and could be catastrophic. With the ever-growing dependency on electricity and emerging technology, any disruption could lead to trillions of dollars of monetary loss and risk to life dependent on the systems. The storm would affect a majority of the electrical systems that people use every day.
