Satellite News
Satellite operator OneWeb switches launches to SpaceX
OneWeb decided on March 3 to scrap all Arianespace launches from Baikonur because it would have used Russian Soyuz rockets and been overseen by the Russia’s space agency Roscosmos. OneWeb has already launched 428 satellites into orbit via Soyuz rockets under Starsem, which is a joint venture between Europe’s Arianespace and Russia’s Roscosmos. Arianespace has worked with Russia for nearly two decades, and is under contract to make 16 Soyuz launches between December 2020 and the end of this year. However, Russia suspended space launches from French Guiana and withdrew technical personnel on February 26 in response to EU sanctions over Moscow’s assault on Ukraine.
NASA Finalizes Plans for Its Next Cosmic Mapmaker
The SPHEREx mission will have some similarities with the James Webb Space Telescope. But the two observatories will take dramatically different approaches to studying the sky. NASA’s upcoming SPHEREx mission will be able to scan the entire sky every six months and create a map of the cosmos unlike any before
International Sea Level Satellite Takes Over From Predecessor
On March 22, the newest U.S.-European sea level satellite, named Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, became the official reference satellite for global sea level measurements
UN wants worldwide weather warning systems within 5 years
The United Nations said Wednesday it wanted the whole world covered by weather disaster early warning systems within five years to protect people from the worsening impacts of climate change. A third of the world’s people, mainly in the least-developed countries and developing small island states, are without early warning coverage, the UN said
Smile payload module travels to China
Following a successful test campaign in Europe, the structural thermal model of the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (Smile)’s payload module will soon be delivered to China to complete the qualification of the satellite. Smile is a joint mission between ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and will aim to build a more complete understanding of the Sun-Earth system
Launcher News
Italy’s Avio Has Enough Ukrainian Rocket Engines, For Now
European rocket builder Avio says they have all the Ukrainian Yuzhmash engines they need, for now, from the company’s eastern Ukrainian factory. No comment otherwise. Vega C inaugural slips to June; all-EU-components Vega E LOX/methane rocket wont be ready til 2026.
Exploration News
Launching robots into lunar caves
A hundred meters below the surface of the moon lie caves untouched by humans. They were discovered about ten years ago, but space agencies want to send robots to investigate these mysterious cavities
NewSpace News
RL-11 to Launch More BlackSky Earth – Imaging Satellites
Rocket Lab announced the launch window for our next dedicated mission (RL-11) for BlackSky — it opens April 1, 2022 UTC. Scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 Pad A, the Rocket Lab “Without Mission A Beat” will carry two more BlackSky rapid-revisit, high-resolution Earth-imaging satellites to low Earth orbit (430km circular), and will expand BlackSky’s constellation to 14 satellites
Satellogic to launch five satellites on SpaceX Transporter-4 Mission
Satellogic Inca leader in sub-meter resolution satellite imagery collection, reports it has shipped five satellites to be launched in early Q2 from Cape Canaveral.
CNES Mega Constellation Optimization Study Contracted To Exotrail
The French Space Agency, CNES, has selected Exotrail to complete a research and technology study to optimize the operations of mega constellations. The study will focus on MEO and LEO, where thousands of satellites are soon expected to be operational and propelled by electric propulsion. The study will determine the best operational procedures to implement
New Skycraft Smallsat Manufacturing Facility Opens In Canberra, Australia
Skykraft officially opened its new manufacturing facility in the center of Canberra at the UNSW Canberra City campus today. The new facility is enabling the development of the largest ever Australian manufactured space payload, weighing 300 kg., which is confirmed for launch this year with SpaceX from Florida
Space Safety News
Science & Technology News
Lettuce could protect astronauts’ bones on Mars trip
Astronauts might one day grow and eat genetically modified plants to ward off disease associated with long spaceflights.
NASA confirms more than 5,000 planets outside the solar system
The total number of confirmed planets in the universe ticked past 5,000 this week with the addition of 65 exoplanets
Characteristics of Apophis, the asteroid that will approach Earth in 2029
The study, in which the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and the Universidad Estatal Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho (Julio de Mesquita Filho Paulista State University) (UNESP) of Brazil are participating, analyses the surface and dynamics of Apophis, an asteroid that will pass close to Earth in 2029. The Apophis asteroid was discovered in 2004 and has been monitored since
Esri releases updated land-cover map with new sets of global data
In addition to being freely available in ArcGIS Online as a map service, these resources are also available for download and viewing. To explore the new 2021 global land-use/land-cover map, visit here
Shipwreck_of_the_Endurance_found_safe_thanks_to_satellite_data
Over a century ago, Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance sank in Antarctica, trapped and crushed by the ice. The crew survived and the incredible rescue operation made the polar explorer’s expedition legendary. The wreck has now been located with the support of the German Aerospace Center.
