MEMORIAL DAY 2019 IS NO TIME TO REST FOR BUSY ASTRONAUTS - As Americans around the world gear up for ceremonies and cookouts to celebrate Memorial Day today (May 26), astronauts in space are hard at work. But they still took time to honor the men and women of the U.S. military this holiday. "...and some gave all. For them, and for their families who continue to give every day, we remember," NASA astronaut Anne McClain, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, wrote on Twitter to mark the holiday from the International Space Station. More (Source: Space.com - May 28)
FREGAT BOOSTER DELIVERS GLONASS-M NAVIGATION SATELLITE INTO ORBIT - A Fregat booster has successfully delivered a Glonass-M navigation satellite into orbit after detaching from the third stage of a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday. "The Soyuz-2.1b medium-class carrier rocket that blasted off at 09:23 Moscow time from the Plesetsk state testing spaceport (the Arkhangelsk Region) on Monday, May 27, has successfully delivered the Russian Glonass-M navigation satellite into the designated orbit within the required time," the statement says. More (Source: TASS - May 28)
NASA TELEVISION TO AIR RUSSIAN SPACEWALK AT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Two veteran Russian cosmonauts will venture outside the International Space Station for a spacewalk Wednesday, May 29, to retrieve science experiments and conduct maintenance on the orbiting laboratory. Live coverage of the activity will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Expedition 59 Commander Oleg Kononenko, RN3DX and Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin are scheduled to open the hatch to the Pirs docking compartment airlock at 11:44 a.m. EDT on May 29 for a spacewalk expected to last 6.5 hours. Live coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 11:15 a.m. More (Source: Southgate Amateur Radio Club - May 27)
HOW TO SEE SPACEX'S STARLINK SATELLITE 'TRAIN' IN THE NIGHT SKY - SpaceX's new array of Starlink communication satellites has even the most jaded of satellite observers agog with excitement as they move across the sky. On Thursday evening (May 23), SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The satellites are in good health and are the first of a planned 12,000-satellite megaconstellation to provide internet access to people on Earth. The satellites, which are now orbiting at approximately 273 miles (440 km) above the Earth, are putting on a spectacular show for ground observers as they move across the night sky. More (Source: Space.com - May 27)
DAY MEETS NIGHT IN THIS AMAZING ASTRONAUT PHOTO OF EARTH FROM SPACE - An evocative new photo from the International Space Station shows what it's like to fly along the line between darkness and daylight on planet Earth. Expedition 59 astronaut Christina Koch posted the eerie view on Twitter May 20 from one of the windows of the station; the view includes a glimpse of one the orbiting complex's solar arrays. Below, night gradually gives way to daylight as clouds streak above the Earth's surface. "A couple times a year, the @Space_Station orbit happens to align over the day/night shadow line on Earth," Koch wrote with the posted photo. More (Source: Space.com - May 27)
WOW! THIS IS WHAT SPACEX'S STARLINK SATELLITES LOOK LIKE IN THE NIGHT SKY - It's been one day since SpaceX launched its first 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit, and a skywatching sleuth has already spotted them soaring across the night sky. Netherlands-based satellite tracker Marco Langbroek stunned space fans tonight (May 24) with this jaw-dropping video of dozens of Starlink satellites soaring overhead. "Here is the video I shot, be prepared to be mind-blown!" Langbroek wrote on his website SatTrackCam Leiden Blog, where he shared the video. He counted at least 56 objects as the satellites flew overhead.
A TOP-SECRET CHINESE SPACE MISSION FAILING IN MID-FLIGHT — CHINA'S SECOND ROCKET LOSS OF THE YEAR - China attempted to launch a top-secret military payload into space early Thursday morning, but the attempt ended in a rain of wreckage. The loss of the Long March 4C rocket and its satellite marks the nation's second launch failure of 2019. The first was a commercial launch in March by the Chinese aerospace startup OneSpace. China put out notifications of airspace closures and other safety measures ahead of the launch, but — as is common — it did not formally announce the mission. More (Source: Business Insider - May 24)
BOULDER’S BALL AEROSPACE SATELLITE SET FOR LAUNCH - A satellite built by Boulder-based Ball Aerospace arrived in Florida on Monday in preparation for a June launch as part of NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission. The mission will be NASA’s first time using a low toxicity “green” propellant and propulsion system in orbit – an alternative to conventional chemical propulsion. “We are proud to be part of this historic mission to test a new green propellant on board Ball’s flight-proven small satellite, helping to provide science at any scale,” Makenzie Lystrup, vice president and general manager, Civil Space, Ball Aerospace said in a statement. More (Source: Boulder Daily Camera - May 24)
SPACEX LAUNCHES STARLINK: WAITING FOR DEPLOYMENT OF 60 SATELLITES IN LANDMARK MISSION - SpaceX just vaulted a rocket full of 60 satellites into the sky. Now for the moment of truth: The company will try to deploy the entire batch of satellites safely into orbit. This is the first dedicated mission for SpaceX's Starlink, an ambitious plan to put up a megaconstellation of satellites that could beam cheap broadband all over the planet. The towering Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 10:30 pm ET. Around 11:30 pm ET, the second stage of the rocket will try to gently deploy all 60 satellites in a unique way. The payload stack will turn over as the satellites fan out in a way that will look like "spreading a deck of cards on a table," as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk described it. More (Source: CNN - May 24)
TETHERS UNLIMITED DEVELOPING SATELLITE SERVICER FOR LEO MISSIONS - Tethers Unlimited is designing a satellite servicing vehicle that would leverage technologies developed for the U.S. Defense Department and NASA to service spacecraft in low Earth orbit. Tethers Unlimited already has many of the technologies needed for the servicer either completed or in development under Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, CEO Robert Hoyt told SpaceNews. By combining these technologies, the company hopes to have a servicer called LEO Knight in orbit within three to four years, he said. The servicer would support on-orbit assembly, refueling for small satellites and other functions, he said. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 22)
ARE WE REACHING THE END OF SPACEWALKS? - It’s June 3, 1965 and astronaut Ed White, in orbit over Hawaii, emerges from a space capsule to become the first American to conduct a extravehicular activity, or EVA. Connected with a single tether providing power and communication lines, he maneuvers using an oxygen gun for propulsion, takes in the view, and poses for pictures. “I feel like a million dollars,” White says. These days EVAs are not done for the photos, they are part of the maintenance and operation of the International Space Station. They are planned to the minute, and astronauts seldom have time for a selfie (or joyriding with jet-guns). More (Source: Popular Mechanics - May 22)
INDIAN ROCKET SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERS RADAR OBSERVATION SATELLITE TO ORBIT - An Indian rocket fired into space Wednesday with a high-power radar imaging satellite designed to peer through clouds and darkness to resolve signs of pollution, natural disasters and foreign military movements. The 145-foot-tall (44.4-meter) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off with more than a million pounds of thrust at 0000 GMT Wednesday (8 p.m. EDT Tuesday) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, a spaceport on India’s southeastern coast with the Bay of Bengal. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 22)
ULA BEGINS STACKING ATLAS 5 ROCKET FOR LATE JUNE LAUNCH - The bronze first stage of United Launch Alliance’s next Atlas 5 rocket arrived at its Cape Canaveral launch pad Friday, where it will be joined by five solid-fueled boosters, a Centaur upper stage and a U.S. Air Force communications satellite in the coming weeks ahead of liftoff set for June 27. Riding on a specially-outfitted trailer, the rocket’s first stage was trucked from the Atlas Space Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the nearby Complex 41 launch pad, where cranes lifted the 107-foot-long (32-meter) stage vertical and placed it on a mobile platform inside the Vertical Integration Facility. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 21)
LONG MARCH 3C ROCKET LAUNCHES BEIDOU SATELLITE TOWARD GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT - China launched a Beidou navigation satellite Friday using a Long March 3C rocket, adding another node to a growing space-based network that Chinese officials say will broadcast positioning and timing signals around the world next year. The Long March 3C launcher, fitted with a pair of liquid-fueled strap-on boosters, fired away from the Xichang space center at 1548 GMT (11:48 a.m. EDT) Friday, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, or CALT, the state-owned contractor that builds most Chinese satellite launchers. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 19)
SATELLITE DATA CAN HELP MONITOR SHIFTING AND SINKING GROUNDS - Land subsidence is the shifting and sinking of the ground, and it can be disastrous for low lying countries. Subsidence can be caused by several factors, including erosion, earthquakes, mining, and even rapid urbanization. Because of the risks that subsidence poses to urban areas and agriculture, it is crucial to find ways to monitor and map subsidence in regions where city infrastructure, buildings, homes, and crop yields are under threat. More (Source: Earth.com - May 19)
SPACEX DELAYS LAUNCH OF 60 STARLINK SATELLITES AGAIN, THIS TIME FOR SOFTWARE CHECKS - The first big batch of SpaceX internet satellites will have to wait at least another week to get aloft. Elon Musk's company scrubbed the launch of 60 Starlink spacecraft tonight (May 16) about two hours before their planned 10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 GMT on May 17) liftoff, citing a desire to update software and perform some more checks. More (Source: Space.com - May 17)
FIRST HAM SATELLITE — OSCAR 1 — WILL JOIN AMSAT’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AT DAYTON - A working prototype of OSCAR 1, Amateur Radio’s first satellite, will be on display at AMSAT’s Dayton Hamvention® booth. AMSAT’s exhibit will be in Building 1 (Maxim Hall) at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio. OSCAR 1 (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) was launched into orbit in 1961, at the dawn of the Space Age. Built by a group of California-based radio amateurs for about $60, OSCAR 1 was the first nongovernmental satellite. It transmitted a simple “HI” in CW for nearly 20 days and was heard in 28 different countries. More (Source: ARRL - May 17)
WATCH INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FLYBYS ALL NIGHT LONG - The annual International Space Station marathon viewing season begins later this week, when skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere can watch up to five ISS passes in one night. I've seen the International Space Station (ISS) pass over my house a hundred times yet never tire of the sight. Inside that bright light, a crew of several astronauts looks earthward with the same sense of wonder. Now in its 21st year in orbit, the ISS is the brightest, most recognizable satellite in the sky. Few naked-eye sky sights elicit more wows at public star parties than the Venus-bright "star" speeding through the constellations. More (Source: Sky & Telescope - May 16)
SPACEX DELAYS LAUNCH OF 60 STARLINK INTERNET SATELLITES OVER HIGH WINDS - SpaceX will have to wait at least one more day to start setting up its internet-satellite megaconstellation. A Falcon 9 rocket was scheduled to launch the first 60 of SpaceX's Starlink satellites tonight (May 15) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, but Mother Nature didn't cooperate: Strong high-altitude winds forced the company to push the attempt by 24 hours. SpaceX made that call just seconds before beginning its launch livestream at 10:45 p.m. EDT (0245 GMT). More (Source: Space.com - May 16)
