

VENERABLE AO-7 SATELLITE APPROACHING A RETURN TO FULL SOLAR ILLUMINATION - AMSAT-OSCAR 7 (AO-7), the oldest amateur radio satellite still in operation, is nearing a return to full illumination by the sun, which should take place around September 25 and continue until around December 26. AMSAT’s vice president of operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, says that during this period, AO-7 likely will switch between modes A (2 meters up/10 meters down) and B (70 centimeters up/2 meters down) every 24 hours. More

(Source: ARRL - Sep 24)

TRACKING DESERT LOCUSTS WITH SATELLITE SERVICES - This year brought a locust crisis to Eastern Africa, threatening food supplies in an already troubled time. In this article, EUMETSAT catches up with the activities of the IGAD Climate Prediction & Applications Centre (ICPAC), a climate centre tracking the locusts in East Africa, and see how EUMETSAT’s satellites and data helped mitigate this crisis. Desert locust swarms are a pestilence of biblical proportion. Coming in waves ever since ancient times, they ravage crops that supply food to communities and livestock – in only one day, a small swarm can consume the food of 35,000 people. More

(Source: Space in Africa - Sep 23)

LONG MARCH 4B LAUNCHES NEW OCEAN OBSERVATION SATELLITE - China launched a new ocean observation satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Monday. Launch of the Haiyang-2C took place at 05:40 UTC under the power of a Long March-4B (Chang Zheng-4B) rocket. The Haiyang-2 program represents the second generation of ocean observation and monitorization satellites, with the program being approved by the China National Space Administration in February 2007, for measurement of ocean dynamic and environmental parameters in the microwave region (permitting all-weather observations). More

(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 22)

SATELLITE ACHIEVES SHARP-EYED VIEW OF METHANE - There is a powerful new satellite in the sky to monitor emissions of methane (CH4), one of the key gases driving human-induced climate change. Known as Iris, the spacecraft can map plumes of CH4 in the atmosphere down to a resolution of just 25m. This makes it possible to identify individual sources, such as specific oil and gas facilities. Iris was launched by the Montreal, Canada-based GHGSat company on 2 September. More

(Source: BBC News - Sep 22)

ELON MUSK’S SPACEX SATELLITES CLUTTER THE SKIES, FRUSTRATING ASTRONOMERS - Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s hundreds of satellites cluttering up the galaxy. A plethora of massive internet satellites launched by eco-friendly billionaire Elon Musk are swirling overhead — and astronomers are trying mightily to figure out how to deal with the sun’s glaring reflection off those man-made orbiters. “There’s almost no place in the sky that you won’t see a satellite going by,” the American Astronomical Society’s Rick Feinberg told The Post. More

(Source: New York Post - Sep 20)

NEXT SPACEX LAUNCH WILL WAIT FOR IMPROVED OCEAN CONDITIONS - The launch of SpaceX’s next 60 Starlink satellites will wait for better weather and sea conditions after currents were too strong for the company’s rocket landing platform to hold position in the Atlantic Ocean for a launch attempt Thursday. After scrubbing Thursday’s launch attempt, SpaceX initially said it might try again to launch the mission Friday afternoon. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 19)

SPACEX DELAYS NEXT STARLINK SATELLITE FLEET LAUNCH DUE TO ROCKET 'RECOVERY ISSUE' - SpaceX called off the launch of a new fleet of Starlink internet satellites on Thursday (Feb. 17) due to a "recovery issue" related to the mission's Falcon 9 rocket. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was scheduled to launch 60 new Starlink satellites for the company's growing megaconstellation at 2:19 p.m. EDT (1819 GMT) Thursday from Pad 39A of NASA's historic Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But 15 minutes before the planned liftoff, SpaceX scrubbed the mission. More

(Source: Space.com - Sep 18)

MILITARY COMMANDERS COULD USE MORE SATELLITES FOR TACTICAL SURVEILLANCE - Pacific theater Air Force commander Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said one of the items on his wish list are low-orbiting surveillance satellites to help track targets on the ground, at sea and in the air. “Yes, I am absolutely in favor of more space-based ISR,” said Wilsbach, the commander of Pacific Air Forces at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. ISR is the military abbreviation for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. More

(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 18)

TURKEY TO LAUNCH TüRKSAT 5A SATELLITE INTO SPACE ON NOV. 30 - Turkey will launch the Türksat 5A satellite into space on Nov. 30, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu said Wednesday. Türksat 5A is a broadcast satellite that will operate in the Ku band at the 31 degrees east longitude slot in geostationary orbit, covering Turkey, the Middle East, Europe and large regions of Africa. It will provide television services and improve broadband data networks. It reportedly has a launch mass of 3,500 kilograms (7,716 pounds) and electrical power of 12 kilowatts. More

(Source: Daily Sabah - Sep 17)

SATELLITES WATCH HURRICANE SALLY MAKE LANDFALL IN ALABAMA - Hurricane Sally made landfall in Alabama as a Category 2 storm early Wednesday morning (Sept. 16) as satellites monitored the storm from space. Sally landed near Gulf Shores, Alabama, at about 5:45 a.m. EDT (0945 GMT), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which caught sight of the landfall using the GOES-East satellite. More

(Source: Space.com - Sep 17)

MILITARY EARLY WARNING SATELLITES TO BEGIN MIGRATION TO NEW GROUND SYSTEM - Lockheed Martin announced Sept. 16 it received a $51.2 million contract to begin integrating U.S. missile warning satellites with a new ground system that is being developed to command and control all military satellites in the future. Under the contract from the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center, Lockheed Martin will start the process of migrating a Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous satellite... More

(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 17)

SPACE FORCE SET TO RECEIVE SIXTH ANTI-JAMMING SATELLITE BY END OF YEAR - The sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite completed its On-Orbit Test (OOT) period Aug. 27, clearing the way for it to be transferred to the U.S. Space Force by the end of 2020, primary contractor Lockheed Martin announced Sept. 15. More

(Source: C4ISRNet - Sep 17)

CHINA LAUNCHES 9 SATELLITES INTO SPACE FROM OCEAN PLATFORM - China launched a Long March 11 rocket from an ocean platform in the Yellow Sea early Tuesday (Sept. 15), successfully sending nine satellites into orbit. The launch took place at 09:23 local time (01:23 GMT/9:23 p.m. Eastern Monday) from a 524-feet-long (159.6 meters) launch platform named De Bo 3. The mission is China's second ocean-based launch, following a first Long March 11 sea launch in June 2019. It is the first time however that China has used new seaport facilities at Haiyang in eastern China. More

(Source: Space.com - Sep 16)

THE FIRST COMMERCIAL AIRLOCK IS HEADING TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION LATER THIS YEAR - Later this year, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will take off from central Florida, carrying a large metal cup destined to be attached to the outside of the International Space Station. The hardware is a first-of-its-kind commercial airlock, designed to get payloads and other materials from inside the pressurized space station out into the vacuum of space. More

(Source: The Verge - Sep 16)

NOAA WEATHER SATELLITE TRANSITIONS TO NEW ROLE FOR U.S. MILITARY - A weather satellite built and launched for NOAA in 2006 to help track hurricanes approaching the United States has been repositioned to monitor weather conditions in the Middle East to support U.S. military operations in the region. The GOES-13 satellite, no longer needed for monitoring weather over the United States, was transferred from NOAA to the U.S. Air Force last year under an interagency agreement. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 15)

NASA-NOAA SATELLITE HELPS CONFIRM TEDDY NOW A RECORD-SETTING TROPICAL STORM - NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided an infrared image of Tropical Depression 20 that helped confirm it organized and strengthened into Tropical Storm Teddy. Teddy, which has broken a hurricane season record, is expected to become a major hurricane later in the week, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). More

(Source: Phys.org - Sep 15)

10 EXCITING SPACE MISSIONS AND LAUNCHES LEFT TO WATCH IN 2020 - It’s hard to believe that we are almost three-quarters of the way into 2020, though it also feels like March never ended. Life on Earth has been disastrous this year, but if it’s any consolation, humans have been making great progress up there in space, making 2020 one of the most fruitful years for the space industry in history. Already, Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX has successfully launched 16 missions, including its first ever crewed flight to the International Space Station as well as 10 Starlink missions. More

(Source: Observer - Sep 15)

ASTRA LAUNCH FALTERS DURING FIRST STAGE BURN - Astra’s privately-developed small satellite launcher crashed shortly after liftoff from Alaska Friday evening on the company’s first try at reaching orbit. The startup launch company confirmed on Twitter that the flight ended during the rocket’s first stage burn, following a successful liftoff and initial climb from a launch pad at the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 13)

KUAIZHOU-1A FAILS DURING JILIN-1 LAUNCH - China launched a new high-resolution remote sensing satellite for the Jilin-1 satellite constellation on Saturday morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. However, the solid fuelled Kuaizhou-1A launch was declared a failure after several hours of waiting for information from Chinese state media. No specifics were noted other than the rocket failed to deliver the satellite into the designated orbit. More

(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 13)

ISS TO CHANGE ORBIT TO AVOID SPACE DEBRIS - The orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) will be adjusted to ensure that it avoids a collision with a US spacecraft, Roscosmos said on Saturday. "On Monday, September 14, 2020, at 02:23 Moscow time, the International Space Station is predicted to approach the American BRICSat-2 satellite, which has turned into so-called ‘space debris’," the state corporation noted. More

(Source: TASS - Sep 13) Older news