NASA SATELLITE REVEALS HUGE DROP IN AIR POLLUTION OVER PARTS OF INDIA SINCE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN - NASA satellite data reveals how aerosol levels in India have dropped dramatically since March 25, when the government imposed the world's largest lockdown on its 1.3 billion-strong population amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This lockdown, like in other parts of the planet, has significantly reduced industrial activities and caused large falls in road vehicle and plane traffic in the country.    More
(Source: Newsweek - Apr 23)

INTELSAT SATELLITE RESUMES OPERATIONS AFTER DOCKING OF ROBOTIC SERVICER - An Intelsat communications spacecraft running low on fuel has resumed commercial operations more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the Atlantic Ocean after getting an assist from a pioneering servicing satellite earlier this year. A first-of-its-kind Mission Extension Vehicle built in Virginia by Northrop Grumman docked with the Intelsat 901 satellite Feb. 25, accomplishing the first link-up between two satellites in geosynchronous orbit, a region high above the equator where spacecraft move at speeds that match the rate of Earth’s rotation.   More
(Source: SoacedFlight Now - Apr 23)

SPACEX SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES 60 MORE STARLINK SATELLITES AS IT CONTINUES TOWARDS 2020 SERVICE DEBUT - SpaceX has launched another big batch of Starlink satellites, the low Earth orbit spacecraft that will provide connectivity for its globe-spanning high-bandwidth broadband internet network. This brings the total number of Starlink satellites on orbit to 422, though the company plans to de-orbit two of those (the first two prototypes launched) shortly.   More
(Source: TechCrunch - Apr 22)

IRAN SAYS MILITARY SATELLITE LAUNCHED AMID US TENSIONS - Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced they had successfully launched the country's first military satellite on Wednesday, at a time of fresh tensions with US forces in the Gulf. The United States alleges Iran's satellite programme is a cover for its development of missiles, while the Islamic republic has previously insisted its aerospace activities comply with its international obligations.   More
(Source: Yahoo News - Apr 22)

SPACEX MODIFIES STARLINK NETWORK DESIGN AS ANOTHER 60 SATELLITES GEAR UP FOR LAUNCH - Another 60 Starlink satellites are ready for launch Wednesday to beam Internet signals to future SpaceX consumers as the company seeks regulatory approval to fly all 4,400 relay stations in the network’s first phase of deployment at lower altitudes than previously planned. SpaceX’s Starlink network is a multibillion-dollar program aimed at blanketing the planet in broadband connectivity, serving a wide range of consumers in homes, businesses, schools and hospitals.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 22)

TO ATTACK OR DETER? THE ROLE OF ANTI-SATELLITE WEAPONS - Last week, Russia conducted another anti-satellite (ASAT) test, apparently one of a series they have been undertaking as part of what increasingly looks to be a broad-ranging ASAT program. This follows a recent statement by the commander of US Space Command, General John Raymond, who acknowledged something that amateur space trackers have noticed for a few months...   More
(Source: The Space Review - Apr 22)

US GIRDS ITS SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE IN SPACE DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC - In 2016 a Navy satellite called MUOS-5 wasn’t doing well. Partway to its intended orbit, it simply stalled out — but because the spacecraft was already so far away, the dilemma’s details were hard to discern. That’s where the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program came in: GSSAP satellites can sidle up to and take pictures of other orbiters, beaming the portraits back to Earth. So from Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado, operators maneuvered the agile GSSAP satellite close to the inert MUOS-5 to inspect it.   More
(Source: CNBC - Apr 19)

AN OLD SATELLITE GETS A NEW LEASE ON LIFE, THANKS TO THE HELP OF A SERVICING SATELLITE - An old communications satellite in orbit around Earth is back in service again after being nudged into new life-saving orbit by another satellite. Intelsat 901, which has been in space since 2001, is now providing telecommunications coverage over the Atlantic again after being moved to a new location in space by a servicer satellite, extending the vehicle’s mission by at least five years.   More
(Source: The Verge - Apr 19)

SPACEX WILL LAUNCH TWO ASTRONAUTS TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ON MAY 27, NASA SAYS - Nine years after the last space shuttle flight, NASA plans to launch two U.S. astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule May 27 for a trip to the International Space Station, the agency announced Friday. The historic test flight will herald the end of America's sole reliance on Russia for basic space transportation.   More
(Source: CBS News - Apr 18)

SOYUZ WITH CREW OF THREE LANDS SAFELY IN KAZAKHSTAN - A Russian cosmonaut and his two NASA crewmates undocked from the International Space Station and landed in Kazakhstan early Friday, returning to an unfamiliar world in the grip of a pandemic that will force them to extend the social isolation they were hoping to end. “It’s a little bit surreal to think that we’re going back, especially given the situation that’s been unfolding on the ground,” flight engineer Jessica Meir told a reporter Wednesday. “It looks like we are going back to a completely different planet. So it will be certainly an interesting experience for us.”   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 18)

THREE SPACE TRAVELERS WILL RETURN TO EARTH TONIGHT! HERE'S HOW TO WATCH LIVE. - Three spaceflyers will return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) early Friday morning (April 17), and you can watch their homecoming live. The action starts this evening (April 16) at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT), when NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir and cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka start saying goodbye to the three crewmembers who will remain aboard the orbiting lab. Watch the farewells live online here and on the Space.com homepage, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency.   More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 17)

SPACEX COMPETITOR TO LAUNCH JAPANESE SATELLITE CONSTELLATION IN 2020 - Rocket Lab, the startup space company that is aiming for reusable rockets to compete with SpaceX’s, will launch the first satellite of a planned Japanese constellation, the company announced. The U.S. rocket company will launch the StriX-α satellite for Synspective, marking the first member of a set of satellites that will scour the Earth in synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The satellites will thus be able to peer at the surface, even in rainy or cloudy or dark conditions — allowing for better monitoring.   More
(Source: Forbes - Apr 16)

RUSSIA TESTS DIRECT-ASCENT ANTI-SATELLITE MISSILE - U.S. Space Command is aware and tracking Russia’s direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) missile test April 15. “Russia’s DA-ASAT test provides yet another example that the threats to U.S. and allied space systems are real, serious and growing,” said Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, USSPACECOM commander and U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations. “The United States is ready and committed to deterring aggression and defending the Nation, our allies and U.S. interests from hostile acts in space.”   More
(Source: Spacecom - Apr 16)

ROCKET LAB INKS DEAL TO CARRY JAPANESE STARTUP SYNSPECTIVE’S FIRST SATELLITE INTO ORBIT - The well-funded Japanese space startup Synspective has tapped launch provider Rocket Lab to take its first Earth observation satellite to orbit. Launch is planned for late 2020, and the company’s StriX–α craft will be the sole payload. Synspective was founded in 2018 and by mid-2019 had raised about $100 million, making it one of the most successful recent funding stories in the country. It’s going to need all that and more, though, to realize its ambition of a 25-satellite constellation regularly imaging the whole planet.   More
(Source: TechCrunch - Apr 15)

FLORIDA LAUNCH RANGE REMAINS OPEN; FALCON 9 MISSION POSTPONED - Range personnel at Cape Canaveral will employ physical distancing, face covers and other cautionary measures to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus during launch operations, the commander of the U.S. military’s 45th Space Wing said. But the next launch from Cape Canaveral has been postponed from Thursday until no earlier than next week, sources said. SpaceX is planning to fire off a Falcon 9 rocket with the next batch of Starlink Internet satellites.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 15)

RUSSIA'S SOYUZ ROCKET PRODUCTION ON HOLD DUE TO CORONAVIRUS - Spaceflight, like every sector, is feeling effects from the spreading coronavirus pandemic, and that holds true in Russia as well, where manufacturing of its workhorse Soyuz rocket has halted, officials said. One of those rockets, a Soyuz 2.1a booster, most recently flew on April 9 to carry three astronauts to the International Space Station in a launch that was essentially unaffected by the pandemic. The news of the pandemic's impact on its production comes from an English-language transcript released on April 10 by Russia's government of a call held by President Vladimir Putin and a group of space center leaders.   More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 14)

L3HARRIS TO BEGIN PRE-LAUNCH WORK ON ‘WIDE FIELD OF VIEW’ MISSILE DEFENSE SATELLITE - A U.S. Space Force missile warning satellite, six years in the works, is nearly completed. The company that developed the sensor, L3Harris, received a $9.3 million contract on April 6 to maintain and prepare the satellite for launch in 2021. The contract is for pre-launch and post-launch services for the Wide Field of View missile detection satellite. L3Harris developed a staring sensor that was mounted on a satellite bus supplied by Millennium Space Systems, a subsidiary of Boeing.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Apr 12)

ASTRONAUTS PREPARE TO RETURN FROM ISS TO WORLD TRANSFORMED BY CORONAVIRUS - Two Nasa astronauts expect a difficult return to a drastically changed world next week, after close to a year onboard the International Space Station. Andrew Morgan told reporters the ISS crew had tried to keep abreast of news regarding the coronavirus pandemic, but it was hard to comprehend what was really going on and what to expect when his nine-month mission ends next Friday.   More
(Source: The Guardian - Apr 12)

SOYUZ CREW DOCKS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - With an absence of fanfare amid coronavirus safety protocols, an upgraded Russian Soyuz rocket making its first piloted flight blasted off from Kazakshstan Thursday carrying two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut on a speedy four-orbit trip to the International Space Station. The Soyuz 2.1a booster’s first and core stage engines ignited on time at 4:05 a.m. EDT (1:05 p.m. local time), throttled up to full power and lifted the rocket smoothly away from its firing stand at the sprawling Baikonur Cosmodrome.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 10)