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17 Nov 23. SpaceX’s uncrewed spacecraft Starship, developed to carry astronauts to the moon and beyond, failed in space shortly after lifting off on Saturday, cutting short its second test but making it further than an earlier attempt that ended in an explosion.
The two-stage rocketship blasted off from the Elon Musk-owned company’s Starbase launch site near Boca Chica in Texas, helping boost the Starship spacecraft as high as 90 miles (148 km) above ground on a planned 90-minute test mission to space and back.
But the rocket’s Super Heavy first stage booster, though it achieved a crucial maneuver to separate with its core Starship stage, exploded over the Gulf of Mexico shortly after detaching, a SpaceX webcast showed.
Meanwhile, the core Starship stage boosted further toward space, but a few minutes later a company broadcaster said that SpaceX mission control suddenly lost contact with the vehicle.
“We have lost the data from the second stage… we think we may have lost the second stage,” SpaceX engineer and livestream host John Insprucker said. He added that engineers believe an automated flight termination command was triggered to destroy the rocket, though the reason was unclear.
About eight minutes into the test mission, a camera view tracking the Starship booster appeared to show an explosion that suggested the vehicle failed at that time. The rocket’s altitude was 91 miles (148 km).
The launch was the second attempt to fly Starship mounted atop its towering Super Heavy rocket booster, following an April attempt that ended in explosive failure about four minutes after lift-off.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees commercial launch sites, confirmed a mishap occurred that “resulted in a loss of the vehicle,” adding no injuries or property damage have been reported.
The agency said it will oversee a SpaceX-led investigation into the testing failure and will need to approve SpaceX’s plan to prevent it from happening again.
The mission’s objective was to get Starship off the ground in Texas and into space just shy of reaching orbit, then plunge through Earth’s atmosphere for a splashdown off Hawaii’s coast. The launch had been scheduled for Friday but was pushed back by a day for a last-minute swap of flight-control hardware.
TESTING FAILURES
Starship’s failure to meet all of its test objectives could pose a setback for SpaceX. The FAA will need to review the company’s failure investigation and review its application for a new launch license. SpaceX officials have complained that such regulatory reviews take too long.
On the other hand, the failure in a program for which SpaceX plans to spend roughly $2 billion this year was in line with the company’s risk-tolerant culture that embraces fast-paced testing and re-testing of prototypes to hasten design and engineering improvements.
“More things were successful than in the previous test, including some new capabilities that were significant,” said Carissa Christensen, CEO of space analytics firm BryceTech.
“There’s not money and patience for unlimited tests, but for a vehicle that is so different and so big, two, three, four, five tests is not excessive,” Christensen said.
At roughly 43 miles (70 km) in altitude, the rocket system executed the crucial maneuver to separate the two stages – something it failed to do in the last test – with the Super Heavy booster intended to plunge into Gulf of Mexico waters while the core Starship booster blasts further to space using its own engines.
But the Super Heavy booster blew up moments later, followed by the Starship stage’s own explosion. SpaceX in a post on social media platform X said “success comes from what we learn,” adding that the core Starship stage’s engines “fired for several minutes on its way to space.”
A fully successful test would have marked a key step toward achieving SpaceX’s ambition producing a large, multi-purpose, spacecraft capable of sending people and cargo back to the moon later this decade for NASA, and ultimately to Mars.
SpaceX’s worker safety culture underpinning its speedy development ethos is facing scrutiny by lawmakers after a Reuters investigation documented hundreds of injuries at the rocket company’s U.S. manufacturing and launch sites.
CLOCK IS TICKING
NASA, SpaceX’s primary customer, has a considerable stake in the success of Starship, which the U.S. space agency is counting on to play a central role of landing humans on the moon within the next few years under its human spaceflight program, Artemis, successor to the Apollo missions.
NASA chief Bill Nelson, who has made competition with China a core need for speed in Artemis, said Saturday’s Starship test was an “opportunity to learn — then fly again.”
Musk – SpaceX’s founder, chief executive and chief engineer – sees Starship as eventually replacing the company’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket as the centerpiece of its launch business that already lofts most of the world’s satellites and other commercial payloads into space.
“The clock is ticking,” said Chad Anderson, a SpaceX investor and managing partner of venture capital firm Space Capital. “NASA has a timeline where they’re trying to get to the moon, and this is their primary vehicle to do it. So SpaceX needs to deliver on a timeline.”
Jaret Matthews, CEO of lunar rover startup Astrolab that has booked space on a future Starship flight, toured SpaceX’s Starbase site earlier this year and said he expects the company to swiftly resume tests after the Saturday flight.
Though such a pace is expected to be driven largely by the FAA’s review and the extent of Starship’s technical failures.
“They have the next number of vehicles already lined up in the factory ready to go,” he said. “I think people will be shocked by the cadence that emerges next year.”
(Source: Reuters)
16 Nov 23. Intelsat Multi-Orbit Terminal Delivers Uninterrupted Service in Army Experiment. Intelsat, operator of one of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial networks, delivered high-speed, uninterrupted satellite communications connectivity with Intelsat’s Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal (MOTT) during a two-week field test with the U.S. Army. The rigorous demonstration was one of the largest military field network tests since the initial launch of the terminal.
“The future of Army satellite communications includes rugged terminals with no moving parts that deliver reliable connections in harsh environments.”
The demonstration was part of the Army’s annual Network Modernization Experiment (NetModX), which includes Army scientists and engineers working with industry to perform realistic field tests to build upon work completed in the laboratory. The 2023 tests focused on “automated and protected communications,” with Intelsat and the MOTT being one of the primary commercial services and terminals included in the experiments.
“Working alongside Army’s engineers, Intelsat put the MOTT system through rigorous realistic experiments only seen during combat and the MOTT delivered uninterrupted connectivity at high speeds,” said Ray Lindenmayer, Director of Business Development of Intelsat’s Government Solutions division. “The future of Army satellite communications includes rugged terminals with no moving parts that deliver reliable connections in harsh environments.”
Satellites, such as Intelsat’s satellites and its next-generation software-defined satellites, provide layers of capacity, redundancy, and global coverage. These features are critical for daily operations.
“The MOTT maintains constant connectivity with satellite constellations via a single ruggedized low-profile antenna,” said Kfir Benjamin, CEO at Get SAT. “By partnering with Intelsat and using Open standards, the terminal gives customers the flexibility to select optimal primary and secondary communication paths to meet changing mission needs.” (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
16 Nov 23. Lockheed Martin Prepares First 5G.MIL® Payload for Orbit. First Regenerative Non-Terrestrial Network 5G Satellite Base Station Completes Final Demo Prior to Space Mission. Lockheed Martin is one step away from showcasing how its 5G.MIL® capability can reach all domains around the world. In its final successful lab demonstration, the company validated that its innovative space payload is set to deliver global advanced communications capabilities from orbit.
During the October demonstration, Lockheed Martin showcased the industry’s first fully regenerative Advanced 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) Satellite Base Station – developed as a space component of the company’s 5G.MIL® Unified Network Solutions Program.
In 2024, in a self-funded mission, the company will launch this payload to orbit bringing 5G’s capabilities to the final frontier to prove its capability to connect the globe.
About the Demonstration
In a live hardware-in-the-loop lab environment, the Advanced 5G NTN Satellite Base Station performed high-speed data transfers connecting with prototype NTN user equipment, compliant with 3GPP Release 17, an industry standard for improved radio flexibility and low latency. During a simulated satellite orbital pass, the Satellite Base Station, running on space-hardened flight hardware and the user equipment on the ground, successfully connected and transferred data, including live video streaming.
“Space layer capabilities are essential for consistent, secure connectivity and global coverage for 5G communications systems. 5G from space will enable Joint All-Domain Command and Control operations especially in austere environments, remote locations and contested areas,” said Joe Rickers, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for Connectivity, Transport and Access. “Our Satellite Base Station is real, operational hardware and we’re excited for the next step — integrating this powerful payload into our self-funded Tactical Satellite which we’ll launch next year.”
How It Works
Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Satellite Base Station for 5G, or gNodeB, as it is technically known:
* Includes a full 5G New Radio (NR) Radio Access Network (RAN) stack, RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) and 5G Stand Alone (SA) Core running on space-qualified flight hardware that will fly on the TacSat.
* Is reprogrammable on orbit using Lockheed Martin’s SmartSat™ software-defined satellite architecture. * Can be structured with a split architecture placing the Control Unit (CU) on the ground and the Distributed Unit (DU) on the satellite, further enhancing network implementation options.
* Connects to industry-leading prototype NTN user equipment through a space communications channel emulator that introduced doppler and delay parameters consistent with a satellite Low Earth Orbit.
Why it Matters
“Space-based communications will provide high-speed backhaul to land, air and sea 5G.MIL Hybrid Base Stations as well as direct access to user equipment running 3GPP NTN standard protocols from orbit,” said Dan Rice, vice president for Lockheed Martin’s 5G.MIL Programs. “Regenerative NTN solutions enable direct, satellite-based secure communications between users in a coverage area – bypassing more vulnerable terrestrial networks when necessary.”
Lockheed Martin’s standards-based approach is compliant with 3GPP Release 17 and was developed in anticipation of pre-Release 18 & 19 regenerative specifications. 5G NTN provides another communications pathway to support ubiquitous, heterogeneous communications across all operational domains in support of customer missions.
16 Nov 23. Amazon’s prototype Kuiper satellites operating successfully. Amazon.com (AMZN.O) said on Thursday its two prototype satellites for its planned Kuiper internet network have been operating successfully in orbit, with the project on track to start launching operational satellites by mid-2024.
The Kuiper internet network is set to compete against billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink, the world’s largest satellite operator, to offer broadband internet service globally to consumers, companies and governments.
Amazon said it had achieved a 100% success rate within the first 30 days of the launch of the prototype satellites from Florida aboard an United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. Amazon said it used the prototype satellites for brief two-way video calls, streaming a high-definition movie on Prime Video and ordering items off Amazon’s website.
“We still have a lot of hard work ahead, and scaling for mass production won’t be easy,” said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of technology for Project Kuiper.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has required Amazon to deploy half of its more than 3,000-planned satellite constellation by 2026.
On the heels of the successful prototype tests, Amazon expects to start building production-ready satellites next month for a launch in the second quarter of 2024, Badyal told Reuters. Badyal declined to say how many satellites Amazon would launch per rocket.
Badyal said he expects the network will be capable of providing broadband coverage in some parts of the world by late 2024, for an early beta phase targeted to begin in early 2025.
Early partners like Vodafone (VOD.L) and Verizon (VZ.N) are set to become the first telecom firms to beta test the service.
Amazon last year announced a bulk launch deal for 83 launches – the largest commercial rocket procurement ever – from various rocket companies, including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, ULA and Europe’s Arianespace.
The Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance is set to loft the first several batches of Kuiper satellites aboard its Atlas 5 and the company’s upcoming Vulcan rocket.
Rival Starlink uses its own in-house SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets to launch its network, which since 2019 has grown to roughly 5,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit, enabling near-global broadband coverage.
(Source: Reuters)
15 Nov 23. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) recently completed its Critical Design Review (CDR) on a proliferated low-Earth orbit constellation of 16 missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency, clearing the way to begin production work on the space vehicles.
* The CDR maintained an accelerated pace and was completed within 13 months of the award announcement.
* The satellites are part of the Tranche 1 Tracking Layer (T1TRK) that will identify and track hypersonic weapons and advanced missiles from the earliest stages of launch through interception.
* Once in orbit, the satellites will operate in two of four low-Earth orbital planes, interconnected with Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL) – another element of SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) designed as a high-speed, high-volume data transport network connecting U.S. forces around the globe.
Expert:
Candace Givens, vice president, overhead persistent infrared and geospatial systems, Northrop Grumman: “We are developing a more responsive, flexible and resilient space architecture to counter sophisticated threats. By passing this critical milestone on an accelerated timeline, we are closer to delivering critical missile defense and tracking technologies.”
Details on the PWSA:
Fourteen of the satellites for T1TRK will feature a wide field-of-view sensor, three optical communications terminals and a Ka-band payload for communications. Two satellites will feature a medium field-of-view infrared sensor to demonstrate a fire-control solution.
Northrop Grumman is a leading contractor providing both space vehicles and ground systems for SDA’s PWSA, a next-generation constellation in low-Earth orbit. The company continues to leverage this growing industry base of capable suppliers to support this critical mission. PWSA has two major lines of effort:
* The Tracking Layer: Focused on developing a global constellation of infrared missile warning and missile tracking satellites that integrate with the Transport Layer’s low-latency meshed communication network, enabling conventional and advanced missile tracking from proliferated low-Earth orbit.
* The Transport Layer: Designed to provide low-latency, high-volume data connectivity supporting U.S. military missions around the world.
To date, SDA has awarded Northrop Grumman 132 satellites. In March, Northrop Grumman successfully completed a Critical Design Review for T1TL. In October, SDA awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to design and build 38 satellites as part of Tranche 2 Transport Layer – Alpha (T2TL-Alpha).
Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our employees define possible every day.
14 Nov 23. Spire Global Unveils Satellite Mission Operations Platform. Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR) (“Spire” or “the Company”), a leading global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, today at Space Tech Expo Europe unveiled Constellation Management Platform, a web-based app that simplifies satellite constellation operations through its user-friendly interface. The development of the platform is co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) under ARTES Core Competitiveness (CC) Programme with a €1.5m award to Spire, along with support from the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA).
Spire’s Constellation Management Platform is the latest innovation by Spire Space Services, the Company’s end-to-end solution for customers to build, launch and operate their own satellite constellation for a flat monthly fee. Spire provides standardized Space as a Service missions that support a range of use cases across Earth observation, connectivity, radio frequency intelligence and space domain awareness — making it easier and faster for customers to get their satellites in orbit and scale a constellation.
Satellite constellation operations have traditionally been complex and resource intensive, requiring a room full of people to operate satellites at all times of the day. Spire is leveraging its more than a decade of experience operating the world’s largest multi-payload satellite constellation to automate and optimize satellite operations, allowing any company to operate their satellites with one person and a laptop.
The platform allows users to connect directly with their satellites to task, schedule and monitor every aspect of their payload, data, fleet health and mission planning through a user-friendly interface. It simplifies access to Spire’s ground operations software to operate a satellite or constellation with multiple, global ground station networks for tracking, scheduling, commanding, downlinking data and monitoring telemetry. It was built using Amazon Web Services and will deliver satellite data directly into a customer’s ecosystem. It is also accessible through a Spire API.
“Satellites never sleep. You build and launch a satellite once, but then you have to operate it and communicate with it thousands of times over its lifetime,” said Frank Frulio, general manager of Space Services, Spire. “Typically, you need an army of experts to do that, but we’ve simplified space so that anyone can easily manage satellites and gain insights from space to give their business a competitive edge — such as helping insurance companies build products that safeguard against climate change variables and providing utilities companies with accurate, real-time data for remote forestry management.”
Spire’s Constellation Management Platform is available to customers that build, launch and operate satellites with Space Services, as well as for those looking to simplify and optimize operations of an existing constellation.
“The path leading up to launch, although exciting, is one step of a larger journey,” said Dr. Gernot Groemer, Director at the Austrian Space Forum. “Collaborating with Spire has transformed ADLER-2 operations into a seamless experience. The user-friendly API web application developed by Spire not only saves us time but also enables us to redirect our focus from calculating schedule windows to analysing the measurements gathered by our payloads. The automation of satellite operations has made it a hands-off, effortlessly managed process for us that has been a game changer for our research initiatives.”
Dietmar Schmitt, acting Head of Systems, Strategic Programme Lines and Technology Department for the ESA Connectivity and Secure Communications Directorate said, “The Constellation Management Platform, which is developed by Spire under the ESA ARTES CC programme, will offer a simplified approach to constellation mission operations by providing customers with an automated end-to-end satellite operations system. It will be managed through a web application, allowing for a more efficient planning and use of the resources and space assets.”
Learn more about Spire’s Constellation Management Platform at spire.com/space-services/constellation-management-platform/
13 Nov 23. SES’s Fifth and Sixth O3b mPOWER Satellites Successfully Launched. With six satellites, SES’s second-generation medium earth orbit system will be ready to provide high-performance connectivity services around the globe from early Q2 2024. SES announced today that two additional O3b mPOWER satellites were successfully launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States, at 4:08pm local time. With the fifth and sixth O3b mPOWER satellites launched, the system completes the six medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites required to offer high-performance network services delivering high throughput, predictable low latency, unique flexibility and service availability.
Last month, SES announced it will add to the constellation two more satellites built by Boeing, bringing the total number of O3b mPOWER satellites to 13. The additional investment is expected to be covered within SES’s existing committed CapEx envelope. The first four O3b mPOWER satellites launched in the last year have arrived at their target orbital position and are undergoing in-orbit checks, including a series of system validation tests encompassing both space and ground components.
In 2023 alone, SES has rolled out and tested more than 160 O3b mPOWER terminals over the existing O3b constellation to serve mobility, telecom, government, and enterprise customers.
“With the fifth and sixth O3b mPOWER satellites launched and going operational in the next few months, we are gearing up to deliver the high-performance connectivity services our customers need. By building resiliency into the network, we are confident our customers will be able to depend on us to deliver the reliable and secure connectivity required to run their operations,” said Ruy Pinto, CEO of SES.
O3b mPOWER commercial service is expected to begin during the second quarter of 2024. For additional information on O3b mPOWER, visit the newsroom.
13 Nov 23. Airbus’ patented Detumbler device designed to prevent satellites at the end of their lives from tumbling, was launched on Saturday 11 November and will be tested in space on the mission in association with Exotrail and EnduroSat early in 2024.
Developed in 2021 by Airbus, and supported by the French Space Agency CNES under their Tech4SpaceCare initiative, the Detumbler is a magnetic damping device that would be attached to a satellite. The Detumbler includes a central rotor wheel and magnets that interact with the Earth’s magnetic field. When the satellite is flying normally the rotor acts like a compass following the magnetic field, but should the spacecraft begin to tumble the rotor movement induces eddy currents acting like a friction torque thus damping the motion.
Dead satellites, especially in low Earth orbit (LEO), often end up tumbling which is natural behaviour due to orbital flight dynamics. Future active debris removal missions will face a greater challenge if spacecraft are tumbling. The Airbus Detumbler – weighing in at around 100g – could therefore be a useful tool for future missions to prevent satellites tumbling after their end of life, making them easier to capture on debris clearing missions.
The in-orbit demonstration of the Detumbler is scheduled for early 2024 on a mission from Exotrail (SpaceVan) which will include the Exo-0 nanosatellite from EnduroSat. Dedicated detumbling tests will take place to verify the ability of the Detumbler to dampen movement.
13 Nov 23. ICEYE Elevates Its World-Leading Radar Imaging Constellation With Four New Satellites Launched. ICEYE, the global leader in persistent monitoring with radar imaging satellites and an expert in natural catastrophe solutions, has successfully expanded its constellation with four new synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites on November 11. The launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-9 smallsat rideshare mission via Exolaunch was conducted from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. Each spacecraft has successfully established communications and is undergoing routine early operations.
ICEYE Spot Fine 50 cm ground resolution image of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Aircraft Boneyard in Tucson, Arizona, US acquired during night time. The image showcases the ability of Spot Fine to not only see the shape of the individual aircraft, but also to zoom in to component level for enhanced classification.
ICEYE has now deployed 31 satellites since 2018, underscoring the company’s position as a world leader in SAR satellite technology. As the owner and operator of the largest SAR satellite fleet, ICEYE can provide customers with faster access to data in emergencies and the highest revisit rates for high-frequency phenomena.
“This launch and deployment is more than just additional satellites for our constellation; it’s a testament to our pursuit of excellence for our technologies in support of our customers,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE. “We are fielding a resilient constellation with increased revisit rates and cutting-edge capabilities to meet the high-tempo imagery requirements of our most demanding customers.”
The launch of the four third-generation satellites also builds on earlier advancements in imaging capabilities, including Spot Fine mode, which delivers 50 cm native ground resolution, and Dwell mode, which uses advanced collection techniques to rapidly determine changes happening on the ground in near real-time.
John Cartwright, Head of Data Product at ICEYE remarked, “ICEYE customers around the globe have seemingly unending demand for our persistent, high-resolution satellite imaging capacity. Our customers use ICEYE imagery for actionable information and high-confidence decision-making. This is our third satellite launch during 2023, which shows our commitment to building and operating the largest SAR satellite constellation to date.”
ICEYE’s latest launch includes next-generation satellites built and operated by teams both in Europe and in the United States. ICEYE US, headquartered in Irvine, CA, builds and operates NOAA-licensed satellites in support of U.S. Government and commercial customers.
Around 70 percent of the globe is shrouded in clouds, and at any given time about half of the planet is in the dark. SAR satellites illuminate the ground with microwaves and create images from the energy that is reflected back to the satellite. SAR is superior to traditional electro-optical imaging for monitoring and search applications because it provides a powerful day/night, all-weather imaging capability. This capability is ideally suited for applications such as insurance, natural catastrophe response and recovery, national security, defense and intelligence, humanitarian relief, and climate change monitoring. (Source: PR Newswire)
13t Nov 23. The Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) today released its Code of Conduct on Space Sustainability, calling on operators to implement responsible practices that mitigate the risk of in-orbit collision, minimize the threat of non-trackable debris, protect humans in space and limit effects on optical astronomy.
Satellite communications services provide essential connectivity that complements terrestrial networks and contributes to the delivery of universal service and coverage. Satellite connectivity can significantly help reduce today’s digital divide, as the number of satellite broadband users is set to double to at least 500 m people by 2030. “Satellites in all orbits deliver vital satellite connectivity and high throughput broadband services. While they offer great promises in bridging the digital divide, they must be launched, deployed, operated and disposed of in a responsible manner,” said Isabelle Mauro, the Director General of GSOA.
As the only CEO-driven satellite association in the world, GSOA—a global industry organization representing over 70 Members, with satellite operators in all orbits, launchers, suppliers and partners—takes the lead in addressing global challenges, seizing opportunities, and providing a unified voice for the satellite industry.
“The satellite industry has proven vital to helping bridge the digital divide and connect the unconnected, whether they are on land, at sea or in the air. These vital services depend on protecting and preserving access to space,” said GSOA Chairman Dan Goldberg, CEO of Telesat Corporation. “The development and industry-wide approval of the Code of Conduct is an important step in identifying best practices and mitigations to preserve access to space for future generations.”
“As the satellite industry continues to grow and is expected to bring socio-economic benefits worth more than US$250 bn globally, it is important that the industry works together to implement key sustainability practices that enable the world to continue benefitting from satellites,” said GSOA Vice-Chair, Ali Alhashemi, Group CEO of Yahsat.
Eva Berneke, GSOA Vice-Chair, CEO of Eutelsat Group said, “the Code of Conduct is a significant first step in safeguarding space resources. GSOA will continue to analyse additional matters and progress its work and efforts in this important area.”
The Code of Conduct endorses, and recommends that operators comply with practices in four space sustainability areas:
*Mitigating the risk of in-orbit collision: Operators should take all reasonable steps to share information with other operators about trackable debris that they may have or may not have generated through the operation of their spacecraft.
*Minimize the Threat of Non-Trackable Debris: Operators should take steps in the design, launch, orbit raising, operational and de-orbit phases of the spacecraft mission – to ensure that their satellites do not become debris.
*Preserving human life in space: Human life should be protected and operators should ensure that astronauts are not put at risk.
*Limiting impact on optical astronomy: Operators and astronomers should work together to minimise negative impacts on ground-based optical astronomy, while allowing observation at optical wavelengths and ensuring the delivery of satellite services.
03 Nov 23. SpaceX’s Friday night launch of 23 Starlinks and breaks another re-flight record.
On Friday, November 3 at 8:37 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
SpaceX broke another re-flight record with this launch of 23 more Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 booster making its 18th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew Demo-2, ANASIS-11, CRS-21, Transporter-1, Transporter-3, and now 13 Starlink missions.
Following liftoff, the booster landed on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ about eight-and-a-half minutes into the mission.
SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 3 at 8:37 p.m. ET for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. If needed, three backup opportunities are available starting at 9:01 p.m. ET until 10:22 p.m. ET. Eight backup opportunities are also currently available on Saturday, November 4 starting at 6:00 p.m. ET until 9:55 p.m. ET.
A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about five minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.
This is the 18th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew Demo-2, ANASIS-11, CRS-21, Transporter-1, Transporter-3, and 12 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. (Source: Satnews)
09 Nov 23. Two Koreas race to launch first homegrown military spy satellites. In a high-stakes race, South and North Korea are vying for success in launching their first homegrown military spy satellites, backed respectively by the United States and Russia, as a pivotal initiative aimed at enhancing their military capabilities.
The South Korean military is set to launch its domestically-developed reconnaissance satellite on Nov. 30 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, South Korea’s new Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said Friday during his meeting with reporters.
California-headquartered US aerospace giant SpaceX’s Falcon 9 will carry South Korea’s first spy satellite.
The upcoming launch is part of South Korea’s “425 Project,” which aims to “secure the military’s own reconnaissance satellites through research and development to monitor North Korea’s key strategic targets and respond” to potential threats, the Defense Ministry explained in a separate statement issued Friday.
In pursuit of this goal, the Defense Ministry has laid out plans to launch a total of five high-resolution military satellites by the year 2025 in light of the growing importance of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — or ISR — assets for early detection of advancing North Korean nuclear and missile threats.
The ministry emphasized that military spy satellites will be the core of ISR assets, which serve as the cornerstone for South Korea’s three-axis defense system.
Spy satellites are poised to significantly reinforce the first axis of the three-pronged defense system, dubbed the “Kill Chain” preemptive strike mechanism, by bolstering ISR capabilities across deep areas and strategic targets in North Korea.
If South Korea successfully put a spy satellite into orbit, the Defense Ministry said it would provide an opportunity to “showcase the military’s superior scientific and technological capabilities when compared to North Korea’s satellite launch failures in May and August.” (Source: Satnews)
05 Nov 23. U.S. Senate passes act to support technologies to clear dangerous orbital debris endangering astronauts and satellites.
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Orbital Sustainability (ORBITS) Act, a bipartisan bill to establish a first-of-its-kind demonstration program to reduce the amount of space junk in orbit. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Committee, joined Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) in introducing the bill in February and it passed the Committee in July. It now heads to the House.
“Nearly one m pieces of space junk pass over our heads every day,” Sen. Cantwell said. “The ORBITS Act will jumpstart the technology development needed to remove the most dangerous space junk before it knocks out a scientific satellite, threatens a NASA mission, or falls to the ground and hurts someone.”
“Space junk,” or orbital debris, currently poses a threat to human space exploration, scientific research missions and emerging commercial space services. There are approximately 8,000 metric tons of space junk currently in orbit, including at least 900,000 individual pieces of debris that are potentially lethal to satellites. Because of the magnitude of the current debris, simply preventing more debris in the future is not enough.
Every year, there are cases of space junk falling to Earth. A car-sized object landed in Australia over the summer. In Washington state, a large piece of space junk crashed into a farmer’s property in March 2021. Washington state companies, including Seattle-based satellite servicer Starfish Space, have advocated for the acceleration of space debris removal efforts. Other companies in Washington state, like SpaceX, Amazon’s Kuiper Systems and Stoke Space Technologies, are also looking for new ways to reduce debris from accumulating in space in the first place or have been threatened by debris. (Source: Satnews)
05 Nov 23. Early production continues on advanced upper stage for NASA Moon rocket. Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have completed a major portion of a weld confidence article for the advanced upper stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The hardware was rotated to a horizontal position and moved to another part of the facility Oct. 24.
The weld confidence article forms part of the liquid oxygen tank for the SLS rocket’s explorantion upper stage and is the fifth of seven weld confidence articles engineers are manufacturing for the evolved SLS Block 1B configuration of the SLS rocket. Beginning with Artemis IV, SLS will evolve to its more powerful Block 1B configuration with the advanced upper stage that gives the rocket the capability to launch 40% more to the Moon along with Artemis astronauts inside NASA’s Orion space craft.
Teams use weld confidence articles to verify welding procedures, interfaces between the tooling and hardware, and structural integrity of the welds. The dome of the liquid oxygen tank weld confidence article was first welded to its structural ring at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, using friction stir welding tooling. The hardware was transported to Michoud, where Michoud crews in the Liquid Oxygen Tank Assembly Center (LTAC) finished welding the hardware. Marshall and Michoud engineers simultaneously conducted testing and analysis on the hardware to validate welding parameters.
In tandem, NASA and Boeing, the SLS lead contractor for the core stage and exploration upper stage, are producing structural test articles and flight hardware structures for the upper stage at Marshall and Michoud.
NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission. (Source: Satnews)
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