Large asteroid to (safely) zip past Earth
Saturday, 20 March 2021 12:35
The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will swing closest on Sunday, giving astronomers a rare chance for a good look at a space rock that formed at the dawn of our solar system.
While in astronomical terms this marks a close encounter with the asteroid - called 2001 FO32 - NASA says there is no threat of a collision with our planet "now or for centuries to come".
The nearest Starlink reportedly courted by UK for rural broadband to get 'Gigafit'
Saturday, 20 March 2021 12:35
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's Starlink, technically a division within SpaceX, has already launched over 1,300 small, low orbit satellites to deliver high-speed broadband internet to consumers, with service currently limited to the northwest US, adjacent parts of Canada, parts of the UK and other areas.
The British Government has reportedly been in talks with Elon Musk's satellite ne Arianespace to hit its stride with next OneWeb launch
Saturday, 20 March 2021 12:35
By operating this fifth flight on behalf of OneWeb, Arianespace will bring the total fleet to 146 satellites in Low Earth Orbit. Arianespace is proud to share in the fulfilment of its customer's ultimate ambition: providing internet access for everyone, everywhere.
Flight ST30, the second commercial mission performed by Arianespace and its Starsem affiliate from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, w Russian launches 38 satellites into orbit from Baikonur
Saturday, 20 March 2021 12:35
The Fregat booster-equipped Soyuz-2 carrier rocket will deliver 38 satellites from 18 countries into low-Earth orbit.
The launch of the Soyuz-2 carrier rocket from the Baikonur space centre has been postponed until Sunday, Russian state space corporation Roscosmos' chief, Dmitry Rogozin, told Sputnik on Saturday.
"There was a power surge and we decided not to risk it [the launch]," R Russia to test world's 1st ultra-light optics for nanosatellites in space
Saturday, 20 March 2021 12:35
Russia's Samara University has said that its pioneer ultra-light optics for nanosatellites will be sent to space for testing.
"Ultralight optical systems for remote sensing of Earth, developed by scientists of the Samara University named after [famed Soviet rocket engineer Sergei] Korolev, will be tested in space aboard Russian nanosatellites Cube SX-HSE and Cube SX Sirius HSE," the univer Meteor streaks over Cuba, causes explosion
Friday, 19 March 2021 19:30
What is believed to be a meteor lit the sky over eastern Cuba and caused an explosion, scientists on the island said Saturday. There were no reports of damage or injury.
The head of the National Seismological Service, Enrique Arango Arias, told the official Cubadebate news site that the phenomenon was noticed in the towns of Moa, Sagua de Tanamo and Maisí .
He said the service's instruments "registered the expansive wave" of the explosion.
Social media users reported seeing red and white light followed by an explosion at about 10:06 p.m. local time Friday.
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Decommissioned NOAA weather satellite breaks up
Friday, 19 March 2021 16:26
WASHINGTON — A polar-orbiting weather satellite decommissioned nearly eight years ago has broken up, adding to the growing debris population in a key orbit.
The Space Force’s 18th Space Control Squadron said March 18 it hard confirmed the NOAA-17 satellite broke up March 10.
Soyuz-2 rideshare launch delayed for South Korea, Astroscale, dozens more
Friday, 19 March 2021 12:55
SEOUL, South Korea — The launch of a Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying a South Korean remote sensing satellite and three dozen smaller satellites was delayed Saturday due to a problem with the rocket’s upper stage, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, the primary customer for the GK Launch Services-brokered commercial rideshare mission.
Soyuz-2 rideshare launch for South Korea, Astroscale, dozens more delayed to March 22
Friday, 19 March 2021 12:55This story was updated March 20 at 4:30 p.m. EDT to add a Roscosmos statement about the new March 22 launch date for the mission.
SEOUL, South Korea — The launch of a Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying a South Korean remote sensing satellite and three dozen smaller satellites was postponed Saturday due to a problem with the rocket’s upper stage, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, the primary customer for the GK Launch Services-brokered commercial rideshare mission.
Space Force to push conversation on spaceflight safety, orbital debris
Friday, 19 March 2021 00:27
WASHINGTON — As more satellites are launched into space, there is a growing conversation about the need to keep the cosmos safe and establish rules of the road for orbital activities.
GAO to review Air Force process for selecting location of U.S. Space Command
Thursday, 18 March 2021 23:03
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Government Accountability Office confirmed on March 19 that it will review the Air Force’s methodology and scoring that led to the decision to move U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama.
Inmarsat gets funding to develop satellite-based telemetry relay network for rocket launches
Thursday, 18 March 2021 20:48
TAMPA, Fla. — The UK Space Agency will partly fund the development of an in-orbit telemetry relay system called InRange, which will use British satellite operator Inmarsat’s L-band constellation to guide rocket launches.
Satellite veterans warn of space SPAC downside
Thursday, 18 March 2021 16:43
TAMPA, Fla. — The frenzy of activity swirling around SPACs is pushing space into a new era of risk-taking, according to two satellite industry veterans.
The past decade’s flow of private capital into megaconstellations and launch startups was a sedate “tea party” in comparison to what’s happening now, Iridium Communications CEO Matt Desch told SpaceNews in an interview.
Widespread support for Nelson nomination to lead NASA
Thursday, 18 March 2021 15:52
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s nomination of former senator Bill Nelson as the next administrator of NASA has won widespread support from both members of Congress and the broader space community.
The White House announced March 19 its formal intent to nominate Nelson, a Democrat who served three terms in the Senate from Florida, as NASA administrator.
Biden picks former senator who flew in space to lead NASA
Thursday, 18 March 2021 14:26
President Joe Biden has chosen a former senator from Florida who flew on the space shuttle just days before the Challenger launch accident to lead NASA.
Biden on Friday announced his intent to nominate Bill Nelson as the space agency's administrator.
Nelson, 78, grew up near Cape Canaveral and was serving as a Democratic congressman when he launched aboard space shuttle Columbia in January 1986. His commander was Charles Bolden Jr., who later served as NASA administrator under President Barack Obama—at Nelson's urging.
Nelson was elected in 2000 to the Senate, where he served until his defeat in 2018.
If confirmed by the Senate, Nelson will become NASA's 14th administrator, succeeding another former member of Congress, Jim Bridenstine, a Republican from Oklahoma.
This is a critical time for NASA as momentum accelerates in the commercial space program.
SpaceX is about to launch its third flight of astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA; Boeing is expected join the crew delivery effort later this year. Space station supply runs, meanwhile, have been handled by private companies under contract to NASA for nearly a decade.