A Dragon awaits
Video:
00:02:58
A timelapse of Launchpad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, where the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endurance sits atop a Falcon 9 rocket, ready to carry Crew-3 to the International Space Station.
Initially scheduled for launch on 31 October 2021, this Dragon will wait a bit longer due to weather along the flight path and a minor medical issue affecting a member of its crew. The next launch attempt is now no earlier than 03:36 GMT/04:36 CET, Sunday, 7 November.
When it does fly, it will transport ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, as a member of Crew-3
Best of Alpha mission timelapse
Video:
00:04:35
A collection of the best timelapse videos made during ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s second mission to the International Space Station, “Alpha” in 2021. The camera is setup to take pictures at intervals of two a second, and the pictures are then edited into this video that plays at 25 pictures a second. Most videos around 12 times faster than real speed.
Thomas shared this video on social media with the caption:
“Probably the last the timelapse from space, and fittingly here is a special edition "best of" montage: aurora, lightning, spacewalks, day views and spacecraft reentry in less than
Looking down during a day on Earth timelapse
Video:
00:02:24
This timelapse video was made during ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s second mission to the International Space Station, “Alpha”. The camera is setup to take pictures at intervals of two a second, and the pictures are then edited into this video that plays at 25 pictures a second. The video is around 12 times faster than real speed and was recorded on 20 September 2021.
Thomas shared this video on social media with the caption:
“Another timelapse looking straight down at Earth, but this time during the day, with Cygnus' solar array looking too. Each orbit over our planet passes
A mission to explore the methane lakes on Titan
Neither mission will be the first time Titan's surface has been visited, though. That distinction belongs to Huygens—a lander launched with the Cassini probe. Unfortunately, with the relatively limited technology of a probe launched in the late 1990s, it was only able to send data back from the surface for about an hour and a half.
TRUTHS shapes up
ESA’s new TRUTHS mission is taking shape. Highlighted today at COP26, this new mission is moving from its feasibility phase into its preliminary design phase. TRUTHS is set to provide measurements of incoming solar radiation and of radiation reflected from Earth back out into space as traceable International System of Units. These measurements will allow changes in Earth’s climate to be detected faster, and they will be used to calibrate data from other satellites. In effect, TRUTHS will be a ‘standards laboratory in space’, setting the ‘gold standard’ for climate measurements.
National Reconnaissance Office launches new procurement of commercial satellite imagery
The National Reconnaissance Office on Nov. 3 released a request for bids from U.S. commercial providers of satellite imagery.
Firefly Aerospace hires former Air Force officer to lead space transportation sales
Firefly Aerospace has hired a former U.S. Air Force officer to lead a rebranded subsidiary responsible for sales of its launch vehicles and other capabilities to government and commercial customers.
FCC approves Boeing’s 147-satellite V-band constellation
The Federal Communications Commission has approved Boeing’s application to develop and operate 147 non-geostationary (NGSO) broadband satellites.
One way to help prevent wars in space? Military hotlines with Russia and China
With space now considered a domain of war, hotlines between U.S. and foreign rivals might be worth contemplating, said Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, deputy chief of operations of the U.S.
SpaceFund to invest in navigation system for cislunar space
Venture investor SpaceFund announced Nov. 3 it plans to finance the development of an autonomous navigation capability for space missions beyond Earth orbit in the region known as cislunar space.
