CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Sept. 29, 2020 ULA PR) – The launch of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy NROL-44 mission has been scrubbed. The local weather resulted in a significant delay to pre-launch preparations including the roll of the Mobile Service Tower (MST). When the MST roll began we discovered a hydraulic leak in the ground system required to move the tower which needs further evaluation. Subsequent weather will […]

AUGSBURG, Germany — Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA), a participation of space technology company OHB SE, will be establishing a launch site for a micro launcher together with Norwegian company Andøya Space. The two partners have now signed a letter of intent to this effect. The site is to provide launch services for small satellites from 2022.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Late Monday night, the Expedition 63 crew was awakened by flight controllers to continue troubleshooting a small leak on the International Space Station that appeared to grow in size. Ground analysis of the modules tested overnight have isolated the leak location to the main work area of the Zvezda Service Module. Additional work is underway to precisely locate the source of the leak.

REDMOND, Wash. (Kymeta PR) —Kymeta—the communications company making mobile global—announced today that the FCC has granted blanket authorization for the operation of its next-generation electronically steered, flat-panel ESIM (earth station in motion) platform, the Kymeta™ u8 terminal. The authorization is a major milestone toward the release of the u8. In addition, Kymeta has received type approvals from several leading satellite service operators (SSO’s) that include Intelsat, Echostar, Hellasat, KTSat, and Telesat for use with Kymeta u8 terminal.

“Receiving the FCC authorization, puts us one step closer to releasing our next-generation solutions into the market and at scale,” said Walter Berger, President, and COO, Kymeta. “We have the only hybrid technology that is part of a global land mobile ecosystem. The market needs a connectivity solution they can rely on and we are positioned well to be a driving force of what lies ahead for mobile communications.”

Perseverance is one of a few Mars spacecraft carrying laser retroreflectors. The devices could provide new science and safer Mars landings in the future.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — When the Apollo astronauts landed on the Moon, they brought devices with them called retroreflectors, which are essentially small arrays of mirrors. The plan was for scientists on Earth to aim lasers at them and calculate the time it took for the beams to return. This provided exceptionally precise measurements of the Moon’s orbit and shape, including how it changed slightly based on Earth’s gravitational pull.

PARIS (ESA PR) — The latest batch of tiny satellites to monitor trade on Earth from space have launched.

The Glaswegian-built nanosatellites join a fleet of about 100 objects in low Earth orbit that help to predict the movement of the world’s resources, so that businesses and governments can make informed decisions.

PARIS (ESA PR) — ESA’s new exoplanet mission, Cheops, has found a nearby planetary system to contain one of the hottest and most extreme extra-solar planets known to date: WASP-189 b. The finding, the very first from the mission, demonstrates Cheops’ unique ability to shed light on the Universe around us by revealing the secrets of these alien worlds.

Launched in December 2019, Cheops (the Characterising Exoplanet Satellite) is designed to observe nearby stars known to host planets. By ultra-precisely measuring changes in the levels of light coming from these systems as the planets orbit their stars, Cheops can initially characterise these planets — and, in turn, increase our understanding of how they form and evolve.

ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft has discovered several ponds of liquid water buried under the ice in the south polar region of Mars. The spacecraft’s radar instrument, MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding), revealed one underground reservoir in 2018, buried about 1.5 km below the ice. Now, taking into account more data and analysing it in a different way, three new ponds have been discovered. The largest underground lake measures […]

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA and SpaceX now are targeting 2:40 a.m. EDT Saturday, Oct. 31, for the launch of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station.

China and Russia conducted launches on Sunday and Monday, placing five primary payloads and a group of rideshare satellites into orbit. A Chinese Long March 4B booster lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center early Sunday morning. The three-stage rocket carried the Huanjing 2A and 2B environmental monitoring satellites into orbit. Chinese media said the satellites will collect data for environmental protection, water conservancy, natural resources monitoring, agriculture and […]

Tuesday, September 29 Launcher: Delta IV Heavy Payload: NROL-44 reconnaissance satelliteLaunch Time: 12:02 a.m. EDT (0402 GMT)Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.Company: United Launch AllianceWebcast: www.ulalaunch.com Launcher: Falcon 9Payload: GPS 3 SV04 navigation satelliteLaunch Window: 9:55-10:10 p.m. EDT (0155-0210 GMT on Sept. 30th)Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.Company: SpaceXWebcast: www.spacex.com October 1 Launcher: AntaresPayload: Cygnus ISS resupply shipLaunch Time: 9:38 p.m. EDT (0138 GMT on Oct. 2)Launch Site: […]

WALLOPS, Va., Sept. 28, 2020 (Northrop Grumman PR) – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is set to launch the company’s 14th resupply mission (NG-14) to the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract. The NG-14 mission’s Cygnus spacecraft will launch aboard the company’s Antares rocket with nearly 8,000 pounds (approximately 3,600 kg) of scientific research, supplies and hardware for the astronauts aboard the station.