There’s good news and bad news in the latest scientific assessment of Earth’s vital ozone layer, which helps to protect life on Earth by absorbing the Sun’s ultraviolet light.
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Tag: Kuiper constellation
Aerojet Rocketdyne Secures Largest RL10 Engine Contract From United Launch Alliance
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Aerojet Rocketdyne PR) – United Launch Alliance (ULA) recently awarded the largest RL10 contract ever to Aerojet Rocketdyne to deliver 116 RL10C-X engines for its Vulcan Centaur rocket. The new engines will support ULA as it works to fulfill its commitments under a contract they recently received from Amazon, as part of the largest commercial launch contract in history, to support the launch of its Kuiper satellite constellation.
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Kaboom! ABL Space Destroys Second Stage in Test at Mojave
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
MOJAVE, Calif. — A loud boom echoed across California’s Mojave Desert on Wednesday afternoon. I would normally pay little attention to it given how common such occurrences are in Mojave. But, this one was different: instead of nearly daily boom-boom of jet fighters from nearby Edwards Air Force Base going supersonic, this one was a single large BOOM!
And oh, there was a giant cloud of black smoke rising from the rocket test area at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Someone’s engine test had clearly gone awry.
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Constellationizing Space: Chinese Company Seeks Approval to Launch Nearly 13,000 Satellites
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
Larry Press reports a Chinese company named GW has filed for spectrum allocation from the International Telecommunication Union for two broadband constellations called GW-A59 and GW-2 that would include 12,992 satellites.
The size of GW’s request indicates to Press that the company would compete globally with broadband constellations being built by SpaceX, OneWeb and Amazon. He wrote:
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FCC Approves Amazon’s $10 Billion Kuiper Satellite Constellation
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved Amazon’s plan to launch its Kuiper constellation of 3,236 satellites to provide global broadband coverage.
Jeff Bezos’ company plans to invest $10 billion in the constellation, which will compete with OneWeb and SpaceX’s Starlink system to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband services via satellite.
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