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Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches Capella’s first commercial radar satellite – Spaceflight Now.

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand carrying Capella Space’s Sequoia radar remote sensing satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

Continue reading “Rocket Lab returns to service with successful launch for Capella” »

SpaceX launched Argentina’s SAOCOM 1B radar observation satellite from Cape Canaveral at 7:18 p.m. EDT (2318 GMT) Sunday.

A Falcon 9 rocket headed toward the south on a trajectory hugging the Florida East Coast on the first flight into polar orbit from Cape Canaveral since 1969, and the first stage booster returned to the spaceport for an onshore landing minutes after liftoff.

Continuing coverage: https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/2020\/08\/30\/falcon-9-saocom-1b-mission-status-center\/

Up to three launches planned this weekend from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now.

Delays have set up the possibility of up to three rocket launches this weekend from different pads along Florida’s Space Coast, including two SpaceX missions on Sunday that could set a company record for the shortest span between two Falcon 9 rocket launches.

But in the world of ever-changing launch schedules, numerous factors such as weather and technical issues could thwart launch plans this weekend.

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A NASA geophysics satellite’s long space odyssey is nearly at an end.

The Orbiting Geophysics Observatory 1 spacecraft, or OGO-1, launched in September 1964 to study Earth’s magnetic environment and how our planet interacts with the sun. The satellite gathered data until 1969, was officially decommissioned in 1971 and has been zooming silently around Earth on a highly elliptical two-day orbit ever since.

Optical communications, transmitting data using infrared lasers, has the potential to help NASA return more data to Earth than ever. The benefits of this technology to exploration and Earth science missions are huge. In support of a mission to demonstrate this technology, NASA recently completed installing its newest optical ground station in Haleakala, Hawaii.

The state-of-the-art ground station, called Optical Ground Station 2 (OGS-2), is the second of two optical ground stations to be built that will collect data transmitted to Earth by NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD). Launching in early 2021, this trailblazing mission will be the linchpin in NASA’s first operational optical communications relay system. While other NASA efforts have used optical communications, this will be NASA’s first relay system using optical entirely, giving NASA the opportunity to test this method of communications and learn valuable lessons from its implementation. Relay satellites create critical communications links between science and exploration missions and Earth, enabling these missions to transmit important data to scientists and mission managers back home.

South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa has sourced for a R4.4 billion (USD260 million) investor funding at the sustainable infrastructure development symposium. The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) will receive R3 billion (USD177 million) to develop and design up to six satellites in the next four years. The total funding will incubate South Africa’s Space hub. This information was disclosed by the CEO of SANSA, Val Munsami.

South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa has sourced for a R4.4 billion (USD260 million) investor funding at the sustainable infrastructure development symposium. The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) will receive R3 billion (USD177 million) to develop and design up to six satellites in the next four years. The total funding will incubate South Africa’s Space hub.

This information was disclosed by the CEO of SANSA, Val Munsami.

Continue reading “South Africa to Build USD266 Million Space Hub: Promises Six Satellites” »

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted OneWeb ‘s market access to expand its Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellite constellation to 2,000 satellites with a V-band payload in addition to its Ku- and Ka-band constellation. OneWeb petitioned to add a V-band payload to the 720 satellite Ku- and Ka-band constellation approved by the FCC in 2017, proposing 1,280 additional V-band satellites operating at a nominal altitude of 8,500 km.

According to the FCC order, OneWeb must launch and operate 50% of the maximum number of proposed space stations, or 1,000 satellites, by Aug. 26, 2026. The remaining satellites must be launched and operated by Aug. 26, 2029. OneWeb currently has 74 satellites in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO).

“We are pleased to hear the FCC granted our V-Band application. The V-band is critical for next generation satellite broadband services. OneWeb looks forward to the future growth opportunities this approval will enable as we commercialize our spectrum and execute on our mission to bring low latency connectivity to communities, governments, businesses, and people in the U.S. and around the world,” a OneWeb spokesperson said Wednesday.

During a Twitter conversation about the future of space travel, the SpaceX CEO confirmed that the Starship vehicle and the Super Heavy booster used to lift it away from Earth will “will mostly launch from ocean spaceports long-term.” Musk later clarified that “occasional flights from land are ok, but frequent (daily) flights probably need ~30km / 18 miles clear area for noise.”

The comments illuminate SpaceX’s thinking around the Starship, which is designed to transport up to 150 tons, or 100 people, into space at a time. The reusable ship measures some 400 feet when paired with its booster. It is expected to take on missions currently completed by the existing Falcon 9 satellite launches, and to enable more ambitious missions, like crewed trips to the Moon and Mars. Its use of liquid oxygen and methane fuel means a crew could feasibly visit Mars, harvest resources from the planet to refuel, and either return home or perhaps venture even furthe.

SpaceX is planning to put its Starship launch pads somewhere in the ocean, far away from city centers.

PredaSAR has successfully completed its Critical Design Review (CDR) to begin fabrication, testing and launch of its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) spacecraft, in partnership with Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems. PredaSAR is building and will operate what is predicted to be the world’s largest and most advanced constellation of SAR satellites. The successful CDR completion marks another major milestone in PredaSAR’s journey and follows its recent announcement of a rideshare partnership with SpaceX to launch its first satellite aboard the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

PredaSAR spacecraft employ an advanced, proprietary radar payload to create 2D Synthetic Aperture Radar images, 3D reconstructions of objects and the Earth’s surface, and customer-tailored data products. SAR satellites provide high-resolution images at any time of day and in any weather condition, overcoming natural limitations of traditional optical satellites. PredaSAR spacecraft possess the latest in space-proven, high quality satellite systems to support scalable and fully capable operations in any low earth orbit. Leveraging its advanced technologies, PredaSAR will deliver critical insights and data products to military and commercial decision makers at the speed of need.

PredaSAR completes Critical Design Review to begin largest SAR satellite constellation — SpaceWatch. Global.

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