OBSERVERS’ REPORT: FIRST VIEWS OF THE CHINESE “THOUSAND SAILS” SATELLITES - Shanghai SatCom Satellite Technology launched the first 18 spacecraft of their Qianfan megaconstellation in early August. Qianfan means Thousand Sails and it will add 14,000 new communication satellites to the already crowded space in low-Earth orbit. Two more Chinese mega-constellations are planned to follow Qianfan. The Thousand Sails spacecraft are in polar orbits inclined 89° to Earth’s equator at altitudes near 800 kilometers (500 miles). That height is above the Starlink satellites, operated by SpaceX, and below those of the OneWeb constellation from Eutelsat.   More
(Source: Sky and Telescope - Aug 29)

SALSA'S LAST DANCE: THIS EUROPEAN SATELLITE WILL FALL FROM SPACE SOON IN A SPICY REENTRY - On Sept. 8, 2024, a satellite named Salsa will re-enter the atmosphere and burn up. What makes this re-entry different is that its operators have carefully guided it down from 81,250 miles (130,000 km) to burn up safely over a hand-picked region of the South Pacific — if all goes to plan. Salsa will be the second satellite to meet its end in a planned and maneuvered "guided re-entry," following the reentry of ESA's Aeolus weather satellite last year. Such reentries could help satellite operators prevent debris from either floating in orbit or falling to Earth over unexpected and potentially populated areas.   More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 28)

EXPERTS WARN U.S. FALLING BEHIND IN SATELLITE IMAGING RACE: ‘WE’VE GONE BACKWARDS’ - The U.S. government’s support for the commercial remote sensing satellite industry is at a critical juncture amid growing military demand for real-time intelligence, industry experts said Aug. 27. The commercial remote sensing satellite industry is expanding, but it’s still not equipped to meet evolving U.S. military needs for tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), said David Gauthier, former head of commercial operations at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Aug 28)

LAUNCH DELAY: SPACEX PUSHES POLARIS DAWN ASTRONAUT LAUNCH DUE TO ‘A GROUND-SIDE HELIUM LEAK’ - A commercial astronaut mission of historic firsts is set to launch in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning. The four members of the Polaris Dawn flight will climb aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon to embark on a roughly five-day, free-flying mission orbiting the Earth. The crew, led by billionaire-entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, will go further than humans have ventured since the conclusion of the Apollo missions more than 50 years ago. They will also conduct the first commercial spacewalk in history.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 27)

NASA WILL BRING STRANDED ASTRONAUTS BACK ON SPACEX — NOT BOEING'S STARLINER - Boeing’s Starliner will come back to Earth empty, and the two astronauts who took it up into orbit on a test flight will return in a capsule built by a competing company, SpaceX. The long-awaited decision by NASA means the astronauts will have to cool their heels on the International Space Station until February. And it’s a stunning blow to Boeing's beleaguered Starliner program, which has been beset by delays and technical troubles.   More
(Source: NPR - Aug 26)

AMAZON AIMS TO LAUNCH FIRST PROJECT KUIPER SATELLITES BY YEAR'S END ABOARD ULA ATLAS V - Amazon hopes to launch its first full-scale Project Kuiper mission during the fourth quarter of the year — think October, November or December — aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral. "We're going to continue to increase our rates of satellite production and deployment heading into 2025. And we remain on track to begin offering service to customers next year, which we're very excited by," said Brian Huseman, Amazon vice president of public policy and community engagement.   More
(Source: Florida Today - Aug 24)

SPIRE GLOBAL HAS LAUNCHED 7 LEMUR SATELLITES VIA THE SPACEX TRANSPORTER-11 MISSION - Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR), a global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, successfully launched seven satellites on the SpaceX Transporter-11 mission, which launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on August 16, 2024 — this marks Spire’s third launch of 2024 and the 41st in the company’s history, bringing the total of Spire satellites launched to 196 in number.   More
(Source: SatNews - Aug 24)

CHINA LAUNCHES CHINASAT-4A COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE - China launched a new communications satellite towards the geostationary belt Thursday, but revealed very little information about the spacecraft. A Long March 7A lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island at 8:25 a.m. Eastern (1225 UTC) Aug. 22, rising into night skies above the coastal spaceport. State media Xinhua announced launch success around 45 minutes after liftoff. “The satellite successfully entered the predetermined orbit and the launch mission was a complete success,” the terse news release stated.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Aug 23)

HERE’S HOW NASA WILL DEORBIT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Although it may seem hard to believe, the International Space Station (ISS) is nearing the end of its operational lifespan. Some readers might’ve even been born after the first section of the ISS was launched in 1998 and have never lived in a world without it soaring overhead. The ISS took years to build and required a total of 37 U.S. space shuttle flights, as well as five Russian rocket launches, for the station to be completed.   More
(Source: Astronomy Magazine - Aug 23)

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