ARIANESPACE TO RESUME LAUNCH PREPARATIONS IN FRENCH GUIANA - Targeting a pair of satellite launches in June and July, ground teams will resume work at the Guiana Space Center in South America next week after a nearly two-month pause in Arianespace’s launch campaigns due to the coronavirus pandemic. Arianespace said engineers and technicians will start the “gradual resumption” of launch activities Monday, in line with measures introduced by the French government to allow for the loosening of a strict lockdown that halted much of the country’s business operations. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 8)
NASA WORKING WITH TOM CRUISE TO FILM MOVIE ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - NASA said Tuesday it is working with Tom Cruise to film a movie on the International Space Station, but details on the arrangements are scarce. The news that Cruise was in talks with to shoot an action-adventure film on the space station was first reported Monday by Deadline, which said the actor is working with SpaceX on the project. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 7)
LONG MARCH 5B LAUNCH CLEARS PATH FOR CHINESE SPACE STATION PROJECT - A Long March 5B rocket launched a prototype crewed spacecraft Tuesday, demonstrating the launcher’s capability to carry space station modules to low Earth orbit. Liftoff took place at 6:00 a.m. Eastern from the coastal Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island. Separation of four side boosters occurred around three minutes into the flight. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 7)
AIR FORCE ACADEMY SATELLITE TO LAUNCH ABOARD X-37B ORBITAL TEST VEHICLE - A satellite built by Air Force Academy cadets will launch into space May 16 aboard the X-37B, Orbital Test Vehicle sponsored by the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and built by Boeing. This is the first time a satellite built and designed by cadets will catch a ride into space aboard the X-37B. More (Source: U.S. Air Force Academy - May 7)
RUSSIAN DOSAAF-85 (RS-44) AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE TRANSPONDER NOW ACTIVE - The amateur radio linear transponder (SSB/CW) on the Russian DOSAAF-85 (RS-44) has been activated. Dmitry Pashkov, R4UAB, explains that RS-85 is a small scientific satellite built by specialists at Information Satellite Systems and students at Siberian State Aerospace University (SibSAU). The satellite’s name commemorates the 85th anniversary of the Voluntary Society for the Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy (DOSAAF), the organization responsible for the military training of Soviet youth. More (Source: ARRL - May 7)
EXPERIMENTAL CHINESE CARGO RETURN CAPSULE MALFUNCTIONS DURING RE-ENTRY - An experimental cargo return craft launched as a secondary payload on China’s Long March 5B rocket malfunctioned during its return to Earth on Wednesday, while an unpiloted prototype for the country’s next-generation crew capsule continues raising its orbit before its scheduled landing Friday, Chinese officials said. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 6)
SPACEX TO DEBUT SATELLITE-DIMMING SUNSHADE ON NEXT STARLINK LAUNCH - A new sunshade, or visor, designed to reduce the brightness of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband Internet satellites will debut on the company’s next launch, a measure intended to alleviate astronomers’ concerns about impacts on observations through ground-based telescopes, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said. Beginning with the next launch of Starlink satellites — scheduled for 18 May from Cape Canaveral — SpaceX will try out a new light-blocking panel to make the spacecraft less visible to skywatchers and astronomers. More (Source: Astronomy Now Online - May 6)
BUILDING SATELLITES AMID COVID-19 - During these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 lockdown, trying to work poses huge challenges for us all. For those that can, remote working is now pretty much the norm, but this is obviously not possible for everybody. One might assume that like many industries, the construction and testing of satellites has been put on hold, but engineers and scientists are finding ways of continuing to prepare Europe's upcoming satellite missions such as the next Copernicus Sentinels. More (Source: Phys.org - May 6)
PENTAGON CALLS IRAN’S RECENT MILITARY SATELLITE LAUNCH A ‘SECURITY CONCERN’ AMID DETERIORATING RELATIONS - The nation’s top military officer said Tuesday that Iran’s recent military satellite launch, the first for the rogue regime, is a concerning feat. “Different missiles can do different things, one can carry a satellite and one can carry some sort of device that can explode. So, the bottom line is yes, it is a security concern anytime Iran is testing any type of long-range missile,” explained Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark Milley. More (Source: CNBC - May 6)
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