L3HARRIS TO BEGIN PRE-LAUNCH WORK ON ‘WIDE FIELD OF VIEW’ MISSILE DEFENSE SATELLITE - A U.S. Space Force missile warning satellite, six years in the works, is nearly completed. The company that developed the sensor, L3Harris, received a $9.3 million contract on April 6 to maintain and prepare the satellite for launch in 2021. The contract is for pre-launch and post-launch services for the Wide Field of View missile detection satellite. L3Harris developed a staring sensor that was mounted on a satellite bus supplied by Millennium Space Systems, a subsidiary of Boeing. More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 12)
ASTRONAUTS PREPARE TO RETURN FROM ISS TO WORLD TRANSFORMED BY CORONAVIRUS - Two Nasa astronauts expect a difficult return to a drastically changed world next week, after close to a year onboard the International Space Station. Andrew Morgan told reporters the ISS crew had tried to keep abreast of news regarding the coronavirus pandemic, but it was hard to comprehend what was really going on and what to expect when his nine-month mission ends next Friday. More (Source: The Guardian - Apr 12)
SOYUZ CREW DOCKS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - With an absence of fanfare amid coronavirus safety protocols, an upgraded Russian Soyuz rocket making its first piloted flight blasted off from Kazakshstan Thursday carrying two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut on a speedy four-orbit trip to the International Space Station. The Soyuz 2.1a booster’s first and core stage engines ignited on time at 4:05 a.m. EDT (1:05 p.m. local time), throttled up to full power and lifted the rocket smoothly away from its firing stand at the sprawling Baikonur Cosmodrome. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 10)
SATELLITE DATA REVEALS THE PANDEMIC'S EFFECTS FROM ABOVE - The Cusco region of Peru has about 1.2 million residents—and, like many locations on Earth, not nearly enough ventilators for the people who might require them during the ongoing pandemic. In an effort to stem the rate of Covid-19 infections, and therefore the need for medical equipment that doesn’t exist locally, the Peruvian government put the country on lockdown in mid-March. As in many places across the globe, that meant lots of people couldn’t do their work, which meant they couldn’t get paid. More (Source: WIRED - Apr 10)
LONG MARCH 3B CARRYING COMMERCIAL INDONESIAN SATELLITE FAILS - A Chinese Long March 3B rocket failed April 9 while attempting to launch a commercial communications satellite meant to provide broadcast and broadband services to Indonesia and beyond, according to China’s Xinhua News Agency. After lifting off from China’s inland Xichang launch center, the Long March 3B suffered a malfunction with its third stage, destroying Nusantara-2, a satellite China Great Wall Industry Corp. (CGWIC) built for an Indonesian joint venture between Pasifik Satelit Nusantara and Indosat Ooredoo. More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 10)
UPGRADED SOYUZ ROCKET WITH CREW OF THREE LAUNCHED TO SPACE STATION - With an absence of fanfare amid coronavirus safety protocols, an upgraded Russian Soyuz rocket making its first piloted flight blasted off from Kazakshstan Thursday carrying two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut on a speedy four-orbit trip to the International Space Station. The Soyuz 2.1a booster's first and core stage engines ignited on time at 4:05 a.m. EDT (1:05 p.m. local time), throttled up to full power and lifted the rocket smoothly away from its firing stand at the sprawling Baikonur Cosmodrome. More (Source: CBS News - Apr 9)
SOME GOOD NEWS FOR THE SATELLITE & SPACE SECTORS REVEALED BY NSR - As the Satellite & Space sectors face the same challenges as the rest of the economy, one market seems particularly robust in the face of COVID-19 – Government & Military Satellite Communications services. With ongoing procurement for next-gen MILSATCOM technologies from U.S. Space Force, the commercial opportunities continue. While the future remains uncertain, compared to other mobility-centric satellite end-user markets, Gov & Mil appears to remain insulated from larger world events. More (Source: SatNews Publishers - Apr 9)
YOU CAN WATCH 3 ASTRONAUTS LAUNCH TO THE SPACE STATION EARLY THURSDAY. HERE'S HOW. - Three people will launch toward the International Space Station (ISS) in the predawn hours Thursday (April 9), and you can watch their departure from Earth live. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner is scheduled to lift off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Thursday at 4:05 a.m. EDT (0805 GMT; 1:05 p.m. local time in Baikonur). More (Source: Space.com - Apr 9)
PANDEMIC PUSHES SPACEX GPS 3 LAUNCH TO LATE JUNE - The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center has decided to reschedule the launch of the third GPS 3 satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to minimize the potential of COVID-19 exposure to the launch crew and operators, a spokesperson said April 7. The launch was scheduled for late April and is now projected for June 30 at the earliest. More (Source: SpaceNews - Apr 8)
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