WHAT QUARANTINE IS LIKE FOR AN ASTRONAUT - People around the world are currently isolating themselves or in a formal quarantine to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. But for decades, astronauts have been quarantined to ensure that they were virus-free and ready to fly (or, in the case of Apollo, to make sure they didn't bring home any "moon bugs.")   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 20)

SPACE STARTUP LYNK USES SATELLITE TO SEND TEXT MESSAGE TO UNMODIFIED ANDROID PHONE - An aerospace startup that plans to launch thousands of satellite “cell towers” into space says it has successfully sent a text message to a common Android smartphone using one of its satellites in orbit. The company claims it’s the first time a text message has ever been sent to an unmodified mobile phone from space, and it demonstrates the technology needed to provide global cellphone connectivity from orbit.   More
(Source: The Verge - Mar 19)

SPACEX’S DARKENED STARLINK SATELLITE MAY HAVE ACTUALLY WORKED - BUT IT IS ‘STILL WAY TOO BRIGHT’ - Initial observations suggest that SpaceX’s attempts to reduce the reflectivity of its Starlink satellites have been successful – although there is still a way to go to fully address the concerns of the astronomy community. Since May 2019, SpaceX has launched 360 Starlink satellites into Earth orbit, designed to beam high-speed internet to any location on Earth. The company plans to launch 1,500 satellites in 2020, with the final mega constellation designed to encompass up to 42,000 satellites.   More
(Source: Forbes - Mar 19)

FALCON 9 ROCKET OVERCOMES ENGINE FAILURE TO DEPLOY STARLINK SATELLITES - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket overcame a rare in-flight engine failure soon after launch from Florida’s Space Coast Wednesday to place 60 satellites in orbit for the company’s Starlink Internet network. One of the rocket’s nine first stage engines shut down prematurely around 2 minutes, 22 seconds, after liftoff from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an event visible in a view from a camera streaming live video from the Falcon 9 as it climbed into the upper atmosphere.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 19)

SOYUZ LAUNCH PREPS IN KAZAKHSTAN PROCEED DESPITE TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS - While Arianespace missions from French Guiana have been suspended in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the company says a Soyuz rocket launch from Kazakhstan is set to go ahead Saturday with 34 more OneWeb broadband satellites. The next crew to launch to the International Space Station is also on track for liftoff April 9 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a Russian-operated base on the Kazakh steppe, according to Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency.   More
(Source: SapceFlight Now - Mar 18)

ASTRONAUTS CELEBRATE ST. PATRICK'S DAY 2020 WITH PHOTOS OF IRELAND FROM SPACE - Happy St. Patrick's Day from space! To celebrate the annual holiday, NASA's International Space Station twitter account shared this astronaut's-eye view of Ireland as seen from the orbiting lab, which flies at an average altitude of about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth. "We hope you're wearing green," NASA tweeted. "This #StPatricksDay, enjoy an astronaut's-eye view of Ireland, taken from aboard the International Space Station."   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 18)

SOYUZ ROCKET LAUNCHES GLONASS-M NAVIGATION SATELLITE FOR RUSSIAN MILITARY - A Soyuz rocket launched a new navigation satellite into orbit for Russia's military forces on Monday (March 16) in a dazzling nighttime liftoff from a snowy launchpad. The Soyuz 2.1b rocket launched the Glonass-M navigation satellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 9:28 p.m. Moscow time (2:28 p.m. EDT/1828 GMT). The Soyuz's Fregat upper stage then delivered the satellite to its final orbit.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 18)

SPACEX TO LAUNCH INTELSAT-40E SATELLITE - Intelsat has selected SpaceX to launch the Intelsat-40e geostationary communications satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket in 2022. Intelsat-40e will be the second Intelsat satellite to launch on a SpaceX rocket, following the Intelsat-35e Falcon 9 mission in 2017.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 18)

THE VIRUS HAS GONE GLOBAL—SO WHAT HAPPENS TO THE LAUNCH INDUSTRY? - As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the country, it is beginning to affect the global launch industry. As with pretty much every other aspect of life in this age of uncertainty and COVID-19, conditions can change on a day-by-day, if not hourly, basis. But as of early afternoon on Monday, here's the state of play at major spaceports around the world.   More
(Source: Ars Technica - Mar 17)

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