Tag: quick space links

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• The live stream for the OSIRIS-REx sample return in Utah on September 24, 2023

It goes live at 10 am Eastern.

 

• Short video of Ceres-1 launch, possibly capturing indications of the coming failure

Jay notes, “Looks like a gap in the fuel burn then that orange smoke a couple seconds later. Also looks like something fell out. Was there a bubble in the solid fuel or did the fuel fail to burn?”

 

• ISRO engineers have so far failed to re-establish communications with its Vikram lunar lander or Pragyan lunar rover

They are continuing their efforts, but sunrise occurred today, and the longer there is no contact the less chance the lunar rover or lander survived the long lunar night.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• New agreement between Axiom and Hungary strengthens the plan to send Hungarian to Axiom’s space station

This is simply a continuation of the ongoing negotiations from last year, whereby Hungary pays Axiom $100 million for its services.

 

• “Anomaly” during September Ariane-6 engine test causes cancellation of next first stage static fire test on October 3, 2023

Engineers need time to investigate, which now raises the question about when in 2024 Ariane-6 will finally fly. These issues might push that launch into the latter half of the year, further lengthening the time Europe will be forced to rely on non-European rocket companies for its large launch needs.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Sierra Space successfully completes the fifth test-to-failure of a subscale prototype of its inflatable LIFE space station module

You can watch the test here, cued to begin at the start of the test and after five minutes of PR blather. The success of the test now allows the company to proceed to full scale development.

 

• First satellite built in Hong Kong successfully completed

This satellite is the first in a proposed 360 satellite constellation for “communications and remote sensing,” with the first launch planned for November. I suspect the Chinese government’s take-over of Hong Kong, including the crushing of freedoms there, includes maintaining close control of this project as well.

 

• Rocket Factory Augsburg reveals its proposed unmanned cargo freighter for space stations, dubbed Argo

This German company is the second in Europe to propose such a cargo spacecraft, following the French company, the Exploration Company.

No political column from me today. I needed a break.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• SpaceX makes available at no cost its best practices for brightness mitigation as well as the dielectric mirror film it uses on Starlink satellites

The link opens a pdf. As Jay notes, “I bet Kuiper drove the eight miles to Starlink HQ and was knocking at their door.”

 

• For its proposed space station Russia plans a ground tracking station north of the Arctic Circle

Construction for the facility, on Sakhalin Island has already begun, though completion is significantly delayed. The map at the link above shows the flight paths launching from Russia’s Vostochny spaceport, as well as some upper stage drop zones.

 

• On Sept 13, a derelict Soviet-era payload barely missed a Chinese rocket body

According to LeoLabs, which tracked it, the two objects missed each other by about 120 feet.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Stoke Space successfully conducts vertical takeoff and vertical landing test of a second stage prototype of its reusable rocket

The video at the link reminds me of a smaller version of SpaceX’s first Starship hop of Starhopper.

 

• Gilmour Space is targeting a first launch of its Eris rocket from a Australian commercial spaceport before the end of the year

The company in December 2022 had been targeting April ’23, but not surprisingly things have been delayed. One worrisome part of their tweet was phrase: “pending all approvals.” I hope it doesn’t face the same kind of delays in Australia that destroyed Virgin Orbit in Great Britain.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Spanish launch startup PLD Space has announced plans to hire 150 new employees by 2024

The new employees are in connection with the development of its much larger Miura-5 rocket.

 

• China studying methods for building lunar bases in caves

The tweet includes a short video of a leg-walking lunar rover designed for travel over uneven surfaces where wheeled rovers couldn’t go.

 

• French startup The Exploration Company signs deal to launch a test prototype of its cargo capsule on ISRO’s PSLV rocket

The prototype is dubbed Bikini, while the full scale capsule will be called Nyx. The company already has a deal with Axiom to use Nyx to ferry supplies to its space station.

 

• Video from the Parker Solar Probe of a coronal mass ejection

What makes the data cool is that the event happened just as Parker made a close approach to the Sun in September 2022.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• NASA’s live stream tomorrow of Soyuz carrying three astronauts to ISS

The launch is scheduled for 11:44 am (Eastern) on September 15, 2023, with the Soyuz docking with ISS three hours later.

 

• Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro makes space deal with China to someday send a person to China’s Moonbase

Meanwhile, Maduro’s communist policies has resulted in starvation, bankruptcy, and people fleeing his country. No matter, Maduro will have lots of photo ops during such a mission, demonstrating his heroic right to rule unopposed.

 

• China establishes new division to improve its missile early warning abilities as well as identify, track, and analyze orbiting objects

This is essentially what the U.S. military has been doing since the dawn of the space, a task that most other countries have relied on. China wants its own capability.

 

• NASA begins installing old space shuttle engines on the core stage of the SLS rocket that will launch Artemis-2

As Jay rightly notes, “What a way to waste those engines! SpaceX has spoiled us on reusablity.” The crime is magnified in that these engines have been reused multiple times on the shuttle, and will now be thrown away by NASA on their next flight.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Germany to sign Artemis Accords tomorrow

I will put up a full post when this tweet is confirmed.

 

• First two test Kuiper satellites are now scheduled for launch in October, and will also test technology for reducing interference with ground-based astronomy

ULA switched the launch to an Atlas-5 because of the delays with Vulcan.

 

• Rocket Lab’s CEO recently sold $22 million in his stock holdings

The tweet suggests that this sale, plus the small profits in the last quarter, are the reasons why the stock has dropped in the past week. Longer term however the stock remains higher than the numbers prior to July.

 

• Rocket Lab says it has begun upper stage tank tests for its new Neutron rocket

• Arianespace chart suggests Vega-C will not return to fly any earlier than mid- to late- 2024

The chart also suggests that Arianespace plans two launches of the older Vega rocket first.

 

• Video showing how SpaceX fishes a Falcon 9 fairing half from the water

The footage was taken next to a pier, so this was likely not part of a recovery right after launch.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Firefly wins $18 million NASA contract to provide “radio frequency calibration services” from lunar orbit

This is Firefly’s third contract in connection with NASA’s lunar projects, totaling almost $230 million.

 

• Short interview with head of The Exploration Company, a French company which has signed a contract with Axiom to provide a cargo freighter for its space station

You need to turn on closed captions with translation set to English. Not much information, being a standard shallow TV interview, though she does make clear the irony that a European space company has to go to an American space company to get business.

 

• Axiom announces AX-3 crew, to fly in January ’24 with all-European crew

The mission will go to ISS, ferried there by SpaceX.

 

• Air Force secretary has no problems with SpaceX and its present commercial dominance

This kind of blather really means little, as they can say anything when asked. It is what the Air Force actually does down the road that matters. However, the article at the link seems written so as to gin up friction between SpaceX and the Air Force.

 

• Stoke Space completes static fire testing on the first prototype of its reusable upper stage, ready to finalize its orbital design

The company’s goal is to build a completely reusable upper stage using its radical rocket design of small nozzles set in a ring around the outside of the spacecraft.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Video describing SpinLaunch’s plan to throw payloads into space

This is 42 minutes long so I haven’t watched it yet. I assume it includes a lot of details.

 

• SpaceX gets contract for 14 launches from Telesat, beginning in 2026

Telesat hopes to have its low orbit constellation operational and serving customers by 2027. With Starlink, OneWeb, and this new constellation, it appears that Blue Origin’s Kuiper system is getting to the pier long after the ship has sailed.

 

• Tianzhou freighter undocked from China’s Tiangong station today

It will remain in orbit until tomorrow, when it will be de-orbited to burn up over the ocean.

 

• China tests ground prototype of electromagnetic propulsion, obtaining speeds of 145 mph

The tweet claims this technology is being developed for launch technology, but that’s absurd based on the speed obtained in a 1,246 foot long track. More likely it will be used for ground transportation.

 

 

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Chinese turn crashed rocket debris into souvenirs for sale

At the link is a commercial for this “jewelry,” showing the rocket debris as found in the desert. As Jay notes, “Why go out to the desert? They deliver first stages right to your neighborhood!”

 

• ULA’s Atlas-5 launch for NRO now scheduled for September 9 for 8:51 am (Eastern)

Weather scrubbed the previous launch attempt. The live stream can be found here.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Spin Launch signs partnership deal with Japanese company

The deal says it involves investment from the Japanese company, Sumitomo Corporation, but no amounts are given. It does allow Sumitomo to represent Spin Launch in any deals in Japan.

 

• Japan’s XRISM X-Ray telescope appears to be operating as planned

Its solar panels have deployed and the first data has now been received on the ground.

 

• ISRO releases two images from its Aditya-L1 solar observatory

One image shows several instruments on the spacecraft, and the other shows the Earth with the Moon in the background. Both demonstrate that the solar observatory is functioning properly as it works its way toward the L1 point a million miles from Earth and closer to the Sun.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Another report indicating SpaceX has switched all live streams to X

The problem so far isn’t that SpaceX has switched its live streams to X. The problem is that the company is so far not providing any links on its webpage to the live streams, which makes it difficult to find them and watch.

 

• Astrobotic gets two NASA contracts to investigate the interaction of rocket plumes and the lunar surface

• Short video showing ESA’s successful September 5th dress rehearsal 4-second static fire test of Ariane-6’s first stage

This was the test that it was unable to complete in both July and August. Testing to continue, including a full 8-minute firing to simulate a full launch, with a final announcement on an actual launch date to be made in October.

 

• Mitsubishi posts picture of H-2A rocket on launchpad, carrying XRISM X-ray telescope and SLIM lunar lander

The launch is scheduled for 7:42 pm (Eastern) today, or 8:42 am in Japan on September 7th. Live stream is here.

 

• Vodafone signs agreement to test Kuiper’s satellite constellation in Europe and Africa

No details were released, which is not surprising as Kuiper has yet to launch even one of its 3,200 satellites. I doubt Vodafone committed any money. I also doubt it agreed to restrict itself from making deals with others, such as Starlink.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Short animation from China showing its manned lunar landing concept

Though the details are very different, the basic concept remains essentially a copy of Apollo.

 

• Translation of Chinese press release describing its low-orbit internet-of-things constellation, dubbed the Apocalypse Constellation

The constellation will eventually have 38 satellites in orbit, with 17 already in place. With that name, both Jay and I wonder if it poses a threat to everyone’s computer-connected appliances.

 

• Another scientist expresses strong skepticism concerning the claimed discovery of particles from an interstellar meteorite

The skepticism is good. The sense of strong hostility I sense is not.

 

• The Perseverance team posts another dumb tweet making believe the rover is some cute person

The tweet includes an image looking towards the western rim of Jezero Crater, but they don’t tell us that. Instead, the tweet says: “I’ve had a great time here poking around the ancient riverbed. Gonna wrap up a few tasks and hit the road soon. What’s over this next rise? Let’s find out”

Jay writes, “I really don’t care for them to make Perseverance sound like a person. Don’t get me wrong, it is a marvelous piece of engineering, but it is not a person. I know they do this to make Mars more interesting to the general public.”

I say, “Why are you insulting my intelligence?” Not only isn’t Perseverance a person, to make believe it is on the stupid assumption that is the only way anyone will become interested reveals your utter contempt for the general public. Please stop!

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• China’s pseudo-company Galactic Energy targets September 5th for the first sea platform launch of its Ceres-1 rocket

The tweet says the platform will take off from “Haiyang Spaceport”, but I think all that means is its an ocean platform. Where it will be located at launch is at the moment unclear.

 

• NASA: “Our Deep Space Network (DSN) is dying because of budget cuts!”

There is no link above because this whining has been amplified by two articles that Jay sent, one in Space News and the other in Ars Technica. Both articles naively buy NASA’s pitch with little or no skepticism, even though NASA has successfully completed some major upgrades of the DSN in recent years, and its own budget will remain stable next year despite deep cuts being pushed by the House in almost all other government agencies. Note too that NASA’s budget now is about 30% higher than just ten years ago, an increase well above inflation.

 

• Perseverance team touts macro image of “cool textures and green crystals”

The tweet doesn’t say where this image was located, other than to note that this was at one of the core sample locations.

 

• Short 4-second movie of large impact on Jupiter, captured by an astronomer

No other details provided, such as when this happened, who took the images, were they professional or amateur, and what kind of telescope did they use. It would be useful to know these pertinent facts.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Engineers attach solar panel to the cargo module of Sierra Space’s first Dream Chaser mini-shuttle, Tenacity

It does appear that the company, after many years of delays, is finally getting somewhere close to launch.

 

• Technical issues involving fueling operations forces ESA to scrub hot fire dress rehearsal of its new as yet unlaunched Ariane-6 rocket

The previous test ran out of time during the countdown, so no static fire test occurred. The next attempt will take place on September 5th.

 

• Long interview with one of the founders of Skyroot, one of India’s new private rocket startups

I haven’t watched it yet, but its length (1:43 hours) and the table of contents at the link suggests it will contain a lot of good information.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Pragyan makes first lunar in situ detection of sulphur

India’s rover also detected as expected Al, Ca, Fe, Cr, Ti, Mn, Si, and O, and is presently searching for the big prize, hydrogen.

 

• China completes 10,000 seconds of test firing of rocket engine for its Long March 10 rocket

The link describes it as for the crew rocket in China’s lunar base project.

 

• South Africa signs deal with China to work on its lunar base

No details provided, though it appears from the language at the link that the deal involves simply installing a research instrument at the Chinese lunar base.

 

• Flight path of planned August 30, 2023 launch of China’s Long March 2D

The path crosses all of southeast China, as well as Taiwan, but it appears the crash zones for the first stage and strap on boosters are in Guizhou, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces, with the last close to Ganzhou, a city of about 9 million.

 

• Some details on the main engine for China’s manned lunar lander

It appears from one graphic at the link that the lander will have four such engines, distributed at four points around the outside of the lander.

 

• Startup gets $850K contract from NASA to build a demo inflatable bag for capturing orbiting space junk

The contract is to build and demonstrate the bag, on the ground. Orbital test missions would require a great deal more money.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Live stream for the next ULA Atlas-5 launch tomorrow at 8:34 am (Eastern)

According to Jay, it might be delayed due to Hurricane Idalia

 

• Two images from India’s Pragyan rover on the Moon

The first shows it was heading directly to an unexpected crater. It backed up and was given a new route.

 

• A graphic of India’s proposed two module space station, targeting a 2035 launch

The concept is quite similar to the Soviet’s Salyut stations, which is no surprise as India’s space agency ISRO worked hand-in-glove with the Soviets/Russians for years when India’s government was controlled by the left.

 

• Video of SpaceX’s manned Endurance capsule as it docked with ISS yesterday

 

Jay also notes that China’s X feeds “have been quiet for the last two months on the technology fronts. They have been retweeting a lot of their old stories, especially now with Chandrayaan-3 landing, they are showing Yutu-2 pictures and videos,” which suggests to Jay something is impacting China’s pseudo companies. Possibly they are feeling the larger economic crunch that China is presently experiencing.

I also wonder if this is related to the way China’s state-run press purposely avoided mentioning the name of Galactic Energy in reporting its last two successful launches. Have the ChiCons decided its success meant it will soon be time to grab it? If so, this in turn will put a scare into all these pseudo-companies, which would certainly crimp their ability to function enthusiastically.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Sierra Space touts the installation of the rudder on Tenacity, its first Dream Chaser mini-shuttle

It also says this is the “first flight control surface” installed. As both I and Jay note, we thought this spacecraft was farther along than this.

 

• Video of Progress freighter docking with ISS

• Roscosmos head meets with officials of the Lavochkin design bureau that built Luna-25

They are considering flying a repeat of Luna-25, as India did when Chandrayaan-2 failed.

 

• Next American manned launch to ISS scrubbed today, now set for early tomorrow

The Falcon 9 is scheduled for launch at 3:27 am tonight, carrying four astronauts inside SpaceX’s Endurance capsule, flying for the third time.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, and posted early today because Diane and I will be out having dinner with friends this evening.

• ULA’s CEO touts the completion of modifications to the upper stage of its Vulcan rocket

This stage is for that first launch, still targeting the fourth quarter of 2023, but expected by many to slip in 2024. He adds in another tweet that ULA has seven upper stages being assembled, and of the two that were completed but needed modification, one has been modified and the other will be used for ground testing.

 

• The Canberra station in NASA’s Deep Space Network touts its part in Vikram’s landing today

• Comet P1 Nishimura might brighten to naked eye visibility in the next few weeks

And then again, it might not.

 

• Japan: North Korea gearing up for another orbital launch attempt

The window is from August 24 to August 31, and appears to be a second attempt to get orbit following the the failed orbital launch attempt from May.

 

• Video from Russian describing how students are designing its proposed space station

It is in Russian, but Jay was able to obtain an English translation. I could not. He says, “While they are at it, they can make a lunar lander too.” Both he and I believe this is a Potemkin village effort, and while good for educating students will lead nowhere for adding anything to Russia’s space program.

 

• Rocket Lab’s CEO shows off a picture of the company’s Electron production line

As Jay notes, “Blue Origin take note.”

 

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Video of Superheavy prototype #9 rolling to launchpad

• New graphics on the side of Blue Origin facility in Florida

My heart be still!

 

• Weather for next Electron launch in two days looks good

Scheduled for August 24, 2023 at 11:30 am New Zealand time, which is equivalent to 7:30 pm (Eastern) on August 23, 2023.

 

• Video from Astra touting its rocket assembly line

Interesting but also unintentionally hilarious, as the company posted this yesterday, but that assembly line has been shut down for weeks and the company is no longer focused on building rockets.

 

• Images taken by Vikram on August 20th

These images were taken after Vikram separated from its propulsion unit, and demonstrated that it could orient itself accurately and the camera was working.

 

• Two “Images of the Week” from Perseverance, chosen by the public

 

• Eutelsat’s merger with OneWeb now only awaits shareholder vote

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Russian’s rolls next Progress freighter to launchpad

The launch is scheduled for 6:08 pm (Pacific) on August 23, 2023.

 

• A detailed report [pdf] describing the various space navigation systems developed by India’s space agency ISRO

Many of these systems I suspect will be taken over by India’s private commercial space sector as it slowly takes over the space business from ISRO.

 

• India’s Beyond Gravity touts its plan to build its own version of a Falcon 9 reusable rocket

This startup is only one example of the India’s commercial space sector that is beginning to pick up steam.

 

• Falcon 9 rocket with Endurance manned capsule rolled to launchpad

The launch is scheduled for 3:49 am (Eastern) on August 25, 2023. It is the first in SpaceX’s extended contract with NASA, and is likely one that either Boeing would have gotten or would have split with SpaceX if Starliner was flying. No Starliner, and SpaceX gets all the money.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• New images of the floor of Blue Origin’s BE4 rocket engine production facility in Alabama

Jay sent me a video of this same production facility in April. Compare the visuals in that video at around 42 seconds with today’s image. That nozzle on the platform appears to be the same nozzle in both shots, unmoved in four months. Moreover, the floor seems as inactive now as then. If I was ULA this data would make me very very worried about getting the engines I need for Vulcan on the scheduled required.

 

• China releases a photograph of part of Valles Marineris, taken by its Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter

The image covers a very large area. For high resolution close-up images of various features within this picture, see these cool images from July 2021, September 2021, May 2022, and July 2022.

 

• SpaceX lifted nearly 10 times as much mass to orbit as China in the second quarter 2023

The graph illustrates how false the notion has always been that you must have a heavy lift rocket to get a large amount of mass to orbit. All you really need is a cost-effective and efficient reusable rocket that can launch frequently, such as the Falcon 9. Heavy lift would be nice, but if it isn’t reusable and cost effective, it just won’t do the job.

 

• Russia and ESA are negotiating a new agreement for the use of Europe’s robot arm on Russia’s part of ISS

The arm is there already and installed. I wonder what they are negotiating.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• ULA’s CEO says the welding to reinforce Vulcan’s upper stage is finished

He also says the first launch of Vulcan this year is “looking good.” Put no money on this promise.

 

• New Indian rocket company, Astrophel Aerospace, touts successfully static fire engine test

The company’s press release tied this test to India’s independence day, and added this nice touch: “Let us remember that the fire of freedom burns within us, inspiring us to keep striving, keep pushing boundaries, and keep shaping a brighter future.” Right on!

 

• Smallsat Alliance announces the winners of the first annual Collegiate Space Competition

The three runners-up developed concepts for removing space junk using cubesats, while first place was given to an instrument related to monitoring environmental conditions, with a nod to climate change.

 

• Luna-25 has officially entered lunar orbit

It took two engine burns. Next step, the landing burn, presently targeting August 21, 2023.

 

• According to a Coast Guard notice, SpaceX is now targeting August 31, 2023 for Starship/Superheavy orbital test flight

SpaceX always does this to pressure government paper pushers. It has now put the FAA on notice that it is ready to launch by the end of this month, and any delays thereafter will be entirely because of government intransigence. We shall now find out if (as I have been predicting) the FAA and the Biden administration intends to stall SpaceX, or instead it really wants to get Starship/Superheavy flying.

 

• Video of the SLS mobile launcher being rolled to launchpad today

Engineers want to test some systems while also doing crew rehearsal.

 

• Ursa Major press release outlines the importance of copper in its rocket engines

• Europa Clipper’s high-gain antenna is installed on spacecraft

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Russian official claims first flights of its new manned Oryol capsule will take place in 2028

Wanna bet? Oryol was first proposed in 2009, fourteen years ago. To take another five years to get it in space means the engineers working on it spent almost their entire careers flying nothing.

 

• The Chinese delegation to the launch of Russia’s Luna-25 poses for a picture

The delegation included the chief designer of China’s deep space projects. He probably wanted to get a better idea of the fantasy component of all of the Russia’s space projects.

 

• NASA is developing a larger cubesat adapter for SLS

It will allow SLS to carry more cubesats that are bigger. Whether any commercial cubesat company will want to fly on it remains unknown, considering the uncertainty of any SLS launch. Jay also notes many comments on X about “cubesats dying while waiting for [an SLS] launch.”

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Safran, Terran Orbital to explore joint production of satellite propulsion systems
• BWXT to begin work on cislunar nuclear rocket engine and fuel

These two stories are from June and July. Though I thought I had covered them, I can’t find them on BtB. They both illustrate the growing diversification occurring within the new commercial space industry.

 

• Australian company Hypersonix wins contract to build 20 scramjet test vehicles for hypersonic test flights

The vehicles are for a U.S. company, Kratos, which is doing hypersonic test flights for the Pentagon.

 

• Sierra Space wins $22 million Pentagon contract to develop upper stage rocket engine

The new engine is based on Sierra’s Vortex engine that has already been successfully tested, and uses hydrogen as its fuel.

 

• Luna-25 successfully completed its last mid-course correction burn today

It will enter lunar orbit in two days, with the landing tentatively planned for August 21.

 

• First photos from Luna-25 released

Taken yesterday, the images confirm the camera and spacecraft are functioning as planned.

 

• Another image from China’s Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter

The region of fissures shown, Sacra Sulci, is part of Kasei Valles, one the long valleys draining Mars’ giant volcanoes. See this post from May 2021 for more information.

 

• Rocket Lab will use the facility it obtained from the Virgin Orbit bankruptcy for scaling up production of its new Neutron rocket

The facility will mainly be used to build Neutron’s Archimedes engines. The target date for first launch of Neutron remains 2024.

 

• A list of the major meteor showers each year

Also includes an interesting animation showing the debris trail and orbit of the Perseid meteor shower, which comes from Comet Swift-Tuttle.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Exolaunch gets new deal from smallsat company Muon to broker its launches

Exolaunch finds and manages launch services for satellite companies. With this deal Muon agrees to let it manage launches for at least another three satellites.

 

• Russia says by ’30 it will launch a nuclear-powered orbital tug to clean up space junk

This is simply another paper proposal by Roscosmos. The odds of it actually getting built are from slim to none.

 

• Firefly will donate any excess capacity on its rocket launches to student cubesat projects

The company is now accepting student or university proposals, contingent of course on when its Alpha rocket finally becomes operational. It has attempted two launches, the first a failure and the second reaching orbit but underperforming. Its next orbital launch attempt is presently scheduled for later this month.

 

• JPL touts its Mars sample return lander

As Jay notes, “The damn thing is not even assembled and it is still over budget.”

 

• New Horizons will look back at Uranus and Neptune in September, in conjunction with simultaneous Hubble observations

The science team is asking amateur astronomers to help by making their own observations of these two planets, at the same time.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Virgin Galactic completes its first commercial tourist flight

This suborbital hop no longer rates more than a mention here in quick links. Compared to the growing orbital manned tourism, who cares that Branson’s con job has finally begin flying passengers, two decades late?

 

• Japanese startup Interstellar aims for orbital launch in 2025

Japan desperately needs some new independent launch companies, as the big space launch systems provided by JAXA and Mitsubishi have certainly not served that country’s private aerospace industry well.

 

• Viasat not ready to declare Viasat-3 Americas a total loss

The antenna turned out to be defective. There were stories that the company made an insurance claim, but I suspect this story reflects some pushback from that insurance company.

 

• Ingenuity’s next flight, its 55th, has been scheduled for some time today

The plan is to fly 820 feet for 134 seconds.

 

• JPL touts Curiosity images of mud polygons in Gale Crater

The full press release is here. Such features have been seen many times before on Mars, and this press release is merely rehashing a 2017 report.