 | Top Stories
A capsule containing samples collected on the far side of the moon by a Chinese spacecraft has returned to Earth. The return capsule from the Chang'e-6 mission landed in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia at around 2:07 a.m. Eastern Tuesday. The event was the final act of a five-spacecraft, 53-day effort to collect the first samples ever collected from the lunar far side and delivered them to Earth. The capsule contains up to two kilograms of material that the Chang'e-6 lander collected after landing in Apollo Crater on the far side the moon early this month. [SpaceNews]
Airbus announced Monday it will record a charge of nearly $1 billion because of problems on satellite programs. The company said it would take the 900-million-euro ($965 million) charge in the second quarter after completing an analysis that found cost and schedule problems with several telecommunications, navigation and Earth observation spacecraft programs. Executives did not identify specific programs but said one common theme was the company had not properly evaluated technology risks on programs, particularly those under contracts from 2018 to 2021. The company added it is examining "all strategic options" for its space unit, including restructuring as well as merger and acquisition options. [SpaceNews]
U.S. Space Command is preparing for the possibility of Russia attacking American satellites. Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of U.S. Space Command, said Monday that the command has been closely monitoring Russian spacecraft like Cosmos 2576, launched into an orbit aligned with that of a U.S. national security satellite. U.S. Space Command is taking these activities seriously and actively rehearsing a response to potential attacks on U.S. space assets, he said, and emphasized that Space Command is working closely with allies to develop strategies to mitigate the effects of any potential attack. [SpaceNews]
Whiting also said Space Command is interested in a "rocket cargo" program by the Air Force Research Lab. That program is supporting efforts by SpaceX in particular to develop systems that could transport cargo across the planet in as little as an hour. Whiting said that Space Command is "excited" about the project but acknowledged that operational details remain undecided, such as who would be responsible for an operational rocket cargo program. For now, he said he wanted to see efforts to demonstrate rocket cargo capabilities continue. [SpaceNews]
Firefly Aerospace says it will launch its Alpha rocket from Wallops Island in Virginia. The company announced Monday an agreement to use Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, used by the Antares rocket, for Alpha launches starting as soon as 2025. The pad will require minor modifications for the smaller Alpha rocket, retaining its ability for future launches of a new Antares version that Firefly and Northrop Grumman are developing. Firefly currently launches Alpha from Vandenberg Space Force Base, and signed an agreement in 2019 to launch from Cape Canaveral's SLC-20. Firefly said that it will maintain its relationship with Cape Canaveral but will be "prioritizing operations on Wallops Island." [SpaceNews]
| | | 
| Other News
A second consecutive spacewalk was scrubbed at the International Space Station Monday. Astronauts Tracy Dyson and Mike Barratt had suited up and were just opening the airlock door when Dyson reported a water leak when she disconnected an umbilical for her suit as planned. The water turned to ice and froze on her helmet. The leak stopped when she reconnected the umbilical, but station controllers called off the spacewalk to investigate the leak. A June 13 spacewalk was called off when another astronaut reported discomfort issues with his suit. It's not clear what effect this will have on another spacewalk scheduled for July 2, or on other station activities like the departure of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, which had been delayed until after that July 2 spacewalk. [CBS]
French startup Skynopy has raised $3.1 million to enter the ground satellite services market. The company aims to simplify data transfer services between ground stations and satellites in LEO for operators seeking to outsource their teleport needs to save costs. Skynopy plans to provide those services by making use of excess capacity at existing ground stations for constellation operators. It will compete against several other companies already offering ground infrastructure as a service to help operators avoid terrestrial infrastructure costs. [SpaceNews]
A new report says that SpaceX has had a multibillion-dollar impact on the economy of South Texas. The report, released last week by the government of Cameron County, where SpaceX's Starbase site is located, concluded that SpaceX's work there has an annual "gross economic market value" of more than $6.5 billion. SpaceX has more than 3,400 employees and contractors at Starbase, and indirectly supports 21,000 jobs in the broader regional economy. [San Antonio Express-News]
The second Vulcan rocket has arrived at Cape Canaveral for a launch later this year. United Launch Alliance said that the ship carrying the Cert-2 rocket arrived at the Cape Sunday, with crews starting to transfer the rocket to facilities at the spaceport Monday. The Cert-2 mission is currently planned to launch Sierra Space's Dream Chaser spacecraft, with ULA seeking to perform the launch by October. [Orlando Sentinel]
A Dragon spacecraft and Electron rocket are sharing space in a Los Angeles museum. The California Science Center has put on display a cargo Dragon spacecraft that flew three missions to the ISS from 2015 to 2019, as well as an unflown Electron rocket from Rocket Lab. The exhibit is a temporary installation while the museum's star attraction, the shuttle orbiter Endeavour, is out of public view as the museum constructs a new facility to host the shuttle in its launch configuration. [collectSPACE]
| |  | Extra Pressure to Get the Forecast Right
"I kind of feel the weight of the weather world on my shoulders a little bit with this launch, with it being a weather satellite."
– Brian Cizek, launch weather officer at the Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron, discussing at a briefing Monday the forecast for Tuesday's scheduled launch of the GOES-U weather satellite on a Falcon Heavy.
| | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment