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Category: satellites – Page 39

Electron returns to flight with successful launch of Japanese radar imaging satellite

WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab successfully launched a Japanese radar imaging satellite on the first flight of its Electron rocket since a failure nearly three months ago.

The Electron rocket lifted off from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 11:05 p.m. Eastern Dec. 14. The vehicle deployed its payload, the QPS-SAR-5 or Tsukuyomi-1 satellite for Japanese company iQPS, nearly 57 minutes after liftoff into a 575-kilometer orbit.

The launch was the first for Electron since a Sept. 19 failure during a launch of another radar imaging satellite for Capella Space. On that mission, the first stage performed as expected but the engine of the second stage appeared to shut down immediately after ignition, preventing it from reaching orbit.

Falcon 9: SpaceX’s workhorse rocket

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is the vehicle that brings satellites, Dragon cargo spacecraft and Crew Dragon spacecraft to orbit.

Among its many uses, SpaceX regularly launches Falcon 9 to bring its Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. Dragon made the first private spacecraft visit ever there in October 2012 and has run more than 25 cargo missions in the years since. Since 2020, SpaceX also used Falcon 9 for crewed missions to the ISS, on behalf of NASA and other customers.

SpaceX Christmas Starship Roll Out & Rocket Lab QPS SAR 5 Launch

SpaceX performs a Christmas themed roll out of the next Starship to fly and relativity fires up its most powerful engine, while Amazon tests a spacecraft inters satellite laser link communication system and Rocket Lab achieves a successful launch of the QPS SAR 5 satellite.

Questions to inspire discussion.

What milestone did Relativity achieve at NASA’s Stennis Space Center?
—Relativity successfully tested their fullscale Eon R methalox engine at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, marking a significant milestone in the development of the Tran R rocket.

Amazon tests space laser to transmit internet, aims 3,236 satellite web

Project Kuiper seeks to deploy a swarm of small satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) to enhance global broadband access, particularly to remote locations of the planet.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper initiative has marked a significant achievement with the successful in-orbit testing of a critical technology known as optical inter-satellite links (OISL).

Amazon had previously kept details of this technology confidential, but it has now been revealed that OISL enables laser communications between satellites.

The company revealed in a recent press release that this optical communication-based technology employs infrared lasers to transmit data between satellites in low-Earth orbit.

The Starling Squadron: NASA’s CubeSats Take Formation in Space

NASA’s Starling mission will test new technologies for autonomous swarm navigation on four CubeSats in low-Earth orbit. Credit: Blue Canyon Technologies/NASA

NASA ’s Starling spacecraft are getting in formation: the mission team has spent the last two months troubleshooting issues and commissioning the four spacecraft, nicknamed Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde.

Pinky, Inky, and Clyde have successfully completed their propulsion system commissioning and have executed maneuvers to get into their swarm operations configuration, maintaining a range between 50–200 km apart. The three have also successfully demonstrated two-way communications with their crosslink radios in this closer proximity.

Wild new NASA plasma tech reduces drag during hypersonic flight

According to a notice the agency posted on the government contracting portal SAM.gov on Thursday (Dec. 7), the technology was developed by researchers at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia and has been studied for use in a simulated entry into Neptune’s atmosphere. A separate 2021 study of the same technology studied it for use in the atmosphere of Mars.

Related: Space Force wants ‘Foo Fighter’ satellites to track hypersonic missiles

The agency claims its MHD system is “simpler than conventional methods for control of hypersonic craft (e.g., chemical propulsion, shifting flight center of gravity, or trim tabs) and enables new entry, descent, and landing mission architectures.”

Starlink triples its internet traffic amid geopolitical tensions

Starlink has around 5,000 satellites in orbit, far more than any other provider.

According to Cloudflare, Starlink’s internet traffic has nearly tripled in 2023 compared to 2022. In the US, the traffic has grown by 250%, while in Brazil, where Starlink launched last year, the traffic has surged by 1700%.

Bridging the divide, one satellite at a time

Imagine blazing fiber-optic speeds delivered not by cables but by a twinkling swarm of satellites in the sky. That’s the reach of Starlink, and it’s captivated over 50 countries, from Brazil’s staggering 17-fold traffic surge to Kenya’s newfound online access and countries like the Philippines, and Zambia. This exponential growth has cemented Starlink’s position as the undisputed king of satellite internet.

Space Development Agency aims high for 2024 after strong 2023 start

WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency has set its sights on an ambitious launch schedule for 2024 following two successful launches this year that marked steady progress for the fledgling U.S. Space Force agency.

“Starting next September, it’s an 11-launch campaign over 11 months, one launch a month,” SDA Director Derek Tournear said Dec. 7 at a National Security Space Association online forum.

SDA is developing a network of satellites known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture — a large constellation of lower-cost, mass-produced satellites in low Earth orbit. This is different from the traditional DoD approach of using small numbers of expensive, highly-customized satellites.

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