Lifeboat Foundation

Commercial space companies are cropping up left and right in China.

Two Chinese launch startups have successfully tested and demonstrated rockets that set the groundwork for future reusable launch vehicle technology, SpaceNews reports.

China decided to open up the launch of small satellites to private companies in 2014 and at least 15 SpaceX-like startups, according to Reuters, have emerged as a result.

Continue reading “Watch Out SpaceX: Chinese Startups Are Testing Reusable Rockets” »

Starlink could offer internet to anyone on the planet.

Starlink could transmit internet down to the ground.

Changing the destination for more than 1,500 satellites.

SpaceX is half a day away from the planned launch debut of Falcon Heavy Block 5, a milestone that will also be the rocket’s second launch ever and first mission with a commercial payload.

First and foremost, Falcon Heavy’s job is to safely place the Saudi Arabian communications satellite Arabsat 6A into a high-energy geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) more than 35,000 km (~22,000 mi) above Earth’s surface. Despite the satellite weighing no less than 6000 kg (13,200 lb), Falcon Heavy will still have enough latent performance to attempt the recovery of all three of its new Block 5 boosters. With any luck, this will hopefully return SpaceX’s East Coast landing zones (LZ-1 and LZ-2) to successful operations after an anomaly in December 2018 caused Falcon 9 B1051 to landing a mile or so offshore.

Continue reading “SpaceX to livestream Falcon Heavy Block 5 launch debut at 6:15pm ET today” »

COLORADO SPRINGS — Blue Origin wants the U.S. Air Force to wait until 2021 before picking the two companies it intends use for launching critical military satellites in the decade ahead.

The Air Force, however, aims to solicit proposals this spring and choose its two preferred launch providers in 2020 — perhaps a year or more before the new rockets that the Air Force is fostering at Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance and Northrop Grumman make their first flights.

All three companies were chosen in October by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center to share $2.3 billion in so-called Launch Service Agreement (LSA) funding to support development of next-generation rockets capable of meeting the military’s satellite launch needs.

Continue reading “Blue Origin urging Air Force to postpone launch competition” »

COLORADO SPRINGS – Made in Space unveiled a product April 8 to help customers conduct interferometry missions on small satellites.

Possible applications for the new product, Optimast-Structurally Connected Interferometer (Optimast-SCI) include space situational awareness and detection of near-Earth objects, Andrew Rush, Made In Space president and chief executive, told SpaceNews.

Traditional space-based interferometry missions bring along large deployable structures to separate their telescopes or other instruments. Hinges and mechanical systems on the deployable structures allow them to be folded in launch fairings and extended in orbit.

Continue reading “Made In Space unveils small satellite interferometry tool” »

Older computer systems that rely on GPS satellites could suddenly go 20 years out of date at 7:59 p.m. ET on Saturday.

A Block IIR(M) satellite, one of 24 GPS satellites overseen by the Air Force. GPS.gov.

Want one more option for home internet? Today it was announced that Amazon is planning to launch 3,236 satellites to build a network to provide global high-speed internet. Unlike current satellite internet, these devices will be in a far lower orbit and offer far faster speeds compared to current sa…

NASA’s administrator, Jim Bridenstine, says India’s satellite shattered into pieces of debris that pose an “unacceptable” threat to ISS astronauts.