Lifeboat Foundation

NASA’s LEGS can do more than help Earthlings move about the planet. Three Lunar Exploration Ground Sites, or LEGS, will enhance the Near Space Network’s communications services and support of NASA’s Artemis campaign.

NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program maintains the agency’s two primary communications networks—the Deep Space Network and the Near Space Network, which enable satellites in space to send data back to Earth for investigation and discovery.

Using antennas around the globe, these networks capture signals from satellites, collecting data and enabling navigation engineers to track the mission. For the first Artemis mission, these networks worked in tandem to support the mission as it completed its 25-day journey around the moon. They will do the same for the upcoming Artemis II mission.

‘Earth Science to Action: How NASA connects space to village’ Learn from experts how NASA’s cutting-edge Earth observation and satellite technology is empowering communities worldwide to tackle climate change and natural disasters. This talk, organised by the SERVIR-HKH initiative at ICIMOD, features key speakers Dan Irwin (SERVIR Global Program Manager) and Ashutosh Limaye (SERVIR Chief Scientist) from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Learn how these advancements are bridging the gap between data and actionable insights for a thriving planet.

Liftoff is scheduled for 7:21 a.m. EDT on Sunday (Aug. 11).

Using supercomputers and satellite imagery, the researchers showed our planet breathing.

PRESTON, United Kingdom — China successfully launched the first batch of 18 satellites Tuesday for the Thousand Sails low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation.

A Long March 6A rocket lifted off from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, north China, at 2:42 a.m. Eastern (0642 UTC) Aug. 6. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced launch success just over two hours later.

The Long March 6A upper stage deployed 18 flat panel Qianfan (“Thousand Sails”) satellites into polar orbit for Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST).

Safran Electronics & Defense will establish a new production line for satellite electric propulsion systems in the United States to serve U.S. customers.

Schöfbänker made use of a telescope having a 14-inch mirror and assorted gear capable of following satellites that keeps them automatically in the center of a field of view, finessing the equipment with a bit of input and corrections, he told Space.com.

“I make these images by taking a video during the flyover and then stacking (averaging out) and sharpening the best frames,” Schöfbänker said.

The two solar panels that can be seen at the end aren’t visible on any of the computer renderings available online, Schöfbänker advised. “I am not really sure if they are solar panels or some other features like an antenna or something of that nature.”

We examine whether meteor showers made from dust left by comets pose a hazard to satellites and the International Space Station.

SpaceX is targeting Sunday, August 4 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 12:24 a.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 3:52 a.m. PT. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Monday, August 5 starting at 12:24 a.m. ET.