Space News reports that the US Space Force is to “take over control of the Wideband Global Satcom and Defense Satellite Communications System constellations of military satellites” from the US Army on Monday. The Army “shifted about $78 million to the Space Force’s 2022 budget to cover the cost of operating five satellite operations centers and four regional support centers. About 500 military and civilian personnel will transition from the Army to the Space Force’s Delta 8 unit based at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado.”
Full Story (Space News)
Tag: Satellites
SpaceX Launches 52 More Starlink Satellites
Spaceflight Now reports that SpaceX “launched a Falcon 9 rocket and 52 more Starlink internet satellites Tuesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The commercial mission took off bound for low Earth orbit at 10:14 p.m. EDT (0214 GMT).” The Falcon 9 rocket “headed northeast from the Kennedy Space Center, aiming to deliver the flat-packed broadband relay stations to an orbit ranging between 144 miles and 208 miles in altitude (232-by-338 kilometers).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
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SpaceX launches 52 Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, 9 August 2022 at 10:14 p.m. ET.
(SpaceX; YouTube)
Starlink Maritime Ready for Yachts, Ships, Oil Rigs
ZDNet reported that “SpaceX boss Elon Musk has announced a new Starlink broadband service for everything from merchant vessels to oil rigs to premium yachts.” Starlink Maritime promises “high-speed, low-latency internet with up to 350 Mbps download while at sea.” Musk tweeted, “Starlink Maritime allows you to connect from some of the most remote waters in the world.” ZDNet reported that “Starlink Maritime’s hardware consists of two terminals and costs $10,000 plus a monthly fee of $5,000.” Starlink software engineer Joseph Scarantino “explained on Twitter that Maritime’s dual-dish setup quadruples performance to reduce latency and signal loss at sea by creating a wider field of view.” SpaceX argues that the price is “actually a lot cheaper than traditional very small aperture satellite (VSAT) internet service.”
Full Story (ZDNet)
ULA’s Atlas 5 Launches Two Space Force Satellites to Test Early Warning Technology
CBS News reported that “after waiting out cloudy weather, the U.S. Space Force launched two satellites atop an Atlas 5 rocket Friday to test ballistic and hypersonic missile early warning and tracking technology and to deploy a maneuverable spacecraft carrying an unknown number of classified payloads.” United Launch Alliance’s 196-foot-tall rocket lifted off at 7:15 p.m. EDT from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, “knifing through low clouds and quickly disappearing from view as it streaked away to the east over the Atlantic Ocean. Eleven minutes later, the Aerojet Rocketdyne engine powering the rocket’s second stage completed the first of three planned firings designed to put the two satellites in a circular orbit 22,300 miles above the equator.” According to CBS News, the “trip was expected to take about six hours, ending early Saturday with the satellites’ deployment from the Centaur second stage.”
Full Story (CBS News)
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Atlas 5 rocket launch with U.S. Space Force experimental satellites, July 1, 2022
(Spaceflight Now via YouTube)
ULA to Launch US Space Force Satellites on Thursday
Spaceflight Now reports that United Launch Alliance (ULA) teams “at Cape Canaveral rolled an Atlas 5 rocket to its launch pad Wednesday, moving the launcher into position for liftoff Thursday evening with a pair of geostationary satellites for the U.S. Space Force.” The rollout “began shortly after 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), when the Atlas 5 emerged from the Vertical Integration Facility south of the launch pad. The 196-foot-tall (59.7-meter-tall) rocket rode a mobile launch platform along rail tracks to Space Launch Complex 41, the East Coast home of Atlas 5 launch operations.” Launch is set for 6 p.m. EDT Thursday, “the opening of a two-hour launch window. There is a 60% chance of favorable weather for Thursday’s launch window, according to the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX Launches 53 Starlink Satellites Wednesday Morning
Space.com reports a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from NASA’s Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center carrying 53 Starlink internet satellites into orbit and then returned “to Earth for a stunning landing at sea early Wednesday (May 18).” Liftoff was at 6:59 a.m. EDT marking “SpaceX’s third Starlink mission in five days following missions on May 13 and May 14.”
Full Story (Space.com)
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Starlink Mission: On Wednesday, 18 May, at 6:59 a.m. ET, SpaceX launches 53 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Satellites to Grant Autonomy to UAVs
Space News reported that satellite communications are key to allowing UAVs to fly autonomously beyond visual line of sight. QuadSAT CEO Joakim Espeland said, “This has to come from space because you need something that has coverage everywhere, no matter what.” US startup Rammaxx “recently tested a proof of concept where a small group of drones successfully lifted a small-scale rocket to a certain height before detaching from it, enabling the launch vehicle to continue its journey.” Rammaxx is currently looking to secure $1 million in funding to test a larger-scale proof of concept.
Full Story (Space News)
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Carrying Starlink Satellites Scheduled to Launch Wednesday
Florida Today reports that a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during an instantaneous window that opens at 12:34 p.m. EST Wednesday. The rocket will carry a batch of Starlink satellites. The 45th Weather Squadron “said conditions during the window should be 90% ‘go’ for liftoff. Risks from upper-level winds, which could damage a rocket after liftoff, were listed as ‘moderate’ and at-sea conditions for the booster’s drone ship recovery will be ‘low risk.’”
Full Story (Florida Today)