ULA Vulcan Rocket Selected To Launch Sierra Nevada Corp. Dream Chaser

August 15, 2019 – Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has selected United Launch Alliance (ULA) as the launch vehicle provider for the Dream Chaser spacecraft’s six NASA missions to the International Space Station. The Dream Chaser will launch aboard ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rockets for its cargo resupply and return services to the space station, starting in 2021. Read More
GOLD Reveals Unexpected Changes In Earth’s Nighttime Ionosphere

August 14, 2019 – NASA’s Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission has observed dramatic and unexplained shifts in the location of features in the Earth’s ionosphere surrounding the equator. Unanticipated changes in the nighttime ionosphere can lead to disruptions in communication and navigation that depend on satellites, such as GPS. Read More
James Webb Space Telescope Could Begin Learning About TRAPPIST-1 Atmospheres In A Year

August 14, 2019 – New research from astronomers at the University of Washington uses the intriguing TRAPPIST-1 planetary system as a kind of laboratory to model not the planets themselves, but how the coming James Webb Space Telescope might detect and study their atmospheres, on the path toward looking for life beyond Earth. Read More
Vulcan Centaur Rocket On Schedule For First Flight In 2021

August 14, 2019 – At the United Launch Alliance (ULA) factory in Decatur, Alabama, production of the first Vulcan Centaur rocket continues, with shipment to the launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida scheduled for late next year for processing in preparation for its first launch in 2021. Read More
NOAA Selects SpaceNav For Advanced Space Situational Awareness Services
August 14, 2019 – SpaceNav, a Colorado-based engineering and applied mathematics company has been awarded a new contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to deliver subject matter expertise for Space Situational Awareness (SSA) operations. NOAA’s operational fleet of spacecraft resides in both Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) regimes and requires real-time safety of flight risk quantification and mitigation; precision orbit determination; and mission production generation. Read More
NASA Selects Final Four Site Candidates For Asteroid Sample Return

August 12, 2019 – After months grappling with the rugged reality of asteroid Bennu’s surface, the team leading NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission has selected four potential sites for the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft to “tag” its cosmic dance partner. Read More
NASA’s MMS Finds First Interplanetary Shock
August 12, 2019 – The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission — MMS — has spent the past four years using high-resolution instruments to see what no other spacecraft can. Recently, MMS made the first high-resolution measurements of an interplanetary shock. Read More
Lockheed Martin-Built AEHF-5 Protected Communications Satellite Now In Transfer Orbit

August 12, 2019 – The U.S. Air Force’s 4th Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base is now “talking” with the fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-5) protected communication satellite after its successful launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on August 8. Read More
More News
NASA Marshall To Lead Artemis Program’s Human Lunar Lander Development
Source: NASA
NASA Selects Proposals To Study Interplanetary Space
Source: NASA
Maxar Extends Its Robotic Leadership To The Moon
Source: Maxar Technologies
NASA Selects Proposals To Further Study Fundamental Nature Of Space
Source: NASA
A New Timeline Of Earth’s Cataclysmic Past
Source: University of Colorado Boulder
NASA Administrator To Discuss Human Lander Update For Artemis Program
Source: NASA
Blue Origin Files Protest Over ‘Flawed’ Air Force Launch Procurement
Source: SpaceNews
ESA Confirms Second ExoMars Parachute Test Failure
Source: SpaceNews
ExoMars Parachute Failures Could Deopardize 2020 Launch Date
Source: Spaceflight Now
Dextre Begins RRM3 Tasks To Test Robotic Refueling Of Spacecraft
Source: NASASpaceFlight.com
Follow That Planet! How Astronomers Chase New Worlds In TESS Data
Source: NASA
Fluorescent Glow May Reveal Hidden Life In The Cosmos
Source: Cornell Chronicle
Critical Observatrion Made On Maunakea During First Night Of Return To Operations
Source: University Of Hawaii
Tory Bruno: ULA Submits Bid For USAF Launch Service Phase 2 Competition
Source: GovCon Wire
Asteroid’s Features To Be Named After Mythical Birds
Source: NASA