Satellite to burn in atmosphere above Pacific, Russia Today “Satellite’s propulsive unit was turned on at 14:33 MSK to give the 5,775-kilogram vehicle a de-orbital burn and the craft’s debris is expected to reach the surface at 17:32 MSK to the north of the Hawaiian Islands. The impact area will be closed for ships and planes for two hours.” – Antarctic Researchers Cite Benefits of Repurposing Express-AM4, previous post – […]

DOD Faces Challenges in Fully Realizing Benefits of Satellite Acquisition Improvements “Though it still faces an array of challenges, DOD continues to work to ensure its space programs are more executable and produce a better return on investment. For example, DOD intends to follow incremental or evolutionary acquisition processes and it has acted to streamline management and oversight of the national security space enterprise. The agency has taken steps toward […]

Can We Repurpose Space Assets?, Paul Spudis, Air & Space “An attempt to repurpose this satellite hardware appears to be a win-win for everybody. The National Science Foundation gets a new satellite asset for safe and productive communications with and operations in the Antarctic, Polar Broadband gets to sell this service to the NSF, and by giving a green light to this endeavor, the Russians will have benefited the international […]

NASA Announcement of Partnership Opportunity for Notification Tool for International Space Station Sightings, NASA SOMD “Currently, NASA has several ways the public can learn about ISS sighting opportunities, including NASA SkyWatch. However, NASA’s websites do not disseminate this information to the public- the public must seek it out proactively instead. NASA seeks to increase public awareness of the ISS, its visibility, and mission by making ISS sighting information, including personalized […]

50 Years Ago Today: The First Spacecraft Launched Into Orbit From Virginia “Explorer 9 was the first spacecraft placed in orbit by an all-solid rocket and the first spacecraft successfully launched from Wallops Island. It was launched on 16 February 1961. Explorer 9 was the first in a series of 3.66 m inflatable spheres to be successfully placed into orbit solely for the determination of atmospheric densities. It was identical […]