Jiuquan, China (XNA) Nov 04, 2021
China launched a group of remote-sensing satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Wednesday. The second group of the Yaogan-32 satellite family was launched by a Long March-2C rocket with an attached upper stage at 3:43 p.m. (Beijing Time) and entered the planned orbit. This was the 394th mission of the Long March rocket series. span class="BDL

Beijing, China (SPX) Nov 04, 2021
Weather forecast models have long struggled to integrate satellite observations of infrared radiation in cloudy regions of the sky. But in recent years, some satellite data providers have developed new techniques to integrate such data. A group of researchers from China, Japan, the US and the UK have performed a survey of best practice for the observation and use of this data, demonstrating sign

London, UK (SPX) Nov 04, 2021
TRUTHS, which stands for Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio- Studies, will provide a gold standard reference for satellites observing the Earth, Moon and Sun. Conceived by the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and funded by the UK Space Agency, TRUTHS is being developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). The satellite will be built by the UK space industry led

Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 04, 2021
Working together, two instruments could open the door for a more efficient, cost-effective way to gather key information for weather forecasting. Two instruments launching to the International Space Station in a few weeks could be weather-forecasting game changers. The two novel instruments are expected to demonstrate that while they are much smaller, much lighter, and much less expensive than w

With space now considered a domain of war, hotlines between U.S. and foreign rivals might be worth contemplating, said Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, deputy chief of operations of the U.S.

Venture investor SpaceFund announced Nov. 3 it plans to finance the development of an autonomous navigation capability for space missions beyond Earth orbit in the region known as cislunar space.

SpaceNews

ESA’s new TRUTHS mission is taking shape. Highlighted today at COP26, this new mission is moving from its feasibility phase into its preliminary design phase. TRUTHS is set to provide measurements of incoming solar radiation and of radiation reflected from Earth back out into space as traceable International System of Units. These measurements will allow changes in Earth’s climate to be detected faster, and they will be used to calibrate data from other satellites. In effect, TRUTHS will be a ‘standards laboratory in space’, setting the ‘gold standard’ for climate measurements.

Firefly Aerospace has hired a former U.S. Air Force officer to lead a rebranded subsidiary responsible for sales of its launch vehicles and other capabilities to government and commercial customers.

SpaceNews

Video: 00:02:58

A timelapse of Launchpad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, where the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endurance sits atop a Falcon 9 rocket, ready to carry Crew-3 to the International Space Station.

Initially scheduled for launch on 31 October 2021, this Dragon will wait a bit longer due to weather along the flight path and a minor medical issue affecting a member of its crew. The next launch attempt is now no earlier than 03:36 GMT/04:36 CET, Sunday, 7 November.

When it does fly, it will transport ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, as a member of Crew-3