Of de Amerikaanse Space Force er ooit gaat komen, dat is nog altijd een vraagteken, maar er wordt wel verder aan gewerkt, zelfs aan de logo’s zo lijkt het. Toevallig of niet, plots (nu ja) duikt er een geheimzinnige Russische satelliet op en wordt er gepraat over anti-satellietwapens, “inspector” satellieten en andere bedreigingen voor de Amerikaanse satellieten. Eén ding is zeker, de Space Force gaat geld kosten.

Waar het – op langere termijn – wellicht ook om een belangrijke markt gaat, zijn de kleine satellieten, zoals de cubesats. Al blijven die nog een beetje op de achtergrond en wordt er meer aandacht geschonken aan allerlei kleine raketten in ontwikkeling.

Dat en veel meer ook deze week in het Nieuws uit de Ruimtevaart.

Nog een terugblik op de lancering van de Parker Solar probe een week geleden.
NASA: NASA, ULA Launch Parker Solar Probe on Historic Journey to Touch Sun.
Space News: NASA launches Parker Solar Probe mission to study the sun up close.

Cosmos: The Parker Probe: what happens next.
SpaceCom: NASA Solar Probe Hits 1st Deep-Space Milestones On Its Way to the Sun.

Nog enkele filmpjes van de lancering.
NASA KSC: Parker Solar Probe, Delta IV Heavy Countdown Poll.
NASA KSC: Liftoff of NASA's Parker Solar Probe.
NASA: Parker Solar Probe Mission Launches to Touch the Sun.
SciNews: Parker Solar Probe separation.
ULA: Rocket Cam! Delta IV Parker Solar Probe.
NASA KSC: Interview with NASA Launch Director.
Science At NASA: NASA ScienceCasts: Follow the Sun.

En zoals steeds een mooie samenvatting van United Launch Alliance.
United Launch Alliance: Delta IV Heavy PSP Launch Highlights.

Commercial Crew – SpaceX stelt zijn capsule voor.
Teslarati: SpaceX gives press exclusive access to Crew Dragon spacesuit and simulator [gallery].
Ars Technica: SpaceX reveals the controls of its Dragon spacecraft for the first time.
USA Today: Peek inside the new SpaceX capsule for NASA astronauts.

Teslarati: SpaceX’s futuristic Crew Dragon astronaut walkway is ready for US human spaceflight revival
NasaSpaceFlight: SpaceX readies for installation of LC-39A Crew Access Arm, previews Crew Dragon.
NASA: NASA, SpaceX Agree on Plans for Crew Launch Day Operations.

Teslarati: SpaceX’s 2018 Crew Dragon launch debut imminent as spacecraft hardware comes together.
Ars Technica: Here’s what SpaceX must do to win the commercial crew race.
Spaceflight Now: NASA signs off on SpaceX’s “load-and-go” procedure for crew launches.

Niet vergeten, er is ook nog Starliner.
SpaceCom: Get an Up-Close Look at Boeing's New CST-100 Starliner Spaceship (Photos).

Meer SpaceX-nieuws.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy eyed by Europe/Japan as ULA nails spectacular Delta Heavy launch.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s Mr Steven spotted practicing Falcon 9 fairing catches with upgraded net.
Teslarati: SpaceX seeks approval for Starlink internet tests on high-performance govt. Planes.
NasaSpaceFlight: The Evolution of the Big Falcon Rocket.

ISS – Russische ruimtewandeling.
TASS: Russian cosmonauts carry out ISS spacewalk.
Spaceflight Now: Spacewalkers toss nanosatellites into orbit, hook up bird migration monitor.
ABC News: Spacewalkers install bird trackers, send satellites flying.
Spaceflight Insider: Russian Spacewalk Runs into Overtime during ICARUS Experiment Installation.
NASA: Space to Ground: ICARUS Ascending: 08/17/2018.
Meer info over het ICARUS INITIATIVE vind je op hun website of op het Earth Observation Portal.

Filmpjes:
SciNews: How to launch satellites by hand.
De ganse ruimtewandeling (een kleine acht uur) kan je hier herbekijken, een wat kortere versie hier. 
Russia Insight: Most Advanced Spacesuits in the World: Russian Astronauts Test Out New Spacesuits For 7 Hours

Nieuws uit het ISS.
ESA: Recipe for a spacewalk.
Het bijbehorende filmpje vind je ook hier. 

ESA: Fluid Science Revamp.
ESA: Horizons science – upgrading the Fluid Science Laboratory (filmpje).

JAXA: Small satellites deployment from "Kibo" (filmpje).
NASA Goddard: NASA'S NICER Does the Space Station Twist (filmpje).

NASA Johnson: Space to Ground: A Star to Steer By: 08/10/2018 (filmpje).
Parabolic Arc: NASA Turns to Freelancers to Design Arm for ISS Free-flying Robotic Assistant.

DLR Blog: Always on Saturday... everyday life on the ISS.

ABC: 1st of Christa McAuliffe's lost lessons released from space.

Sputnik News: Roscosmos, Abu Dhabi Discuss Month-Long UAE Cosmonaut's Flight to ISS.

En nog verrassend (?) nieuws van de Russen:
TASS: Research module Nauka to be launched to ISS in November 2019.

Rusland selecteert nieuwe kosmonauten.
Collect Space: Russia's new cosmonauts include brother of ISS crew member.
Parabolic Arc: Meet Russia’s New Cosmonaut Candidates.
Air & Space: Russia Just Selected a New Group of Cosmonauts. What For?

Waarom er geen vrouwen bij zijn.
TASS: Russian women less eager to become cosmonauts than men — Roscosmos.
Ars Technica: Russia is down to a single female cosmonaut, and she may never fly.

India stuurt in 2022 eerste inwoners de ruimte in.
The Hindu: All you need to know about the Human Space mission 'Gaganyaan'.
The Hindu: With human space flight, India to push frontiers.
Reuters: India's Modi announces space mission, health scheme as election nears.
The Guardian: India aims to send astronauts into space by 2022, Modi says.
ABC News: Modi says India will send manned flight into space by 2022.

Nieuwe reeks testen voor SLS-motor – Eerste test afgebroken.
NASA: Stennis Begins 5th Series of RS-25 Engine Tests.
Space News: NASA says RS-25 engine test a success despite ending early.
NasaSpaceFlight: RS-25 aborts test during production restart development hot fire – still achieves objectives.
Beelden van de test vind je hier. 

SLS/Orion.
NASA: Heat Shield Install Brings Orion Spacecraft Closer to Space.
NASA: Successful Parachute Test for Orion on This Week @NASA – July 20, 2018 (filmpje).
NasaSpaceFlight: Digging into the details of Orion’s EM-1 test flight

CubeSats, SmallSats en hun raketten.
Veel van onderstaande artikels zijn o.a. te wijten aan de 32ste Conference on Small Satellites in Utah.
Space News: Download all three days of the SpaceNews SmallSat show dailies.
Space News: SmallSat 2018 | The show in pictures.

Satellite Today: Report: Six-Times More Smallsats Will Launch in the Next Decade.

GeekWire: Aerospace Corp. lays out ‘Launch Unit’ standard for medium small satellites.
GeekWire: ‘Smallsats are big’: NASA official details initiatives to boost tiny science satellites.

Space News: Electric propulsion to send smallsats from LEO to GEO orbit, moon.
Space News: New thruster aims to help microsats bust out of the kiddy pool.
Space News: Electric propulsion startup ThrustMe gets $2.8 million from European Commission.
Space News: Open Cosmos partners with Addvalue to offer cubesat customers real-time comms.
Space News: Made In Space proposes printing large solar arrays for small satellites.
Space News: Small satellite sector grapples with cybersecurity requirements, cost.
Via Satellite: Lockheed Martin-led Group Invests Millions in New Terran Orbital Nanosatellite Facility.

Space News: Capella’s first satellite launching this fall.
Space News: Helios Wire sees a hidden fortune in finding lost assets.

Space News: Ursa Major aims to disrupt launcher vertical integration trend.
Parabolic Arc: Disruptive New Entrants Lead Small-satellite Launch Race.
Geek Wire: Efforts to develop small-scale rockets are soaring, but only a few get off the ground.
Space Intel Report: Count’em: 101 new commercial smallsat-dedicated launch vehicles in development.
Space News: Japan’s Interstellar Technologies goes full throttle toward small orbital rocket.

Nog meer raketnieuws.
Geek Wire: Blue Origin shows off BE-3U upper-stage rocket engine as its many efforts ramp up.

Aviation Week: Stratolaunch Inches Closer To First Flight.

Space News: Exos Aerospace reschedules first suborbital launch.
Scott Manley: Astra - 'Stealth' Rocket Startup Testing Boosters In Silicon Valley (filmpje).

Space News: Ariane 6 is nearing completion, but Europe’s work is far from over.

TASS: Russia to develop super-heavy rocket as reusable spacecraft.
TASS: Second launch pad at Vostochny spaceport may take 45 months to build.

Space News: Chinese rocket maker OneSpace secures $44m in funding; Expace prepares for commercial launch.

Trump en zijn Space Force.
Nasa Watch: DoD Releases Space Force 101 Document.
ABC News: Pence outlines US Space Force plan for 'next battlefield'
Aviation Week: Pentagon Submits Long-Awaited Space Report To Congress.
Aviation Week: What Was In The Space Force Report, What Wasn’t, And What It Means.
SpaceCom: Trump Wants a Space Force — But We Have an Air Force Space Command.
ABC News: Pentagon requests $8 billion for Space Force (filmpje).
National Geographic: Would a US Space Force be legal? Get the facts.

TMZ: NASA logo designer bashes Trump’s Space Force.

Defense News: As Trump pushes for separate space force, Russia moves fast the other way.

En ook:
Space News: U.S. would need a mega-constellation to counter China’s hypersonic weapons.
Space News: Hyten: U.S. needs plan to modernize space launch infrastructure.
Aviation Week: Podcast: Darpa’s Space Shakeup.

Om af te ronden :-)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Mike Pence Tries To Make Space Force Sound Less Dumb.

Een verdachte Russische satelliet.
BBC: Mystery Russian satellite's behaviour raises alarm in US.
SpaceCom: Space Weapon? US Calls Out Russian Satellite's 'Very Abnormal Behavior'.
SpaceCom: 'Very Abnormal' Russian Satellite Doesn't Seem So Threatening, Experts Say.
Parabolic Arc: U.S. Expresses Concerns About Russian “Inspector” Satellite, Space Lasers & ASATs.
Zie ook deze bijdrage van Bart Hendrickx op het forum van NasaSpaceFlight.com.

Het gaat niet goed met Planetary Resources.
Geek Wire: Financially strapped Planetary Resources gets set to auction off equipment at HQ.
De website van Planetary Resources vind je hier. 

ESA’s Earth Obervation Summer School.
Een hele reeks voordrachten :-)
ESA: Welcome, introduction to ESA and the Earth Observation Programme.
ESA: Satellite oceanography: an integrated perspective.
ESA: Remote sensing and modelling of sea ice.
ESA: Ocean colour theory.
ESA: Ocean Circulation: Introduction.
ESA: Satellite oceanography: an integrated perspective.
ESA: Monitoring the water cycle over land: rainfall and surface energy balance.
ESA: Monitoring the water cycle over land: water bodies and soil moisture
ESA: How to measure 3 trillion tons of ice.
ESA: Environmental science and sustainable development.
ESA: Sea-level rise from space.
ESA: The Earth System, past and present.
ESA: Opportunities for integrated ocean observing.
ESA: Remote sensing of sea ice.

Nieuws uit de (inter)planetaire ruimte.

Zon:
Proba-beelden van een gedeeltelijke zonsverduistering.
ESA: Partial solar eclipse from space.

Aarde: 
ESA: Aeolus Teams Ready for Space.
ESA: Aeolus: of weather and winds (filmpje).
NASA: Hyperspectral Imager Leaves a Legacy of Contributions to Coastal Research.
GB Times: Satellites set to monitor South China Sea from 2019.

Maan:
The Planetary Society: Chandrayaan-2 launch delayed to 3 January 2019.
Space News: Pioneering Chang’e-4 lunar far side landing mission to launch in December.
GB Times: China unveils lunar rover to explore far side of Moon.
SciNews: China unveils lunar rover to explore far side of Moon (filmpje). 
The Planetary Society: China's mission to the far side of the Moon will launch in December.

Mars:
SpaceCom: Wake Up, Opportunity! Engineers Have an Awesome Playlist for NASA's Sleeping Mars Rover.
SpaceCom: NASA's Opportunity Rover on Mars Still Silent 2 Months into Epic Dust Storm.
NASA Podcast: Gravity Assist: Mars Dust Storm with Melinda Kahre.
NASA Maven (voordracht): Challenges of Resurrecting the Martian Atmosphere.

Ryugu:
DLR: Landing on Ryugu – a surface with a view of boulders.
The Planetary Society: Hayabusa2 descends again, this time to lower than 1000 meters above Ryugu.
Spaceflight Now: Hayabusa 2 probe gets a closer look at asteroid amid landing preps.

En nog dit:
SpaceCom: NASA Has a Wild Idea to Weigh Asteroids with a Swarm of Mini Probes.

Om af te ronden: 60 jaar NASA.
Het eerste filmpje werd eerder al in een NUDR vermeld.
NASA: NASA 60th: How It All Began.
NASA: NASA 60th: What’s Out There.

Veel lees- en kijkplezier,

Koen