Eén van de uitschieters deze week was ongetwijfeld de keuze van de Blue Origin motor BE-4 voor de Vulcan-motor. Alsook de honderdste (!) Ariane V-lancering. Maar hét hoogepunt van de week waren toch de foto’s afkomstig van de twee Japanse Minerva-landers op de planetoïde Ryugu. Gewoon mega graaf.

Fantastische foto’s van het oppervlak van Ryugu.
De kleine Minerva-landers deden geweldig werk.
JAXA: MINERVA-II1: Images from the surface of Ryugu.
JAXA: Ryugu surface image at highest resoltion so far.
BBC: Hayabusa 2 rovers send new images from Ryugu surface.
The Planetary Society: Japan's asteroid hoppers deliver new batch of incredible images.

De landing had vorige week plaats.
Sky & Telescope: Touchdown: Hayabusa 2 Deploys Rovers to Explore Ryugu

En de volgende dagen volgt er meer van dat:
LR: MASCOT: Landing on Asteroid Ryugu (filmpje).
DLR: MASCOT: In search of the origins of life (Mission Hayabusa2 & Mascot) (filmpje).

Honderdste lancering voor Ariane V.
ESA: Ariane 5 – 100 and counting!
Arianespace: 100 + 300 = Arianespace and Ariane 5’s history-making success.
Ariane Group: Ariane 5 celebrates its 100th launch.

Space News: Arianespace launches 100th Ariane 5, completes Intelsat Epic constellation.
NasaSpaceFlight: Arianespace conducts its 300th mission with the 100th Ariane 5 launch.
Spacepage: 100ste Ariane 5 raket brengt twee communicatiesatellieten in de ruimte.
Via Satellite: Arianespace CEO on 100th Ariane 5 Mission and the Future of Launch.

De filmpjes:
Arianespace: Arianespace Flight VA243 – Ariane 5 launch campaign presentation.
Arianespace: Arianespace TV - VA243 Full Launch.
Arianespace: Arianespace Flight VA243 - Horizons 3e & Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 Launch Sequence.
Arianespace: VA243 Sucessful Mission.

Scott Manley: The Ariane 5 Rocket - 100 Launches!

De persmap vind je hier (PDF).

Commerciële Chinese raket lanceert kleine aardobservatiesatelliet.
GB Times: Expace of China to launch Kuaizhou-1A rocket on September 29.
NasaSpaceFlight: China launches Kuaizhou-1A on CentiSpace-1-S1 mission.
China Daily: New rocket raring for busy launch schedule.

Beelden van de lancering vind je hier. 
 

Noorwegen test sondeerraket met hybride motor.
Parabolic Arc: Norway Launches Rocket with Hybrid Engine.

ISS – Kounotori aan ruimtestation vastgemaakt.
JAXA: Successful berthing of the H-II Transfer Vehicle "KOUNOTORI7" (HTV7) to the International Space Station (ISS)
NASA: Japan’s Kounotori Spaceship Attached to Station.
CBS News: Japanese cargo ship reaches space station.

ESA: Next-generation life-support system heading to space station.
Science News: Japan has launched a miniature space elevator.
SpaceCom: This Small Japanese Re-Entry Capsule Is Ready for a Test Flight from Space Station.

De filmpjes:
NASA: JAXA HTV7 Grapple - September 27, 2018 (de volledige uitzending).
SciNews: HTV-7 capture.
SciNews: HTV-7 berthing.
NASA Johnson: Space to Ground: Kounotori 7: 09/28/2018.

ESA Astronauten – Over de huidige en de volgende ISS-vlucht.. En een nieuweling vervoegt de groep.
Over de vlucht van de Duitser Gerst:
ESA: Horizons mission – exploration (filmpje).

De Italiaan Luca Parmitano krijgt een tweede ruimtevlucht.
ESA:  Luca Parmitano Goes Beyond.

En een Duitser vervoegt de groep van Europese astronauten.
ESA: ESA's newest astronaut: Matthias Maurer (filmpje).

China en zijn ruimtestation(s).
GB Times: China's Tiangong-2 space lab completes second year in orbit.
Space News: China could be facing space station delay, Tiangong-2 to be deorbited.
GB Times: China will deorbit its Tiangong-2 space laboratory in July 2019 (filmpje).
New Scientist: China’s Tiangong-2 space station is set to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.

En nog dit:
GB Times: China rocket update: Sea launch slips, new Long Marches, researcher resignation outrage and more.

Rusland zoekt werk.
TASS: Roscosmos head, senior Chinese official discuss prospects for space cooperation
TASS: Russia's Roscosmos invites India to cooperate in manned space missions, satellite program
Sputnik News: Russia May Help India to Launch Country's First Manned Space Mission - Reports.

SLS – Niewe RS-25-motortest.
NASA: NASA ‘Smart Manufacturing’ Updates, Tests Engine Part To Reduce Costs.
NasaSpaceFlight: Development engine continues RS-25 ground testing.
Een filmpje van de test vind je hier. 

Amerikaanse Vulcan-raket kiest voor motor van Bezos.
Aviation Week: Blue Origin Edges Out Aerojet for ULA Engine Contract.
Ars Technica: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos will now sell rocket engines, too
Space News: ULA selects Blue Origin to provide Vulcan main engine.

Space News: Aerojet Rocketdyne seeks other customers for AR1 engine.

En uiteraard is er ook een filmpje.
Blue Origin: Blue Origin BE-4 Engine Compilation.

Stratolaunch werkt aan eigen raketmotor.
GeekWire: Paul G. Allen’s Stratolaunch space venture is lifting the veil on its PGA rocket engine.

Nog eens de BFR.
EuroNews: How SpaceX's huge spaceship has changed.

Teslarati: SpaceX ramps South Texas activity to prepare for 2019 BFR spaceship testing
Teslarati: SpaceX wants to land its BFR spaceships “like a skydiver” on Earth and Mars.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s BFR and Raptor deemed “science-fiction” by French space agency manager.

Teslarati: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk lays out ambitious deadline for BFR-built Mars Base Alpha.

Naar de Maan (en Mars).
SpaceCom: Next Moon Landings Will Go Much Further Than Apollo, NASA Chief Tells Senate.
SpaceCom: Moon Is Stepping Stone, Not Alternative to Mars, NASA Says.

Het eerste te lanceren element voor de Lunar Orbital Platform – Gateway is de PPE.
Space News: Where no commercial satellite bus has gone before.
TASS: Russia may build first manned base on Moon’s surface in 2030 — scientist.

NasaWatch: Yet Another NASA Space Policy Report That Reveals No Policy.
Parabolic Arc: NASA: Landing Men & Women on the Moon Before the Next Decade is Out.
Het rapport in kwestie kan je hier downloaden (PDF).

Teslarati: SpaceX and NASA accidentally set the stage for a new race to the Moon.

Los Alamos National Lab: Kilopower reactor to power a habitat on Mars (filmpje).

NASA: Houston, We Have a Podcast: Space Weather.

Geslaagde test: Net vangt ruimteafval.
BBC: RemoveDebris: UK satellite nets 'space junk'.
EuroNews: Satellite captures space junk in world's first.
SpaceQ: First Space Debris Removal Demonstration a Succes.

Enkele filmpjes:
EuroNews: RemoveDEBRIS satellite trial to remove space junk a success.
SciNews: RemoveDEBRIS’s net captures space debris.
Beelden van enkel de vangst vind je hier.

Meer info over RemoveDEBRIS vind je op de volgende sites:
Surrey Space Center: RemoveDEBRIS.
Cordis: A Low Cost Active Debris Removal Demonstration Mission.
Wikipedia: RemoveDEBRIS.

Nog dit:
The Verge: As Satellite Constellations Grow Larger, NASA Is Worried About Orbital Debris.

Gewezen Japanse Google Lunar X-Prize kandidaat bestelt Falcon-raketten.
Japan Today: Japanese lunar exploration firm to head for moon on SpaceX rockets.
Space News: Japanese company ispace selects SpaceX for lunar missions.
Live Science: A Japanese Company Says It Will Use SpaceX Rockets to Land on the Moon.

Ars Technica: A Japanese company has announced a long-term plan to develop the Moon.

Nieuws uit de (inter)planetaire ruimte.

Aarde:
ESA: Satellites safeguard Europe’s potato industry.

Mars:
NASA: Opportunity Emerges in a Dusty Picture.
NASA: How a Tiny Curiosity Motor Identified a Massive Martian Dust Storm.
Thales:  Thales Alenia Space successfully delivers a key element for ESA’s ExoMars 2020 mission.

The Planetary Society: How LightSail and a NASA study helped pave the way for Mars-bound CubeSats.

Jupiter.
TechnologyOrg: JunoCam Wows Us Again With Detailed Images of the Great Red Spot.

Saturnus:
ESA: Dust storms on Titan spotted by Cassini for the first time.

Ultima Thule:
NASA aPPEL: New Horizons Homes In on Ultima Thule.
NH Website: New Horizons Team Rehearses for New Year's Flyby.

NASA en ESA kiezen nieuwe ruimtemissies.
ESA: Three Earth Explorer Ideas Selected.
ESA: ESA Choosing Cubesat Companions for HERA Asteroid Mission
The Space Review: A comet or Titan: The next New Frontiers mission.

Nieuw succesje voor GAIA.
ESA: Gaia finds candidates for interstellar Oumuamua’s home.
Science Alert: 'Oumuamua Came From Outside The Solar System. Astronomers Just Got Closer to Finding Its Source.
Sky & Telescope: ‘Oumuamua’s Story Keeps Spinning.

JWST in beeld.
Vier 360° filmpjes:
NASA: Explore the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA Johnson in 360 [1 – moving forward]
NASA: Explore the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA Johnson in 360 [2 - rotate]
NASA: Explore the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA Johnson in 360 [3 - beneath]
NASA: Explore the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA Johnson in 360 [4 – cup down]

Nog dit:
NASA: Both Halves of NASA’s Webb Telescope Successfully Communicate.

Apollo 50 Jaar.
Collect Space: Steely spaceship: Apollo 11 capsule lands on display in Pittsburgh.
Collect Space: 'Personal Space': Museum exhibits astronauts' spaceflight mementos.

New Scientist: Lunar renaissance: start celebrating Earth’s first moon landing.

The New York Times: Neil Armstrong Walked on the Moon. To These Boys, He Was Just Dad.

Veel lees- en kijkplezier,

Koen