De laatste week van het jaar kende nog vier lanceringen. Het grootste gedeelte waren Chinese lanceringen, al deed SpaceX dit jaar ook een duit in het zakje. Qua aantal lanceringen was het geen recordjaar, maar qua satellieten zal het ongetwijfeld een indrukwekkend aantal zijn. Met dank aan de cubesats. Maar afgelopen week was er vooral aandacht voor de vlucht van Apollo 8. 

De jaarwisseling wordt in elk geval ook een spannend jaar. OSIRIS-REx moet in een baan om Bennu komen, New Horizons vliegt voorbij Ultima Thule en Chang’e 4 is klaar om op de Maan te landen. Ver weg of dichtbij, ook volgend jaar zal het “Nieuws Uit De Ruimtevaart” elke week een overzicht blijven geven van wat er qua ruimtevaart om ons heen gebeurt. En via https://www.facebook.com/groups/ruimtevaartnieuws/ krijg je van de belangrijkste gebeurtenissen alvast een eerste update.

Eén dezer krijg je ook nog het jaarlijkse “Jaaroverzicht der Jaaroverzichten”.

Alvast de beste wensen voor het nieuwe jaar.

De eerste dag van het nieuwe jaar: New Horizons vliegt voorbij Ultima Thule.
NH Website: New Horizons Notebook: On Ultima's Doorstep.
NH Website: All About Ultima: New Horizons Flyby Target is Unlike Anything Explored in Space.

The Planetary Society: New Horizons fast approaching 2014 MU69.
Sky & Telescope: New Horizons: Ultima Thule is Dead Ahead.
BBC: Nasa's New Horizons: Excitement ahead of Ultima Thule flyby.

Spacepage: New Horizons op weg naar Ultima Thule.

En nog dit filmpje:
JHU APL: Update on the New Horizons Ultima Thule Flyby.

Chang’e 4 – Chinezen landen weldra op de achterkant van de Maan.
Reuters: China probe readies to land on dark side of the moon: Xinhua.
Space News: Chang’e-4 landing to be a step along a road of lunar exploration for China.

Enkele filmpjes:
CGTN: China's Chang'e 4 probe changes orbit to prepare for Moon landing.
CCTV: China's Chang'e-4 Probe Changes Orbit to Prepare for Moon Landing.
New China TV: More China-EU space program co-op expected as Chang'e-4 probe prepares for moon-landing

Laatste SpaceX-lancering van het jaar brengt eerste GPS-III in de ruimte.
Lockheed Martin: First Lockheed Martin-Built Next Generation GPS III Satellite Responding To Commands.
NasaSpaceFlight: SpaceX close out 2018 with GPS III launch.
CBS News: SpaceX launches Air Force's most powerful GPS satellite ever built.
C4ISRNet: GPS III and the demands of a dangerous new space age.

De persmap van SpaceX vind je hier (PDF).

De filmpjes.
SpaceX: GPS III Space Vehicle 01.
SciNews: Falcon 9 launches GPS III SV01.
SciNews: GPS III SV01 deployment.
AmericaSpace: SpaceX First GPS-III Launch - Causeway Video
US Launch Report: SpaceX - GPS-3 - 18 In Optical Track Into Space 12-23-2018.

Chinezen lanceren geheime TJSW.
NasaSpaceFlight: Long March 3C lofts secretive TJSW spacecraft.

Beelden van de voorbereiding en de lancering vind je hier. 

Vostochny-lancering brengt 28 satellieten in een baan om de Aarde.
TASS: State commission approves Soyuz carrier rocker for Thursday's launch.
TASS: Soyuz carrier rocket launched from Vostochny spaceport.
TASS: Kanopus-V satellites delivered to orbit by Soyuz carrier rocket.
TASS: Foreign satellites launched from Vostochny spaceport reach designated orbits.
TASS: Foreign satellites launched from Russian spaceport establish communications.

NasaSpaceFlight: Soyuz 2-1A launches Kanopus-V pair and additional payloads.
Spaceflight Now: Soyuz launches cluster of 28 satellites.
Space News: Russia inaugurates Vostochny Cosmodrome with semi-commercial Soyuz launch.
Spacewatch Global: Russian Soyuz 2-1A Successfully Lofts Multiple Satellites From Vostochny Cosmodrome.

Filmpjes.
Roscosmos: De raket en de satellieten.
Roscosmos: Integratie van satellieten met de raket.
Roscosmos: Uitrollen van de raket.
Roscosmos: Beelden van de lancering.

Meer Vostochny-nieuws.
TASS: Criminal cases opened into $150mln violations at Vostochny spaceport.
TASS: Construction of launch pad for Angara rocket to begin in 2019 — source.

Laatste lancering van 2018 is de 39ste Chinese lancering van het jaar.
NasaSpaceFlight: Long March 2D concludes 2018 campaign with Hongyan-1 launch.
Parabolic Arc: China Launches for 39th Time.

Twee filmpjes:
CCTV: China Launches Six Yunhai-2 Satellites for Atmospheric Environment Research.
SciNews: Long March-2D launches Hongyan-1 and six Yunhai-2 satellites.

ISS – Kosmonauten worden ondervraagd over hèt mysterie van het jaar.
TASS: Investigators question Russian cosmonaut about hole in Soyuz MS-09 hull.
TASS: ISS crew showed perfect teamwork dealing with Soyuz MS-09 incident, says Russian cosmonaut.
Sputnik News: Russian Cosmonaut Dismisses Rumours About ISS Crew, Hole in Soyuz Spaceship.
CBS News: Russian investigators probe mysterious hole in International Space Station capsule.

Voor diegenen die het Russisch machtig zijn.
Ruptly TV: Russia: Cosmonauts Prokopyev and Artemyev discuss ISS leak in Star City.

Musk toont meer details over Starship, de vernieuwde BFR.
Teslarati: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk teases new Starship photos and “heavy metal” BFR.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s BFR program pursuing advanced Starship heat shield with NASA help.
Teslarati: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: Starship prototype to have 3 Raptors and “mirror finish”.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s Elon Musk: odds of Starship reaching orbit by 2020 are “rising rapidly”.

Space News: Musk teases new details about redesigned next-generation launch system.

Het Laatste Nieuws: Testruimteschip van Elon Musk voor missie naar Mars krijgt vorm.

Meer raketnieuws.
Parabolic Arc: ULA Delays Delta IV Launch Another Week.
Virgin Orbit: LauncherOne Hotfire — Final Acceptance Test for NewtonThree (filmpje).

New China TV: China's first private rocket production base begins operation (filmpje).

Sputnik News: Elon Musk Lauds Brilliant Russian Rocket Engine RD-180 in Core of US' Atlas V.
Space Daily: Roscosmos selects super-heavy rocket concept designed for lunar flights.
TASS: Roscosmos subsidiary signs contract for third commercial launch of Soyuz.
Sputnik News: Difficulties in Planned Soyuz Launches Preparation to Emerge in 2020 – Source.

Lanceerbasissen.
Net als het aantal raketten voor kleine satellieten lijkt te boomen, is het aantal kandidaat-ruimtehavens niet bij te houden.
Pacific Daily News: Guan – Spaceport flights could happen as early as 2019.
Portland Press Herald: Group envisions Maine’s former air bases 
as spaceport for tiny satellites.

Data-diefstal door de Chinezen bij o.a. de NASA.
The Verge: Chinese hackers charged with stealing data from NASA, IBM, and others.
Space News: NASA data breach highlights agency cybersecurity problems.
Reuters: U.S., allies slam China for economic espionage, spies indicted.

Nasa Watch: A Former Employee Calls NASA About The Security Breach.

Nasa Watch: NASA Continues To Flunk Basic IT and Cybersecurity Rankings.

India plant tegen 2022 eerste Indische bemande ruimtevlucht.
Times of India: Rs 10,000 crore plan to send 3 Indians to space by 2022 .
Parabolic Arc: India Approves Cooperation with Russia on Human Spaceflight.

Een filmpje:
CGTN: ndia aims for first manned space mission in 2022.

Naar de Maan (en Mars).
NasaSpaceFlight: “Plan D for Outer Space” — NASA updates EM-2 mission baseline.

SpaceCom: NASA Looks to Private Companies for Help Building Reusable Moon Landers for Astronauts.
Space News: Runner-up in NASA commercial lunar lander competition plans to try again.
Space News: Is the Gateway the right way to the moon?

En van het Russische front.
TASS: Cosmonauts will use special water during long space missions.
TASS: Flight to Mars to cut cosmonauts’ lifespan by 2.5 years, says report.
TASS: Spacecraft’s anti-radiation electromagnetic shield may help humans fly to Mars.
TASS: Space crew to be bound to precise Earth-based pace during mission to Moon, says scientist.
TASS: Anti-radiation food developed for Russia’s crewed lunar expedition.
TASS: Russian scientists to study hazards of lunar dust.
TASS: Radiation load on cosmonauts to stay within permissible levels during flight to Moon.
Sputnik News: Mice May Be First Passengers of Russia's Mission to Moon – Researchers.

En nog dit half uur durend filmpje:
SciShow Space: Everything You Need to Know About Living on Mars.

Nieuws uit de (inter)planetaire ruimte.

Aarde: 
ABC News: Satellite images show collapse of Indonesian island volcano.
AstroBlogs: Chinese satelliet Zhangheng 1 registreerde manipulatie van de ionosfeer boven Rusland.

Maan:
Teslarati: SpaceX nears Falcon 9’s first commercial interplanetary launch: a private Moon lander.

Mars:
Physics-Astronomy: NASA’s Curiosity rover just took most incredible pictures yet of the Martian surface.

Uranus:
ABC News: Science Says: A big space crash likely made Uranus lopsided.

Bennu:
NASA: How and Why Is NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission Visiting Asteroid Bennu? (filmpje).

Planetoïden:
Parabolic Arc: Japan’s AKARI Space Telescope Detects Water in a Number of Asteroids.

Apollo 8 – 50 jaar geleden.
NASA: Part 1: To the Moon and Back: Apollo 8 and the Future of Lunar Exploration.
NASA: Part 2: In the Beginning There Was Liftoff.
NASA: Part 3: The Far Side.
NASA: Part 4: The Return
NASA: Part 5: Apollo 8 and Beyond - The Next Epoch.

SpaceCom: Apollo 8: First Around the Moon.
SpaceCom: Apollo 8: NASA's First Crewed Trip Around the Moon in Pictures.

EuroNews: Before 'one small step': How Apollo 8 became our first true moon shot.
NASA aPPEL Knowledge Services: This Month in NASA History: Apollo 8 Changes the World’s Perspective.
SpaceCom: Apollo 8 Launched 1st Astronauts Around the Moon 50 Years Ago Today Despite Big Risks.

Space News: Looking at Apollo 8 from below:
 the story of cameras 37 and 39.
Astronomy: The historic flight of Apollo 8.

“Earthrise” heeft zijn eigen website: https://earthrise50.org/

Frank De Winne over “Earthrise”:
ESA: Reflecting on Earthrise: 50 years on. 
PhysOrg: In 1968, Apollo 8 realised the 2,000-year-old dream of a Roman philosopher
The Guardian: Earthrise: the story behind our planet's most famous photo.
VRT NWS: 50 jaar Earthrise: de foto die ons anders naar onze planeet deed kijken

SpaceRef: Lunar Craters Named in Honor of Apollo 8.
Collect Space: Lunar craters named for 50th anniversary of Apollo 8 'Earthrise'.

The Space Review:  Spooky Apollo: Apollo 8 and the CIA

Bij Flight Global vind je hun originele overzichtsartikel terug, ingescande copieën, origineel van 2 januari 1969.

Parabolic Arc: Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8 Released as Audiobook.
NASA: Houston, we have a podcast – Apollo 8 (Part 1).

De filmpjes:
NASA: Apollo 8: A Story of Christmas Around the Moon.
NASA: Apollo 8: Around The Moon and Back.
NASA Goddard: Apollo 8 - 50th Anniversary Montage.
NASA Johnson: ’Twas the Apollo Before Christmas.
Seeker: How Apollo 8 Survived the Risky Trip to the Far Side of the Moon.

Video From Space: OTD in Space - Dec. 21: Apollo 8 Launches to the Moon.
NASA Goddard: Earthrise in 4K (gebaseerd op beelden van LRO).
Space Videos: Apollo 8 : NASA Astronauts Christmas Eve Bible Reading From Lunar Orbit (filmpje).

CBS News: Jim Lovell recalls Apollo 8, 50 years later.
TIME: Apollo 8 Astronauts Reflect on Historic Moon Voyage 50 Years Later (met filmpje).

En hoe is het nu?
Spaceflight Insider: Opinion: 50 years after Apollo 8 NASA is grounded.

En de Apollo 8- astronauten over Mars:
BBC News: Sending astronauts to Mars would be stupid, astronaut says.

Om af te ronden: New Horizons – Summiting the Solar System.
Een tweeledige documentaire:
JHU APL: New Horizons - Summiting the Solar System: Part 1.
JHU APL: New Horizons - Summiting the Solar System: Part 2.

Veel lees- en kijkplezier,

Koen