Het werd een leuke gevarieerde ruimtevaartweek, eentje dat misschien wel model kan staan voor wat dit jaar allemaal gaat komen. Naast alweer een rits lanceringen was het o.a. Blue Origin dat met de tiende vlucht van de New Shepard de aandacht naar zich toezoog. Al lijkt het er op (als we Branson mogen geloven) dat Virgin Galactic wel eens de eerste toeristen in de ruimte gaat brengen. Dit jaar wordt ook belangrijk voor NASA’s Commercial Crew programma. De eerste Starliner-bemanning werd herschikt, maar de aandacht gaat nu vooral naar SpaceX. De Falcon 9 heeft zijn statische test al achter de rug. Aftellen dus naar de eerste (onbemande) lancering van de Crew Dragon half februari.

In Europa begint de interesse voor de Maan ook te groeien. Zo is er wellicht een Europese maanlander op komst, met medewerking van een Belgische firma. En Ultima Thule toont zich eindelijk “op zijn scherpst”.

Bij de foto: De tiende vlucht van een New Shepard was ook deze keer vlekkeloos verlopen. Met zowel een zachte landing voor de capsule als de raket zelf.

Delta Heavy lanceert geheime Amerikaanse satelliet.
ULA: United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches NROL-71 in Support of 
National Security.
VAFB: Delta IV Heavy NROL-71 successfully launched.
NasaSpaceFlight: ULA Delta IV-Heavy launches NROL-71 following lengthy delay.
GeekWire: Delta 4 rocket launches NROL-71 spy satellite after a month’s worth of delays.

SpaceCom: Launch Photos: Spy Satellite NROL-71 Soars on Secret Mission Atop Delta IV Heavy Rocket.

De filmpjes:
ULA: Delta IV Heavy NROL-71 Launch Highlights.
ULA: Jan. 19 Delta IV NROL-71 Live Launch Broadcast.
SciNews: Delta IV Heavy launches NROL-71.

Ook bij deze lancering waren de vlammen die langs de raket opstegen, weer zeer indrukwekkend en toch ook wat angstaanjagend. Maar ze zijn volkomen normaal.
Ars Technica: This massive rocket creates a fireball as it launches, and that’s by design.

China lanceert vier satellieten.
GB Times: Long March 11 rocket launches four Chinese satellites for hyperspectral imaging and deorbit tests.
NasaSpaceFlight: Long March 11 launches with four satellites.

Beelden van de lancering vind je hier.

Blue Origin – Tiende New Shepard lancering een succes. Eerste toeristen eind dit jaar?
Blue Origin: New Shepard successfully flies 8 NASA research & technology payloads to space.
Blue Origin: New Shepard to fly 8 NASA-sponsored payloads to space on NS-10.
NasaSpaceFlight: Blue Origin conducts New Shepard’s 10th test flight.
BBC: Jeff Bezos' New Shepard rocket system flies for 10th time.
Spacepage: New Shepard voert geslaagde testvlucht uit.

SpaceCom: Launch Photos! Blue Origin's New Shepard Soars on NS-10 Flight for NASA.

SpaceCom: Blue Origin Wants to Launch a Person Into Space by the End of This Year.

Filmpjes:
Blue Origin: Replay of NS-10 Webcast.
Blue Origin: Science and Research Payloads on New Shepard.
Blue Origin: NS-10: New Shepard Flies 8 NASA Payloads to Space.
CBS News: Bezos' Blue Origin launches successful New Shepard test flight.

Blue Origin: Building the New Shepard Fleet.
Video From Space: Blue Origin Rocket That Will Fly Humans to Space 'In The Barn'.

Blue Origin – Nieuwe look voor New Glenn. Nieuwe fabriek in aanbouw.
SpaceCom: Blue Origin Video Shows Off Updated Design of Huge New Glenn Rocket.
Filmpje: Blue Origin: New Glenn: The Road to Space.

Space News: Blue Origin breaks ground for BE-4 factory.
GeekWire: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture breaks ground on Alabama engine factory.

India’s eerste lancering van het jaar.
The Hindu: ISRO tastes first success of 2019, places military satellite Microsat-R in orbit.
NasaSpaceFlight: PSLV launches debut orbital platform use of the fourth stage.
SpaceCom: India's 1st Rocket Launch of 2019 Sends Military Satellite, Student Cubesat Into Orbit.

Een persmap vind je hier.

SpaceCom: In Photos: Indian Satellites Soar in the Country's 1st Space Launch of 2019.

Filmpjes:
ISRO: PSLV-C44 Curtain Raiser Video.
SciNews: PSLV-C44 ready to launch Microsat-R and Kalamsat.
SciNews: PSLV-C44 launches Microsat-R and Kalamsat.

SpaceX: Neuskegel Starhopper waait om.
Universe Today: SpaceX Starhopper damaged in high winds.

Van een iets eerdere datum:
Teslarati: SpaceX fits Starship prototype with tank bulkheads as hop test pad progresses.

Popular Mechanics: Elon Musk: Why I'm Building the Starship out of Stainless Steel.
Teslarati: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk explains Starship’s ‘transpiring’ steel heat shield in Q&A.

Commercial Crew – SpaceX en Crew Dragon.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon settles on Feb 9 launch debut as Falcon 9 nears static fire.
Teslarati: SpaceX to static fire Falcon 9 with a spacecraft on board for the first time in two years.
Spaceflight Now: Live coverage: Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon briefly fires engines in test.
NasaSpaceFlight: SpaceX conducts static fire test on Falcon 9 ahead of Crew Dragon debut.

Beelden van de test vind je hier. 

Commercial Crew – Astronaut eerste bemanning Starliner-vlucht vervangen.
NASA: NASA Announces Updated Crew Assignment for Boeing Flight Test.
NasaSpaceFlight: NASA announces test flight crew change for Boeing’s Starliner.
GeekWire: NASA shuffles crew for Boeing Starliner space taxi’s test flight due to medical issue.

Virgin Galactic – Eerste commerciële vlucht midden 2019. Ontslaat 5% van zijn werknemers.
Space News: Branson expects commercial SpaceShipTwo flights to begin in mid-2019.

CBS: Under Armour is developing spacesuits and footwear for Virgin Galactic.
Virgin Galactic: Virgin Galactic Unveils Under Armour As Exclusive Technical Spacewear Partner (filmpje).

NM Politics: Virgin Galactic lays off dozens of employees as it prepares for commercial flights
Space News: Virgin Galactic lays off staff as test program continues.

Critical Design Review Dream Chaser met succes afgerond.
The Denver Post: Colorado-built Dream Chaser, successor to the space shuttle, turning into reality.

Russen op zoek naar vrouwelijke kosmonauten.
TASS: Women in space: Roscosmos sets sights on creating female crew of cosmonauts, says source.
TASS: Roscosmos head supports initiative on recruiting female cosmonauts.
TASS: Women cosmonauts that made history in Russia’s quest to explore space.
TASS: Russian cosmonaut Yelena Serova believes women able to work alongside men in outer space.

Nieuws uit het ISS.
NASA: Cargo Ship Takes out Trash; Crew Works on Cygnus Preps and Science Hardware.
Russia Space News: “Progress MS-09″ spaceship is regularly de-orbited and submerged in the Pacific Ocean.

Sputnik News: Duration of UAE Astronaut's Mission on Board ISS Reduced to 8 Days – Source.
Spacewatch.Global: UAE Human Spaceflight: Emirati astronaut mission will be in late 2019, last eight days.

JAXA: Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment - Attached Payload (SEDA-AP) discarded from ISS.

NASA: Astronaut Health Study and Spacesuit Work Onboard Station.
EurekAlert!: Prolonged spaceflight could weaken astronauts' immune systems.

Dit lijkt me iets om naar uit te kijken:
TIME: The ISS Experience: Full Trailer.
In het volgende filmpje wordt de betrokken camera uitgepakt.
CSA: New 360° camera aboard the International Space Station.

Space Videos: Perfect Sunset | Seen From The Space Station : Earth From Space.

SLS/Orion – Moon/Mars.
ESA: A 2019 Lunar Agenda for Orion.
ESA: Radiation for dummies.

Sputnik News: Russia to Create Backup Manned Vehicle for Moon Flights Without NASA Funding.

ABC News: Mars exploration: Overcoming the challenges of farming in space.

En nog dit:
NASA Watch: Did Trump Really Want Humans On Mars By 2020?

De Europese maanplannen.
ESA: Compete in a lunar economy.
ESA: Moving on the Moon.
ESA: Winning ideas for 3D printing on the Moon.
ESA: Lunar Building Block.
ESA: Preparing for a lunar spacewalk.
ESA: Preparing astronaut lunar exploration.

Enkele filmpjes:
ESA: Lunar Exploration – ESA's missions.
ESA: What is the origin of the Moon?

Safran: ArianeGroup to study a Moon mission for ESA.
Space News: ArianeGroup and PTScientists to study lunar lander mission for ESA.
ABC News: Europeans contemplating moon mission by 2025.
The Telegraph: European Space Agency wants to start drilling on the Moon in an effort to find oxygen and water.

Meer raketnieuws.
Reuters: Europe's Arianespace takes on SpaceX by cutting Ariane 5 rocket launch price.

Parabolic Arc: Rocket Lab to Conduct Dedicated Launch for DARPA.

Parabolic Arc: SpinLaunch Signs Lease with Spaceport America.

Aviation Week: Stratolaunch Terminates Rocket Engine, Launcher Programs.
Of luister naar de podcast.

SpaceQ: SpaceHorizon announces small satellite launch services portfolio.

Parabolic Arc: Russia’s Angara A5 Booster has Serious Flaw.

Aviation Week: The Evolving Soyuz Rocket Family.

TASS: Next launch from Russia’s Vostochny spaceport scheduled for summer.
Aviation Week: Vignettes From Vostochny (fotoreeks).

En er is kritiek in Rusland:
Russia Today: ‘Talk less & do more’: Russian PM blasts leadership of country’s space agency.

Meer satellietnieuws.
Parabolic Arc: SpaceChain Completes the First Qtum Transaction in Space.

Air & Cosmos: First OneWeb satellites shipped to launch site.
Space News: Wyler claims breakthrough in low-cost antenna for OneWeb, other satellite systems.

Geek Wire: After satellite flap, Swarm Technologies raises $25M for space-based IoT network.
Thales: Thales Alenia Space, Maxar Consortium Achieve Major Milestone in Design Phase of Telesat’s LEO Satellite Constellation.
Space Newsfeed: Mercury Systems ships first space-qualified commercial solid state drives for Low Earth Orbit satellite application.
Inside GNSS: NASA Search and Rescue Technology Boosted by Multi-Satellite Constellations.

Space News: Next steps for the Pentagon’s new space sensors for missile defense.
TASS: Russian research agency to design AI-based technology for decoding satellite images.

Analytical Graphics: Addressing Small Satellite Communications Issues (webinar).

Beste beeld van Ultima Thule tot nu toe.
NH Website: New Horizons' Newest and Best-Yet View of Ultima Thule.

Sky & Telescope: Initial Results from the Ultima Thule Flyby.

Meer nieuws uit de (inter)planetaire ruimte.

Zon:
JHU APL: Life of a Part: Parker Solar Probe’s Magnetometer Boom Hinge (filmpje).

Aarde: 
BBC News: Satellites saw rapid Greenland ice loss.
Parabolic Arc: European Union Provides $109 Million in Additional Funding for ESA’s Copernicus Program.
Spacewatch.Global: Arctic space race: Russia plans to launch Arktika weather satellite constellation.
Space News: Air Force wants satellite weather data.
CBS This Morning: New satellite network will make it impossible for a commercial airplane to vanish.

Maan: 
GB Times: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to image China's Chang'e-4 spacecraft on January 31
The Motley Fool: China Lands on the Moon: Here's What It Means to Space Investors.
SciShow Space: Our Startling First Glimpse of the Far Side of the Moon (filmpje).
Florida Today: Space Notebook: Lunar lander arrives in Florida ahead of SpaceX Falcon 9 launch.
SpaceCom: Israel's 1st Moon Lander Arrives in Florida for Launch on a SpaceX Rocket.

Mars:
PhysOrg: Planetary scientists continue to puzzle over the mysterious slope streaks on Mars. What's causing them?
PhysOrg: NASA's storm-silenced rover marks 15th anniversary on Mars.
NASA: Rover Team Beaming New Commands to Opportunity on Mars.
SpaceCom: NASA Has a New Plan to Revive the Mars Rover Opportunity, as Time Runs Short.

Jupiter:
BGR: NASA’s Juno just snapped an incredible photo of twin storms on Jupiter.

Saturnus:
NASA: Scientists Finally Know What Time It Is on Saturn.
NasaSpaceFlight: Cassini still reveals Saturn’s secrets more than a year after its mission’s end.
PhysOrg: Scientist sheds light on Titan's mysterious atmosphere.

Ryugu:
Parabolic Arc: Locations Named on Asteroid Ryugu.

Bennu:
CSA: Panel discussion about the OSIRIS-REx mission, hosted by Dan Riskin (filmpje).

Nog dit: Black Arrow weer thuis.
BBC: Black Arrow: UK space rocket returns home from Australia

Veel lees- en kijkplezier,

Koen