Uitschieters waren er deze week niet. Ook geen lanceringen. Maar zowel bij NASA als ESA als SpaceX, Blue Origin en Virgin Galactic / Virgin Orbit (om er maar enkele te noemen) zijn in volle voorbereidingen op de realisatie van hun projecten. Deze maand wordt het aftellen naar de lancering van een eerste commerciële maanlander en de allereerste testvlucht in het kader van het Commercial Crew programma.

Bij de foto: Afgelopen week werd de vastebrandstofbooster voor de Ariane VI en Vega C getest. Ook al is het geen lancering, zo’n test is en blijft een indrukwekkend zicht.

Succesvolle test vastebrandstofbooster voor Ariane VI en Vega C.
ArianeGroup: Successful second test firing for the P120C Solid Rocket Motor for Ariane 6 and Vega-C.
NasaSpaceFlight: Successful P120C test another milestone towards Arianespace’s new rockets.
Mooie beelden van de test en de voorbereiding vind je hier.

En ondertussen wordt er ijverig verder gewerkt aan het lanceerplatform van de Ariane VI.
Beelden vind je hier.

SLS – Voorbereiden op een test met de vloeibare waterstof tank.
NASA: SLS Liquid Hydrogen Tank Test Article Loaded into Test Stand.
Beelden van de installatie van de brandstoftank vind je hier.

Space Daily: NASA Completes Booster Motor Segments for First Space Launch System Flight.
NasaSpaceFlight: Boeing starts final assembly for NASA’s first SLS Core Stage, work picks up for the second.

Een overzicht van het andere werk vind je in dit filmpje.

Meer Maan / Mars nieuws.
TASS: Russian space firm unveils scheme of crewed flight to Moon.
Sputnik News: Roscosmos Singles Out Design of Carrier Rocket for Lunar Missions – Source.
Sputnik News: 'Rocket C': Space Industry Source Unveils Tech Details of Russia Lunar Mission.
TASS: Russia to launch SIRIUS isolation experiment for future lunar flights on March 19.

AstroBlogs: ESA’s maanprogramma: Pangea-X, Luna en Moon Village.

Politico: Japan positioned for outsize role in NASA's moon, Mars plans.

Problemen met Fregat upper stage voor OneWeb-lancering.
TASS: Russian specialists working to eliminate Fregat booster’s malfunction at Kourou spaceport.
TASS: Russia continues work to launch rocket with OneWeb satellites from Kourou.
TASS: Russian specialists eliminate anomaly on Fregat booster — source.

Blue Origin – Nieuws.
Geek Wire: Telesat makes deals with Blue Origin and Loon for its internet satellite network.

En nog een filmpje.
Blue Origin: Blue Origin's Mission.

Eerste Starliner-lancering op 1 maart(?)
SpaceCom: Boeing's Starliner Spacecraft Will Be Ready for 1st Test Flight in March.

SpaceX – Vangen neuskegel op het nippertje mislukt.
Teslarati: SpaceX fairing catcher Mr. Steven heads for Panama Canal after one last drop test.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s Mr. Steven barely misses Falcon 9 fairing catch in latest video.

SpaceX – Over de komende Falcon 9-lanceringen.
Teslarati: SpaceX Falcon 9 booster spied on highway as triple-satellite launch moves right.

GeekWire: Israeli lunar lander passes tests in preparation for SpaceX launch to the moon.
SpaceCom: First Private Lunar Spacecraft Shoots for the Moon.

SpaceX – Voorbereidingen lancering Crew Dragon.
SpaceCom: SpaceX Video Shows Off Crew Dragon Access Arm for Astronauts.
Video From Space: SpaceX Crew Dragon's Demo-1 Launch Closer to Reality (filmpje).
NASA: Falcon 9, Crew Dragon Roll to Launch Pad.

SpaceX – Licensies voor twee Falcon Heavy lanceringen.
Ars Technica: After government re-opened, SpaceX sought two Falcon Heavy permits.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch may feature record-breaking center core landing.

SpaceX – StarHopper.
Teslarati: SpaceX workers cap Starship with tank dome as Raptor arrivals and hop tests near.
Teslarati: SpaceX sends “radically redesigned” Starship engine to Texas for hot-fire tests.
Teslarati: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reveals photos of Starship’s first completed Raptor engine.

Ars Technica: In new Starship details, Musk reveals a more practical approach.

Scott Manley: SpaceX's Full Size Raptor Rocket Engine Revealed By Elon Musk (filmpje).

Indiërs openen Human Space Flight Centre.
The Hindu: ISRO launches Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru.

Virgin Galactic / Virgin Orbit.
Virgin Orbit: Virgin Orbit - Payload Processing (filmpje).
Parabolic Arc: Preview of Virgin Galactic Mission Control.

Nieuws uit China.
Spacewatch: Chinese New Space: OneSpace and iSpace Prepare For Orbital Launches In Early 2019.

Space News: China will attempt 30-plus launches in 2019, including crucial Long March 5 missions.
Space Daily: China's Long March-5 rocket to resume flight in July.
GB Times: China's Long March 5 heavy-lift rocket set for crucial July launch.
Space Daily: China to launch 10 BeiDou satellites in 2019.
SciNews: China’s space plans for 2019 (filmpje).

Reuters: China's military-run space station in Argentina is a 'black box'.

EurekAlert!: China launched world's first rocket-deployed weather instruments from unmanned semi-submersible vehicle.

Nieuws uit Rusland.
Russian Space News: Tests of RD-180 engine were successful.
TASS: Russia to use Fregat boosters for 17 space launches this year.

TASS: Russia may launch new recruitment campaign for cosmonauts’ team.

Space News: The long road to Vostochny: Inside Russia’s newest launch facility.

ISS – Europese Columbus staat vol met honderden debris-impacts.
SpaceCom: Europe's Space Station Module Has Hundreds of Tiny Dents from 'Marauding' Debris.

Meer nieuws uit het ISS.
NASA Johnson: Space to Ground: Packing and Prepping: 02/01/2019 (filmpje).
NanoRacks: NanoRacks Completes 15th CubeSat Mission on International Space Station.
TASS: Russian space firm develops super-short scheme for flight to orbital outpost.

NASA: Station Crew Helping Future Orion Explorers.

Over een Belgische bijdrag.
ESA: Floating Ice.

TASS: Cosmonaut Ovchinin fit for new flight after Soyuz-FG aborted launch.

SpaceCom: Space Travel May Increase Astronauts' Susceptibility to Cancer.

CSA: Moonset in space (filmpje).

Om af te ronden, een overzicht van wat er afgelopen week in het ISS gebeurd is.
NASA: SpaceCast Weekly February 1, 2019

Rusland wil ook toeristen lanceren in parabolische vluchten.
TASS: Space tourists in Russia will need only one day to train for flight.
eTurboNews: Russia’s CosmoCourse could launch private space tourism in five years.

Over het ruimtetoerisme in het algemeen:
Wired: The Wired Guide to commercial human space flight.

Laatste kans voor Opportunity?
NASA JPL: Rover Team Beaming New Commands to Opportunity on Mars.
Space News: NASA making renewed efforts to contact Mars rover Opportunity.

Chang'e-4 weer wakker. Maannacht kouder dan verwacht.
GB Times: Chang'e-4 lander and Yutu-2 awaken on the lunar far side after enduring -190°C.
PhysOrg: Chinese rover finds lunar nights 'colder than expected'
Live Science: Chinese Probe Uncovers New Mystery on the Dark Side of the Moon.

Een paar filmpjes:
CCTV: Chang'e-4 Probe Awakened by Sunlight after First Night on Moon.
CGTN: China's far side of Moon probe Chang'e-4 wakes up after first lunar night.

Meer nieuws uit de (inter)planetaire ruimte.

Zon:
NASA: All Systems Go As Parker Solar Probe Begins Second Sun Orbit.
SpaceCom: Once Around the Sun! NASA's Parker Solar Probe Aces 1st Trip Around Our Star
ESA: Thermal Testing Of Solar Orbiter.

Aarde.
EurekAlert!: River levels tracked from space.
PhysOrg: Space technology predicts droughts several months in advance.
Disaster Charter from Space: Dam collapse in Brazil.
CSA: Dam collapse in Brazil – January 2019.
ESA: Iraq flood.
SpaceCom: First Responders in Space: How Satellites Save Lives During Natural Disasters.
VRT NWS: Studie van VUB en NASA: zaden van mangroven kunnen oceanen oversteken.
Airbus Defence and Space: Verde, Satellite based Analytics for next level Precision Farming (filmpje).

Maan.
GB Times: Chang'e-4 set for day 2 of lunar far side activities with sunrise over Von Kármán crater.
Space News: IAI to partner with OHB on lunar delivery services.
NASA: Explore to Flight: Educators Launch a Lunar Buggy Through the Engineering Design Process.

Mars.
The Martian Chronicles: Sols 2301-2303: Looking Forward to the Clay-Bearing Unit.
The Martian Chronicles: Sols 2304-2305: In the Clay Unit.
NASA JPL: Curiosity Says Farewell to Mars' Vera Rubin Ridge.
SpaceCom: Curiosity Snaps Epic 'Selfie' on Mars as It Moves On to New Martian Sights.
NASA: 'Mars Buggy' Curiosity Measures a Mountain's Gravity.
New Scientist: We’ve hacked the Curiosity rover to learn how mountains form on Mars.
Science News: NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover weighed the mountain it’s climbing.
Sky & Telescope: Curiosity Rover Exposes Mountain’s Origin.

Jupiter.
NasaSpaceFlight: Juno past halfway point of mission as scientists unpack its data.
SpaceCom: Scientists Prepare for Mission to Jupiter's Icy Moon Europa.

Bennu.
The Planetary Society: OSIRIS-REx stable in Bennu orbit, team refines sample collection plans.

Jupiter Trojanen (Lucy).
NASA: NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Lucy Mission.
Space News: ULA wins competition to launch NASA mission
Meer info over Lucy vind je hier.

Didymoon (DART).
Los Alamos National Lab: How we are going to deflect an asteroid (filmpje).

België en Luxemburg gaan samenwerken.
Diplomatie.Belgium: The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Belgium join forces to develop the exploration and utilisation of space resources.
Spacewatch Europe: Luxembourg And Belgium To Cooperate In Exploration And Exploitation Of Space Resources.

Diplomatie.Belgium: Didier Reynders favors an ambitious European space policy.

Januari is niet zo’n leuke ruimtevaartmaand.
Met de brand in Apollo 1, en de drama’s met Challenger en Columbia zijn er in de eerste maand van januari veel droeve herinneringen.
NASA: NASA pays tribute to fallen heroes.
SpaceCom: Postponed by Shutdown, NASA's Day of Remembrance Happens Next Week.
Ars Technica: Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia: Remembering NASA’s lost astronauts.
APPEL Knowledge Services: This Month in NASA History: Tragedy Strikes the Apollo Program.
NewsCom: Why the Challenger space shuttle “exploded” on live TV.
Fox13: Space shuttle Columbia's crew remembered, 16 years later.

Collect Space: 'Fallen Astronaut' artist offers original idea 'Man in Space' statuettes.

50 Jaar Apollo 11 – Een nieuwe film, muntstukken en een rechtzaak.
Collect Space: 'Apollo 11' lands at Sundance with never-before-seen mission footage.
Collect Space: 'Apollo 11' trailer, poster show enormity of first moon landing mission.
PhysOrg: At Sundance, a fresh look at man's first walk on the Moon.
De website (met de officiële trailer) van de film: https://www.apollo11movie.com/

Collect Space: US Mint launches sale of coins celebrating Apollo 11 50th anniversary.

Collect Space: Woman sues NASA again over $2 million Apollo 11 moon rock bag.

GeekWire: Hey, kids! Here’s your chance to re-enact the Apollo 11 moon landing with robots.

Om af te ronden: Koffie uit de ruimte.
Digital Journal: Startup's mission to make the best coffee in space.
Scott Manley: Roasting Coffee During Reentry and Other Stories of Food Returned From Space.

Veel lees- en kijkplezier,

Koen