Een eerste knoop werd doorgehakt. MAXAR mag het eerste element voor NASA’s Gateway bouwen. Er zullen dit jaar echter nog wel meer beslissingen genomen moeten worden wil men mensen op de maan hebben voor 2024. Hier op aarde trok SpaceX weer alle aandacht naar zich met enerzijds de lancering van 60 Starlink-satellieten. Die zorgden in België en Nederland voor een spektakel aan de nachtelijke hemel. Anderzijds vecht SpaceX enkele recente (militaire) lanceercontracten aan. Dat en veel meer in het Nieuws Uit De Ruimtevaart van deze week.

Bij de foto: Een artistieke impressie van het Power and Propulsion Element, het eerste stuk van NASA’s Gateway. De PPE wordt gebouwd door MAXAR.

India lanceert radarsatelliet.
ISRO: PSLV-C46 Mission (met o.a. een link naar de “launch kit”).
The Hindu: ISRO launches radar imaging observation satellite RISAT-2B.

NasaSpaceFlight: Indian PSLV rocket launches RISAT-2B.
Spaceflight Now: Indian rocket successfully delivers radar observation satellite to orbit.
SpaceCom: India Successfully Launches RISAT-2B Earth-Observation Satellite.

De filmpjes:
ISRO: Lift-off and Onboard Camera View of PSLV-C46 / RISAT-2B Launch.
SciNews: PSLV-CA launches RISAT-2B.

Lancering geheime Chinese satelliet mislukt.
NasaSpaceFlight: Long March 4C launch with Yaogan Weixing-33 fails.
Space News: China suffers Long March 4 failure.
Spaceflight Now: Chinese state media confirms Long March launch failure.

Business Insider: Video shows a top-secret Chinese space mission failing in mid-flight — China’s second rocket loss of the year.

SpaceX lanceert 60 Starlink-satellieten.
Teslarati: SpaceX ready for 60-satellite Starlink launch debut: third time’s the charm?
Teslarati: SpaceX’s deploys 60-satellite Starlink blob, all spacecraft successfully phone home.

Space News: SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites, begins constellation buildout.
Ars Technica: SpaceX launches Starlink mission, deploys 60 satellites.
SpaceCom: SpaceX's 60-Satellite Launch Is Just the Beginning for Starlink Megaconstellation Project.

Spacepage: SpaceX brengt 60 satellieten in de ruimte.
VRTNWS: "Starlink" van SpaceX wordt concreet: eerste 60 van web van 11.925 satellieten gelanceerd.

De persmap voor deze lancering vind je hier (PDF)..

De filmpjes:
SpaceX: Starlink Mission.
SciNews: SpaceX’s first Starlink mission.

De satellietjes waren kort na de lancering ook bij ons te zien.
SatTrackCam Leiden: WOWOWOW!!!! A SPECTACULAR view of the SpaceX Starlink satellite train!
Videobeelden van twee passages vind je hier en hier.

Space News: SpaceX raises over $1 billion through two funding rounds.

Technology Intelligence: Satellite constellations could clutter Earth's orbit with dangerous space junk, warn experts.

Zie ook de vorige NUDR voor meer info over deze lancering.

Het Chinese Landspace test met succes nieuwe motor.
Net als de Raptor van SpaceX en de BE-4 van Blue Origin maakt deze motor gebruik van vloeibare zuurstof en methaan.
Aviation Week: China’s Landspace Tests Methane Main Engine.
Via Satellite: China’s LandSpace Successfully Tests TQ-12 Engine.
Space News: Landspace assembles methalox engine, signs international agreements.

Twee filmpjes:
SciNews: LandSpace TQ-12 rocket engine tests.
CGTN: Chinese private company finishes liquid rocket engine trial.

Space News: U.S. launch companies not worried about Chinese competition.
Space News: Safety last: Reckless behavior provides China with economic competitive advantages in space launch.

Virgin Orbit test eerste trap Launcher One.
Virgin Orbit: Main stage hotfire: Our biggest test yet.
Beelden van de test vind je hier en hier.

Parabolic Arc: Viirgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl Completes Flight Test (met filmpje).

Test eerste trap OmegaA gepland voor 30 mei.
Northrop Grumman: Preparing for the OmegA Rocket: How to do a Static Test.
Je kan de test live volgen via deze link.

Nog twee filmpjes:
Northrop Grumman: OmegA Rocket: Meet the Team.
Northrop Grumman: OmegA: Northrop Grumman’s New Heavy-Lift Rocket.

ULA finaliseert ontwerp Vulcan-Centaur.
ULA: ULA Completes Final Design Review for New Vulcan Centaur Rocket.

SpaceX daagt Amerikaanse overheid voor het gerecht in verband met lanceercontracten.
Teslarati: SpaceX sues US government to protest mystery launch or rocket R&D contracts.
Space News: SpaceX files bid protest in federal court.
The Verge: Blue Origin and ULA are trying to intervene in SpaceX’s secret lawsuit against the government.
GeekWire: Blue Origin, ULA and Northrop Grumman weigh in on multibillion-dollar SpaceX rocket lawsuit.

Space News: Crunch time: Rocket companies in all-out battle for Air Force award.

Test Starliner propulsiesysteem succes. Klaar voor een eerste vlucht naar het ISS.
Boeing: Boeing’s Starliner completes service module hot fire testing.

Space News: Boeing completes tests of Starliner thrusters.
Spaceflight Now: Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule completes major propulsion test.

SLS/Orion.
NasaSpaceFlight: NASA Orion AA-2 vehicle at the launch pad for July test.

SpaceCom: In 2020, NASA Will Send Living Things to Deep Space for First Time Since Apollo.
NasaSpaceFlight: NASA Plum Brook Station gets ready for EM-1 Orion testing.

NASA: SLS Begins Insulation Process for Booster Segments for Second Flight.

NASA kiest MAXAR om eerste Gateway-element te bouwen.
NASA: NASA Administrator to Make Artemis Moon Program Announcement, Media Teleconference Set.
NASA: NASA Awards Artemis Contract for Lunar Gateway Power, Propulsion.
MAXAR: Maxar Selected to Build, Fly First Element of NASA’s Lunar Gateway.

Space News: NASA selects Maxar to build first Gateway element.
Spaceflight Insider: Lunar Gateway contract adds ‘power’ to Artemis program.
Space Policy Online: MAXAR wins first Gateway contract.
SpaceCom: NASA's Grand Plan for a Lunar Gateway Is to Start Small.
Spaceflight Now: NASA chooses Maxar to build keystone module for lunar Gateway station.
Space News: Price, contract terms helped Maxar secure Gateway contract.

De Morgen: Weer een stap dichter bij de maan: NASA stelt plannen voor nieuw ruimtestation voor.

De filmpjes:
NASA: NASA Administrator Speaks at Florida Institute of Technology Event.
Video From Space: NASA Chief Explains Artemis Phase 1, Announces Commercial Partner (kortere versie).
NASA: Powering Our Return to the Moon

Op de maan in 2024.
Space News: Industry wants NASA to move ahead quickly on Gateway module.
Ars Technica: NASA’s full Artemis plan revealed: 37 launches and a lunar outpost.
Space Policy Online: More details emerge about Artemis.

Newsweek: Top NASA official resigns weeks after being chosen to lead 2024 moon mission.
SpaceRef: NASA Internal Memo: Appointment of Mark Sirangelo.
SpaceRef: NASA Statement On The Departure Of Mark Sirangelo.
Reuters: NASA executive quits weeks after appointment to lead 2024 moon landing plan.

SpaceQ: The Canadian Space Agency is considering accelerating its contribution to NASA’s Lunar Gateway.
Asian Review: Japan to sign on to US moon exploration platform.

Spaceflight Now: NASA to soon announce winner of first commercial lunar lander competition.

SpaceQ: The political reality of American astronauts on the moon by 2024.
AAS: Moon 2024?
SpaceCom:  Going Back to the Moon — for Good (Op-Ed).

Wired: Moondust could cloud our lunar ambitions.
The Science Times: Astronauts to Use Lava Tubes for Lunar Accommodations.
PhysOrg: Lunar gold rush is about to start—and we could exhaust the solar system in less than 500 years.

NASA: Gravity Assist Podcast Goes to the Moon.

En dan naar Mars.
SpaceCom: How Space Station and Moon Missions Will Prep Astronauts for Mars.
Russia Today: Mission to Mars through the Moon (filmpje).
Mars Daily: After the Moon, people on Mars by 2033...or 2060.

SpaceCom: Could Microbes Live in Martian Dust? Mission Designers Are Thinking Ahead for Red Planet Crews.

SpaceX – Starship.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s space-optimized Starship engine could be ready sooner than later.
Everyday Astronaut: Is SpaceX's Raptor engine the king of rocket engines? (filmpje).

Nieuws uit de (inter)planetaire ruimte.

Het zonnestelsel:
ScienceAtNASA: NASA Science Live Ep. 4: Storms Across the Solar System.

Aarde:
NASA: Comet Provides New Clues to Origins of Earth's Oceans.
NASA: New Studies Increase Confidence in NASA's Measure of Earth's Temperature.
Arianespace: Arianespace at the service of Europe and European Citizens: the European Earth Observation Programme.

Maan:
SpaceCom: India Readies Chandrayaan-2 Moon Mission for July Launch.
Spaceflight Now: India plans July launch of Chandrayaan 2 moon mission.
SpaceRef: Water Formation on the Moon Has Been Demonstrated.
SpaceRef: A Giant Impact Caused The Difference Between The Moon's Hemispheres.
SpaceQ: Canadian ideas wanted now for the beginning of renewed moon exploration era.
Scott Manley: Why Do Lunar Satellites Eventually Crash Into The Moon? (filmpje)

Mars:
NASA: NASA's Mars 2020 Mission Drops in on Death Valley.
NASA: NASA's Mars 2020 Gets a Dose of Space Here on Earth.
The Martian Chronicles: Sol 2413: Back to work after a weekend at the beach.
The Martian Chronicles: Sol 2414: Curiosity’s Potassium "Special K" Campaign.
The Martian Chronicles: Sol 2415: Cairn today, drill tomorrow?

Jupiter:
NASA: Juno Finds Changes in Jupiter's Magnetic Field.

Pluto:
NewsWeek: Pluto: Scientists may have solved the mystery of how the minor planet maintains a subsurface ocean.
SpaceCom: Pluto Has a Buried Ocean — And So Might Many Other Worlds.
SpaceRef: Gas Insulation Could Be Protecting An Ocean Inside Pluto.

Ryugu:
The Planetary Society: Hayabusa2 Encounters Snag Trying to Drop Second Target Marker.

Om af te ronden: ‘t Ruimtekabinet: De eerste Nederlandstalige podcast enkel en alleen over ruimtevaart!
't RuimteKABINET – De podcast over ruimtevaart en ruimtewetenschappen.
Heb je het ook soms? Je leest een bericht uit het ruimtevaartnieuws, en je zit meteen weer met enkele onbeantwoorde vragen. Eén keer per maand gaan Glenn en Pieter rond de tafel zitten voor een gezellig gesprek over zo'n onderwerp dat hardnekkig in onze gedachten bleef hangen. Vervolgens nodigen we een gastspreker uit in de studio die zijn of haar ervaringen uit de ruimtevaartsector met ons wil delen.

Je vindt de eerste aflevering via deze link op de website van volkssterrenwacht Armand Pien.

Veel lees-, luister- en kijkplezier,

Koen