Aftellen naar het eerste sprongetje van Starship SN4. Aftellen naar Launch America, na negen jaar nog eens een Amerikaans bemande lancering naar een baan om de aarde. Aftellen naar de zomer met talrijke Marsmissies die vertrekkensklaar staan. 

Ondertussen liet China zien dat ze ook nog altijd meedoen. Met niet alleen een belangrijke geslaagde lancering van de Lange Mars 5B, maar ook met de onbemande lancering van een capsule die in de toekomst misschien wel Chinezen in de richting van de maan gaat brengen.

Dat en nog veel meer in het Nieuws Uit De Ruimtevaart van deze week.

Bij de foto: De opvolger van Shenzhou heeft nog geen naam. Maar de testvlucht verliep volgens plan en leverde na een landing op airbags een wel erg zwart geblakerde landingscapsule op.

China lanceert prototype nieuwe bemande capsule op maiden trip LM 5B.
CASC: Long March-5B rocket enables China to construct space station.

Space News: Long March 5B launch clears path for Chinese space station project.
Spaceflight Now: Maiden launch of Long March 5B lofts Next Generation Crew Space Capsule.
Spaceflight Now: Watch live: China to debut new version of powerful Long March 5 rocket Tuesday.
Spaceflight Now: China’s first Long March 5B rocket launches on crew capsule test flight.

Spacepage: China brengt nieuwe ruimtecapsule in de ruimte.

Global Times: Long March-5B a successful comeback after two failed space launch missions: China’s Manned Space Agency.
ECNS: Space 3D printing boosts China's latest manned spacecraft venture.
ECNS: China tests 3D printing in space for first time.

PhysOrg: China's space test hits snag with capsule 'anomaly'.
ECNS: Experimental spacecraft shows re-entry malfunctions during test flight.

Spaceflight Now: U.S. military tracking unguided re-entry of large Chinese rocket.

Filmpjes:
New China TV: China's new large rocket Long March-5B makes maiden flight.
CCTV: China's New Manned Spacecraft Completes Six Orbit Changes.

SciNews: Long March-5B launch.
SciNews: Long March-5B launches China’s new-generation crewed spacecraft.
SciNews: China’s new crewed spacecraft in orbit.
Scott Manley: China's Biggest Rocket Launches Test Flight Of Next Generation Crew Spacecraft.

China – Prototype nieuwe bemande capsule keert met succes terug.
China Daily: Re-entry module of prototype spacecraft makes landing.
RoomEU: China's prototype spacecraft lands successfully on Earth.
NasaSpaceFlight: New Chinese crew capsule completes test flight, returns to Earth.
Spaceflight Now: China’s next-generation crew spacecraft lands after unpiloted test flight.
Space News: New Chinese spacecraft landing marks step toward future crewed lunar missions.

Filmpjes:
CCTV: Return Capsule of China's Experimental Manned Spaceship Comes Back Successfully.
SciNews: China’s new crewed spacecraft lands successfully.
SciNews: Recovery operations for China’s new crewed spacecraft.
CCTV: Spacecraft Return Capsule Structure Intact as Designed after Return to Earth: Designer.
CGTN: Return capsule of China's manned spaceship arrives at launch center.

Op 16 mei vertrekt het ruimtevliegtuig X-37B opnieuw op militaire missie.
Space Force: Next X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Scheduled to Launch.

Space News: X-37B spaceplane to carry DoD and NASA experiments in upcoming mission.
Inside Outer Space: U.S. Military Space Plane to Conduct Power-beaming Experiment (Updated).
Science Alert: Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Is Returning to Orbit, And For Once We're Being Told Why.
Space Daily: Mystery Module for X-37B.

Nog een filmpje: 
Video From Space: US Space Force to launch X-37B space plane on OTV-6 mission.

Virgin Galactic sluit onderzoeksdeal met NASA. Nog even wachten op toeristische vluchtjes?
Virgin Galactic: Virgin Galactic Enters Space Act Agreement with NASA To Advance High Mach Technologies.
NasaSpaceFlight: Point-To-Point transportation gains boost via NASA/Virgin Galactic SAA.
Via Satellite: Virgin Galactic Loses $60M in Q1, Announces NASA Partnership.
Barrons.com: Virgin Galactic Stock Jumps After Earnings. Space Tourism Appears to Be Hot.
Space News: Virgin Galactic says full effect of pandemic on its business still unknown.

Virgin Orbit mag lanceren vanaf Guam.
Spaceflight Now: Virgin Orbit’s first launch could happen later this month.
C4ISR.net: Virgin Orbit gets thumbs-up for Space Force launches from Guam.
Space News: VOX Space signs deal to fly LauncherOne from Andersen Air Force base in Guam.

Commercial Crew – Launch America!
Teslarati: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon astronaut mission officially extended by NASA.

The Space Review: Commercial crew safety, in space and on the ground.
Spaceflight Now: Dragon astronauts wrap up training, prepare to enter quarantine.

Filmpjes:
NASA: NASA and SpaceX prepare to #LaunchAmerica.
NASA: DM-2 Crew Interviews – Robert Behnken.
NASA: DM-2 Crew Interviews – Douglas Hurley.

Commercial Crew – Soyuz.
Teslarati: NASA plans to purchase another seat on Russian Soyuz after SpaceX.

ISS – De blogentries, Daily Summary Reports en Science Highlights.
NASA ISS Blog: Cygnus Readied for Departure, Crew Trains for Medical Emergency.
NASA ISS Blog: Station Trio Works Spacesuits, Science as SpaceX Readies Crew Launch.
NASA ISS Blog: Robotics, Cargo Mission and Photography Keep Station Crew Busy.
NASA ISS Blog: Crew Preps for U.S. and Japanese Cargo Missions.
NASA ISS Blog: Cygnus Ready for Science After Departure, Commander Takes Break.

NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 5/01/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 5/04/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 5/05/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 5/06/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 5/07/2020.

Space Station Science Highlights: Week of May 4, 2020.

ISS – Meer nieuws uit het ruimtestation.
Space News: Congress asks for GAO investigation of ISS National Lab.
Aviation Week: Panel sounds alarm over ISS National Lab.

Airbus: Airbus and Xenesis Sign Payload Contract for New Bartolomeo Platform on the International Space Station.

NASA: Astronauts Leave “Microbial Fingerprint” on Space Station.
Science Daily: How spaceflight affects risk of blood clots in female astronauts.
Parabolic Arc: LamdaVision Selected for NASA Funding to Produce Retinal Implants on ISS.
ESA: Ready, set, go for COVID-conscious astronaut training.

Filmpjes:
NASA: Space to Ground: SLIME IN SPACE!!!: 05/08/2020.
NASA: SpaceCast Weekly - May 8, 2020.

Artemis – Orion/SLS.
Parabolic Arc: New SLS Worry: Leaks.

NasaSpaceFlight: Aerojet Rocketdyne expands operations to deliver four SLS engines a year.
Space News: Aerojet Rocketdyne defends SLS engine contract costs.

NASA: Launch Complex 39B Prepared to Support Artemis I.
NASA: Pad 39B is Ready for Artemis I (filmpje).

Parabolic Arc: Orion Makes Significant Progress, Awaits Ride to the Moon.

Artemis – Gateway.
Spaceflight Now: NASA plans to launch first two Gateway elements on same rocket.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket could launch a NASA space station to the Moon.
Space Policy Online: Lunar Gateway on again for 2023.

Nog een video van de aankondiging van alweer even geleden:
NASA: Video Announcement: Gateway Logistics Services Announcement for SpaceX.

Artemis – Human Landing System.
Space News: House members criticize NASA lunar lander awards.
Space News: NASA evaluation sees SpaceX lunar lander as innovative but risky.

NASA: Inside NASA Langley's Lunar Flight Deck (filmpje).

Artemis – Naar de maan in 2024 (?).
NASA Watch: Congress Is Still Waiting For Artemis Details.

Space News: Op-ed | Taking stock of NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services progress.

Space News: Bridenstine ties international cooperation on Artemis to norms of behavior in space.

ESA: Astronaut urine for building a Moon base.
SpaceCom: Astronaut-led video tour reveals details in 'For All Mankind' moon base
PhysOrg: Pursuing the future of lunar habitation.

Aerospace America: Cosmic GPS.

(Amerikaans) Groen licht voor “space mining”.
NASA Watch: White House Gives Green Light To Commercial Space Mining
Parabolic Arc: Report: Trump Administration Working on Moon Mining Accord.

SpaceX – Starship SN4 en twee statische testen.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s first orbital Starship rocket engine is almost ready for testing.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s Starship rocket program just had one of its best nights yet.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s Starship rocket just breathed fire for the first time (and survived).
Teslarati: SpaceX fires up Starship rocket twice in 30 hours ahead of next big tests.

SpaceCom: Elon Musk shows off Starship prototype's rocket engine ahead of test fire (photo).
Spaceflight Now: SpaceX test-fires Raptor engine on Starship test rocket.

De filmpjes:
Spadre: Starship SN4 Static Fire May 5 2020.
Everyday Astronaut: Starship SN-4 Slow Motion 4K Static Fire [May 7, 2020].
What About It?: SpaceX Starship Updates - Static Fire! - Crew Dragon Demo Mission 2 Update.

Nieuws uit de (inter)planetaire ruimte.

Aarde:
ESA: Listen to the sounds of BepiColombo's Earth flyby
ESA: Mapping methane emissions on a global scale.
The Space Review: In the recession, space firms should focus on Earth imagery.

Maan:
SpaceCom: Russia wants to land 3 next-generation Luna spacecraft on the moon by 2025.

Mars:
NASA: Sols 2754-2755: Giving ‘Glasgow' Another Try!
NASA: Sols 2756-2757: Presenting Our Newest Drill Sample, 'Glasgow!'
Space News: InSight mole making slow progress into Martian surface.
SETI Institute: Mars Insight Lander Returns Evidence of Seismic Activity (filmpje).
NASA: Perseverance Presses On, Remains Targeted for Summer Launch.
Spaceflight Now: Launch preparations continue for NASA’s next Mars rover.
NASA: #NASAatHome: Spaceport Series Episode 11: Meet Ingenuity: NASA's new Mars helicopter (filmpje).
SpaceCom: The UAE is going to Mars. Here's the plan for its Hope orbiter.
NASA: NASA Perseverance Mars Rover Scientists Train in the Nevada Desert.
Universe Today: When Did Mars Lose its Global Magnetic Field?
Scientific America: Mars Needs Money: White House Budget Could Prompt Retreat from Red Planet.

En een beetje Belgisch (presentatie op de EGU2020: Sharing Geoscience Online 4-8 May 2020).
EGU: Lander Radioscience (LaRa) in ExoMars 2020 to obtain the rotation and orientation of Mars.
met op het einde van de samenvatting een link naar de bijbehorende presentatie.

Jupiter:
Parabolic Arc: Europa Clipper Faces Delay Due to SLS Booster Decision.
NASA Small Steps Giant Leaps Podcast: Episode 32: Europa Clipper.

Ryugu:
Sky & Telescope: Ryugu may have skirted close to the sun.
Eurek Alert: Hayabusa2's touchdown on Ryugu reveals its surface in stunning detail.

Aan het einde van het zonnestelsel:
Physics Astronomy: NASA Woke Up Voyager 1 From 21 Billion Km Away, And The Spacecraft Actually Signalled Back.
Astronomy: Voyager: What’s next for NASA's interstellar probes?

SpaceX – Worden de Starlinks minder zichtbaar ?
Universe Today: SpaceX Describes Exactly How They’re Planning to Make Starlink Satellites Less Visible From Earth
Sky & Telescope: SpaceX has revealed new details on its plans to darken the Starlink satellites.

Teslarati: SpaceX’s next Starlink satellite launch slips closer to Crew Dragon astronaut debut.

Nog dit – Tom Cruise in de ruimte? Voor een film. Gelukkig is er ook The Right Stuff. :-)
Teslarati: SpaceX and Tom Cruise is a match made in space.
Spaceflight Now: NASA working with Tom Cruise to film movie on the International Space Station.
NPR: Tom Cruise And NASA Could Be A Match Made In The Heavens.

Collect Space: NatGeo launches first look at new Disney+ series 'The Right Stuff'.

Veel lees- en kijkplezier,

Koen