Het zijn vreemde tijden. Het coronoa-virus begint ook de ruimtevaart in zijn greep te krijgen. Dat wereldwijd allerlei bijeenkomsten afgelast en uitgesteld worden, dat NASA en ESA waar mogelijk op thuiswerk overschakelen, dat is geen verrassing. Ook geen verrassing is ESA’s uitstel voor de lancering van zijn Marsrover met twee jaar uit. Ze worstelen nog steeds met de parachute en het virus dreigt verdere testen te bemoeilijken. En NASA’s plannen om in 2024 Amerikanen op de Maan te zetten, kregen een nieuwe wending. Men eist niet langer het gebruik van de Gateway voor die landing in 2024. Men zegt dat de Gateway op langere termijn nog wel nodig is. De vraag is eerder of een landing in 2024 sowieso wel mogelijk is. Het prijskaartje van het Space Launch System loopt verder op, een eerste lancering wordt nu verwacht in de tweede helft van 2021. Dat en nog veel meer in het Nieuws Uit De Ruimtevaart van deze week.

Bij de foto: Op 14 maart werden de testen met de capsule voor de Artemis-1-vlucht afgerond in het Plum Brook Station. Op de foto zie je de eigenlijke Orion-capsule met daaronder de European Service Module. Foto: NASA/ Marvin Smith.

Europese Marsmissie met 2 jaar uitgesteld.
ESA: ExoMars to take off for the Red Planet in 2022.

Space News: ExoMars rover mission delayed to late 2022
Spaceflight Now: Launch of ExoMars rover delayed to 2022.
SpaceCom: Europe's ExoMars rover launch delayed to 2022 due to parachute problems.
BBC: ExoMars Rosalind Franklin: Rover mission delayed until 2022.

Er was ook een probleempje met de Proton-raket, aldus deze tweet.

De beelden van de Press Briefing vind je hier.

Popular Mechanics: With Europe's ExoMars Rover Delayed, Could NASA Missions Be Next?

China lanceert BeiDou-navigatiesatelliet.
ECNS: China launches new BeiDou navigation satellite.

Space News: Successful launch takes China a step closer to completing Beidou navigation constellation.
NasaSpaceFlight: Long March 3B launches Beidou-3G2Q.
Spaceflight Now: China launches Beidou satellite, aims for completion of navigation network in May.

GPS World: China adds to BeiDou as satnav service helps fight coronavirus.

Foto’s van de lancering vind je hier.

Filmpjes:
CCTV: China Launches Penultimate BeiDou 3 Navigation System Satellite.
SciNews: Long March-3B launches new BeiDou-3 satellite.

MEV en Satellite Servicing.
Space News: Airbus impressed by Northrop Grumman, but remains undecided on satellite servicing. 
Seradata: SATELLITE 2020: Northrop Grumman says MEV-2 mission will dock with Intelsat 10-02 but this time in GEO.

Space News: DARPA picks Northrop Grumman as its commercial partner for satellite servicing program.
C4ISR Net: SpaceLogistics teams with DARPA to service satellites on orbit.

TechnologyOrg: Docking, rendezvous and Newton’s third law – the challenge of servicing satellites in space.

ILS mag naast Proton nu ook Soyuz-raket promoten.
Space News: ILS hires new president, gets approval to market Soyuz.
TASS: Russia’s Glavkosmos to promote Soyuz commercial flights on US market jointly with ILS.

Blue Origin stelt Mission Control voor.
Blue Origin (tweet): The new mission control (met filmpje).
The Verge: Blue Origin reveals shiny new mission control room for future New Glenn rocket.

Blue Origin: BE-3U Progress Update - New Glenn's Upper Stage Engine.

SpaceX – Lancering volgende reeks Starlink-satellieten uitgesteld tot zondag 15 maart.
Florida Today: SpaceX targeting this weekend for Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral.
Teslarati: SpaceX's next Starlink launch to mark biggest rocket reusability milestone yet.
Florida Today: SpaceX delays next Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral.
US Launch Report: SpaceX - Starlink 5 - Static Fire Test 4K 03-13-2020 (video).

SpaceX – Meer Starlink.
Space News: Musk: we’re not spinning off Starlink .
Teslarati: SpaceX is building Starlink satellites faster than it can launch them.
Teslarati: SpaceX Starlink factory building satellites four times faster than closest competitor.

Starlink, satellietconstellaties en de sterrenhemel.
C4ISRNet: Elon Musk dismisses astronomers’ concerns over Starlink.

ESO: New ESO Study Evaluates Impact of Satellite Constellations on Astronomical Observations.
Spacepage: Nieuw ESO-onderzoek taxeert de gevolgen van satellietconstellaties voor astronomische waarnemingen.
Newsweek: Mega-satellite constellations in development could harm astronomical observations, scientist find.
SpaceCom: Satellite megaconstellations will mar astronomers' view of heavens, study finds.

Een filmpje:
SciShow Space: How Bad Are Satellite Constellations for Astronomy? | SciShow News.

SpaceX – Falcon 9 Nieuws.
Teslarati: SpaceX eyes major drone ship fleet upgrades and a new rocket recovery robot.

Space News: Momentus to offer last-miles service from SpaceX rideshare flights.

Collect Space: SpaceX delivers Falcon 9 rocket for Space Center Houston display.
Collect Space: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket debuts on display at Space Center Houston.

SpaceX – Starship.
Teslarati: SpaceX's latest Starship test was uneventful and that's great news for its flight debut.
SpaceCom: SpaceX's latest Starship prototype passes big tank pressure test.
SpaceX: SpaceX's Starship will soon be made of different stuff.
Teslarati: Elon Musk on humans in Mars before he dies, urges faster pace of progress

Filmpje:
LabPadre: SpaceX Boca Chica, Texas Aerial Update!

ISS – Dragon vrachtcapsule aan het ISS bevestigd.
Teslarati: SpaceX Dragon spacecraft caught by robotic space station arm for the last time.
Teslarati: SpaceX just expanded the envelope of rocket recovery with 50th booster landing.
Spaceflight Now: Astronauts capture SpaceX cargo capsule with robot arm for final time.

Airbus: Successful launch for Airbus’ Bartolomeo.

Filmpjes:
SciNews: SpaceX CRS-20 Dragon capture.
SciNews: SpaceX CRS-20 Dragon berthing.

ISS – De blogentries, Daily Summary Reports en Science Highlights.
NASA ISS Blog: Robotic Arm Captures Dragon Packed With Science.
NASA ISS Blog: Crew Sets Up New Science During Ongoing Bone Research.
NASA ISS Blog: Crew Begins Cardiac Research and Continues Unloading New Science Experiments.
NASA ISS Blog: Station Works External Science, Maintenance Before Next Crew Launch.
NASA ISS Blog: Cardiac Research, Bone Studies on Station Promote Advanced Therapies on Earth.

NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 3/06/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 3/09/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 3/10/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 3/11/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 3/12/2020.

NASA: Space Station Science Highlights: Week of march 9,2020.

ISS – Meer nieuws uit het ruimtestation.
Space News: Russian crew swap should not impact next ISS mission.

Over het experiment dat door het B.USOC gaat opgevolgd worden.
ESA: Eye spy a foam.
ESA: Foam-Coarsening experiment.
ESA: Foam-Coarsening in space.

Popular Mechanics: Weird Space Lettuce Is Totally Healthy, Apparently Tasty.
NASA: Plant Growth on the International Space Station has Global Impacts on Earth.
NASA: Science takes time, even in a lab moving 17,500 miles per hour.

DLR: Observing animal migration from space – ISS experiment ICARUS begins.

Filmpes:
NASA: Space to Ground: 20x: 03/13/2020.
NASA: SpaceCast Weekly - March 13, 2020.
NASA: Expedition 63 Video File - Soyuz Qualification Training- March 13, 2020.

Artemis – SLS over budget. En het is nog niet gedaan.
OIG: NASA’s Management of SLS Program Costs and Contracts (PDF).
De bijbehorende video vind je hier.

Space News: SLS cost growth exceeds threshold for formal review.
The Verge: NASA’s future monster rocket is once again over budget and behind schedule.
Spaceflight Now: NASA inspector general says SLS moon rocket costs continue to climb.
Space Policy Online: SLS: $17 billion and counting, with first launch still a year away.
RoomEU: NASA faces up to huge cost overruns for its SLS heavy-lift rocket.

Artemis – SLS/Orion.
NASA: Artemis I's Orion Capsule Undergoing Testing.
ESA: Interference Testing at Plum Brook.
NASA: Artemis I's Orion Capsule Undergoing Testing.
NASA: Orion spacecraft for Artemis I is put to the test at NASA’s Plum Brook Station.
America Space: Orion Wraps Up Testing in Ohio for Artemis-1 Moon Mission (filmpje).

Orion Tweet: Landing and Recovery team practice.

NasaSpaceFlight: Aerojet Rocketdyne building new RS-25 engines for recertification testing.
 

Artemis – Het einde van de Gateway ?
Het gebruik van de Gateway is niet meer nodig voor een eerste terugkeer naar de Maan. Misschien wordt de Gateway ook voor wat volgt overbodig ... en kan het helemaal geschrapt worden ?
Space News: NASA takes Gateway off the critical path for 2024 lunar return.
Space Policy Online: Gateway no longer mandatory for 2024 moon landing.

Ondertussen:
NASA: NASA Selects First Science Instruments to Send to Gateway.
ESA: European Gateway experiment will monitor radiation in deep space.
Space News: NASA selects first science payloads for lunar Gateway.

ESA: Lunar Gateway: Earth’s guard post against asteroids?

Nieuws uit de (inter)planetaire ruimte.

Aarde:
NASA: NASA Satellite Offers Urban Carbon Dioxide Insights.
Food Navigator: Satellite mapping’s future: Can space tech halt deforestation?
NASA: NASA Satellites Help Forecast Yellowstone Wildlife Migration.
BBC: Space radar movies track motion on Earth's surface.
NASA: NASA’s MMS Marks its 5th Year Breaking Records in Space.

Maan:
Inside Outer Space: China’s Lunar Sample Handling Plans Detailed.
NASA: Small Robots Practice Scouting Skills for Future Moon Mission.
SpaceCom: These two tiny spacecraft will help pave the way for astronauts to return to the moon.
Universe Today: India’s Chandrayaan 2 is Creating the Highest Resolution Map We Have of the Moon.
News Monkey: Nieuwe tool om luchtvervuiling per uur te meten vanuit de ruimte.
New Scientist: Oxygen in lunar rocks suggests the moon formed in huge collision.
SpaceCom: Surprise! Earth and the moon aren't made of exactly the same stuff.

Mars:
InSight: Good news from Mars.
ECNS: China tests Mars probe for 2020 Mars mission.
SpaceCom: China's Mars mission likely still on track for July launch despite coronavirus outbreak.
Room.EU: Organic molecules found on Mars could be consistent with early life, says study.
New Scientist: Mars may once have had right conditions for RNA to develop into life

Jupiter:
SciShow: How Jupiter's Moons Showed Us the Speed of Light.

Bennu: 
NASA: Bennu’s Boulders Shine as Beacons for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx.
Het filmpje:
NASA: How OSIRIS-REx will Steer Itself to Sample an Asteroid.

Komeet 67P:
ESA: Ammonium salts found on Rosetta’s comet.
New Scientist: Comet 67P is hiding nitrogen that could solve a solar system mystery.
SpaceCom: Salty space rock helps to solve longstanding comet mystery.

Voyager:
Physics-Astronomy: Voyager 2 Was May Have Been Hacked As It Entered Deep Space.

Space Force – Nieuwtjes uit januari en februari.
In chronologische volgorde:
Parabolic Arc: 14th Air Force Redesignated as Space Operations Command (SPOC).
Cleveland.com: President Trump’s Space Force likely to run afoul of 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
Space News: U.S. Space Force must inspire the next generation of military space professionals.
Federal News Network: Space Force preparing for everything, even interplanetary operations, as it sets up.
Defense News: The Space Force gets its first member, and Trump gets his first briefing on the new service.
Defense News: Space Development Agency on track to become part of Space Force in 2022, director says.
Space News: U.S. Space Force has lifted off, now the journey begins.
Science Alert: The New US Space Force Logo Looks Just Like 'Star Trek' And There's a Reason Why.
Space News: U.S. Space Force says its new seal is not a Starfleet knockoff.
Space News: Hyten: ‘Space Force’ comedy is good for the U.S. Space Force.
Space Policy Online: Space Force Gearing Up.
Popular Mechanics: The U.S. Space Force Conducts Its Very First Missile Test.
Defense News: How will the Space Force be organized? The Pentagon is still working out the details.
Spaceflight Now: Florida launch base to be renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Space Review: The US Space Force and international law considerations.
Federal News Network: DoD asks for $705B for 2021, gives Space Force more than $15B.
Russia Today: What is Russia’s response to US Space Force? (filmpje).
Space News: U.S. Space Force, Space Command to get state-of-the-art facility in Colorado.
Space News: U.S. Space Force rolls out plan to change how it buys satcom services.
C4ISR Net: Space Force lays out $1 billion in unfunded priorities.

Ook dat nog: Corona en het ruimtevaartwereldje.
Dat het oplossen van de problemen voor de Europese Marslander bemoeilijkt worden, door het corona-virus kon je in het begin van deze “Nieuws Uit De Ruimtevaart” al lezen. Maar het virus heeft uiteraard meer impact dan dat.
Spacepage: Coronavirus treft ook ruimtevaart.
Space News: Space in the time of the coronavirus.
SpaceCom: Coronavirus outbreak shakes the space industry: Here are the biggest effects so far.

Men probeert uiteraard te vermijden dat het virus tot in het ruimtestation zou geraken.
NY Post: Astronauts taking precautions to keep coronavirus from spreading to space.
SpaceCom: With coronavirus spreading, NASA may tweak astronaut prelaunch quarantine.
SpaceCom: Getting sick in space: How would NASA handle an astronaut disease outbreak?

Hierbij een reeks artikels in chronologische orde voor februari/maart:
Space News: China’s space industry faces impacts of coronavirus outbreak.
BIRA: TROPOMI observeert de impact van het coronavirus op luchtkwaliteit in China.
Video From Space: Chinese rocket builders agreed to quarantine to avoid coronavirus exposure (filmpje).
TASS: Roscosmos space agency mission’s work in China not affected by coronavirus: press service.
SpaceCom: NASA tests telecommute plan amid coronavirus worries.
SpaceCom: Coronavirus outbreak prompts European Space Agency to impose travel restrictions.
Spaceflight Now: Coronavirus concerns force closure of NASA center, some space industry events canceled.
NASA: NASA Administrator Statement on Coronavirus Situation.
SpaceCom: NASA center in California issues mandatory work-from-home order after employee tests positive for coronavirus.
Space News: Launch industry puts emergency plans in place for coronavirus, but missions so far remain on schedule.
SpaceCom: NASA chief says agency is monitoring coronavirus situation for impacts to US space program.
Florida Today: As coronavirus spreads, here's what the space industry is doing to prepare.
Live Science: Satellite images show Iran's mass graves for coronavirus victims.
NASA: NASA Administrator Statement on Agency Coronavirus Status.
Parabolic Arc: Elon Musk Criticized for Downplaying Coronavirus Risk.
NASA Watch: NASA Coronavirus Response Expands.

Het virus – of beter – de gevolgen van het virus en de reactie erop zijn te zien vanuit de ruimte.
Science Times: Dramatic Impact of Coronavirus Lockdowns Seen from Space.
ESA: Coronavirus: nitrogen dioxide emissions drop over Italy (met filmpje).

Veel lees- en kijkplezier,

Koen