Soms zijn de hardnekkige weersomstandigheden de oorzaak (lancering Vega uitgesteld tot mid augustus), soms duiken er technische probleempjes op (lancering Mars2020 uitgesteld tot eind juli) en – spijtig genoeg – soms doet het probleem zich eerst voor tijdens de lancering en verliest men raket en nuttige lading (lancering Electron mislukt). In de ruimtevaart is er zelden ruimte voor kleine foutjes. Dat en nog veel meer in het Nieuws Uit De Ruimtevaart van deze week, meteen ook de 500ste aflevering!

Bij de foto: Een mooie foto van de “voorkant” van het ISS. Met helemaal vooraan de capsule Crew Dragon, met de zon die reflecteert in de zonnepanel (bevestigd op de Trunk van de capsule). De goudkleurige cilinder is de Japanse bevoorradingscapsule HTV. Boven die HTV zien we trouwens een PMA (Pressurized Mating Adapter) in het zwart met de witte IDA (International Docking Adapter). Crew Dragon is trouwens gekoppeld met het ISS via een andere PMA/IDA. Tussen die twee capsules is heel duidelijk Columbus te zien, de Europese module van het ISS. Alle vermelde capsules en modules zijn geconnecteerd met Harmony (Node 2). Foto: NASA.

Nog dit, in de 12de Ruimtevaart Babbel (een reeks welke ik tot nu min of meer wekelijks voor volkssterrenwacht Urania opneem) besteed ik aandacht aan de “slechte naam” die Mars heeft in ruimtevaartkringen. Je vindt vaak terug dat amper 1/3 tot de helft van alle Marssondes een succes zijn. Met deze zomer 3 nieuwe lanceringen naar Mars op het programma, een mooi moment om dat eens van naderbij te bekijken. De 12de ruimtevaartbabbel vind je hier.

MARS – Lancering Mars2020 uitgesteld tot eind juli.
Space News: Mars 2020 launch slips again.
Ars Technica: NASA’s next Mars mission has now burned nearly half of its launch window.
Florida Today: Mars Perseverance launch delayed; NASA not asking people to stay at home for launch.

ESA: Mars Express helpt de geheimen van de Perseverance-landingsplaats te onthullen.
ESA: The ancient lakeshore of Jezero crater on Mars.

En nog een filmpje:
Seeker: The New Mars Rover Is The Most Advanced Yet, Here’s Why.

MARS – Over Hope en Tianwen, de twee andere te lanceren sondes.
Arabian Aerospace: UAE prepare for ‘Hope Probe’ Mars landing.

Physics.org: China eyes July 20-25 launch for Mars rover.

Lancering Vega (met o.a. twee Belgische cubesats) uitgesteld tot midden augustus.
Ongezien. Arianespace stelt lancering zes weken uit omwille van aanhoudende winden op grote hoogte.
Arianespace: Vega Flight VV16 – the SSMS Proof of Concept mission: Postponed until August 17, 2020.

Wat werd voorafgegaan door:
Arianespace: Arianespace Flight VV16 – SSMS PoC (filmpje).
NasaSpaceFlight: Vega’s Return To Flight mission scrubbed again.

Spaceflight Now: After weather delays, Arianespace delays Vega launch to recharge batteries.
BIRA: Lancering Belgische CubeSats uitgesteld tot augustus.
Het waarom van al die vertragingen vind je in deze BIRA-Instagram post.

Meer Belgisch ruimtevaartnieuws.
VITO: End of PROBA-V’s operational lifetime! What’s next?
VITO: VITO Remote Sensing - PROBA-V, ready for the next phase (filmpje).
VRT NWS: Belgische satelliet PROBA-V gaat na 7 jaar trouwe dienst met pensioen.

De Tijd: Belgische constellatie van satellieten in de maak.

BIRA: Nieuwe audiovisuele presentatie van het Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Ruimte-Aeronomie.
Het filmpje vind je hier. 

QinetiQ: QinetiQ wins €8.5m contract with the European Space Agency.

Beidou-satelliet operationeel na lancering vorige week.
Space News: Final Beidou-3 satellite reaches operational orbit, China’s launch sites gear up for July missions.

Filmpjes:
CCTV: Last Satellite of BeiDou Navigation System Reaches Fixed Position in Operational Orbit.
CCTV: China's latest BDS satellite enters orbit| CCTV English.
New China TV: First island base station for BeiDou starts operations in China's Jiangsu.

SpaceX lanceert GPS-satelliet voor Space Force.
Teslarati: SpaceX shuffles rocket launch order after Starlink delay.
Teslarati: SpaceX set for rocket recovery first after US military satellite launch.
Teslarati: SpaceX lands rocket for the first time after US military satellite launch.

Lockheed Martin: Third Lockheed Martin-Built GPS III Satellite Now Climbing To Orbit On Its Own Power.

Space News: Space Force more receptive to reusable rockets as it continues to review SpaceX missions.
Space News: SpaceX launches a U.S. Space Force GPS 3 satellite, recovers rocket’s first stage.
NasaSpaceFlight: SpaceX launches third GPS Block III satellite.

Spaceflight Now: Timeline for Falcon 9’s launch of the GPS 3 SV03 spacecraft.
Spaceflight Now: U.S. military makes adjustments in GPS launch to allow for SpaceX booster landing.
Spaceflight Now: SpaceX launches its first mission for the U.S. Space Force.

Filmpjes:
SpaceX: GPS III Space Vehicle 03 Mission.
SciNews: Falcon 9 launches GPS III SV03 & Falcon 9 first stage landing.
SciNews: GPS III SV03 deployment.

China lanceert hoge resolutie aardobservatiesatelliet.
ECNS: China launches high-resolution remote-sensing satellite.
ECNS: China launches high-resolution remote-sensing satellite (fotos).

NasaSpaceFlight: Long March 4B lofts new Gaofen satellite.

Filmpjes:
CCTV: China Successfully Launches Two New Satellites.
SciNews: Long March-4B launches Gaofen Multi-Mode and Xibaipo Bayi 02 satellites.

Mislukte lancering voor RocketLab.
Het begon met een verrassing, RocketLab die omwille van de te verwachte weersomstandigheden, de lancering vervroegde:
RocketLab: Surprise!
Spaceflight Now: Rocket Lab plans next launch Saturday, closes in on first mission from Virginia.

Maar de lancering liep fout, ogenschijnlijk op het moment van “battery swap”.
RocketLab: Rocket Lab Mission Fails to Reach Orbit.
SpaceflightInc: Electron Update.
Space News: Rocket Lab Electron launch fails.
NasaSpaceFlight: Electron fails during 13th launch.
Spaceflight Now: Rocket Lab satellite launch fails before reaching orbit.

Filmpjes:
RocketLab: Rocket Lab - Pics Or It Didn't Happen Launch
SciNews: Electron “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen” launch
Een statement van Peter Beck (de grote baas van RocketLab) vind je hier.
Tim Dodd (Everyday Astronaut) was via zijn kanaal commentaar aan het geven op de lancering.
Die beelden vind je in onderstaande link, die ik laat beginnen net voor het moment dat het misloopt (maar dat heeft dan nog niemand door).
Everyday Astronaut: Watch Rocket Lab launch their Electron Rocket! (Pics or it didn't happen)

Een persmap vind je hier (PDF).

SpaceX – Falcon 9 nieuws.
Teslarati: SpaceX’s reusable Falcon rockets have Europe thinking two steps ahead.
Teslarati: SpaceX Starlink launch to kick off a potentially record-breaking July.
Teslarati: SpaceX nails second Falcon nosecone recovery in one month.

Spaceflight: Ready for the SXRS-1 Starlink Launch.

Eerste BE-4 voor Vulcan.
Space News: Blue Origin delivers the first BE-4 engine to United Launch Alliance.

Even voorstellen – OmegA-raket.
Een reeks filmpjes:
Northrop Grumman: OmegA Rocket Virtual Tour – First and Second Stages.
Northrop Grumman: OmegA Rocket Virtual Tour – Avionics and Software.
Northrop Grumman: OmegA Rocket Virtual Tour – RL10 Upper Stage Engine.
Northrop Grumman: OmegA Rocket Virtual Tour – Upper Stage Tanks and Integration.
Northrop Grumman: OmegA Rocket Virtual Tour – Kennedy Space Center.
Northrop Grumman: OmegA Rocket Virtual Tour – Transporter and Rail Station.

met nog een artikel uit april:
Space News: Northrop Grumman to start producing hardware for OmegA rocket’s first flight.

Goed en slecht nieuws voor de kleine lanceerders?
C4ISR Net: Space Force walks back stimulus contracts for small launch providers.

Space News: NASA preparing second round of smallsat launch services program.

Wordt Russische Angara-raket de concurrent voor SpaceX?
TASS: Khrunichev space center plans to cut price of Angara carrier rockets to $57.3 mln by 2024.
TASS: Russian space firm to produce several Angara carrier rockets at lower cost.
TASS: Roscosmos says Angara space rocket’s high cost due to work at two production sites.
TASS: Price of Angara rocket to decline in future — designers.
TASS: Russia’s Roscosmos to consider option of Angara carrier rocket with reusable stages.
TASS: Russia to carry out three test-launches of Angara light carrier rocket.

Ars Technica: Russia’s replacement for the Proton rocket costs way too much.

Enkele oudere nieuwtjes:
TASS: Launch pad for Angara rocket to be sent to Vostochny next month.
Russian Space News: Angara Launch Pad to be Delivered by Sea.
Roscosmos: Vostochny Cosmodrome – Angara launchpad (met filmpje).
Roscosmos: Angara launching pad setting off to Vostochny.

Weldra virtuele voorstelling passagierscabine SpaceShipTwo.
Virgin Galactic: Virgin Galactic announces date for world’s first virtual reveal of spaceship cabin design (28.07.2020).

Commercial Crew – Starliner.
TASS: Roscosmos says US Crew Dragon spacecraft’s safety raises ‘some questions’.

Een filmpje:
Boeing: Boeing Starliner Parachutes Perform Under Pressure.

Commercial Crew – Crew Dragon.
Filmpje:
Video From Space: How is SpaceX's Crew Dragon 'Endeavour' holding up after month in space?

Schitterende foto:
NASA: An Astronaut's View of Work.
Teslarati: SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft caught on camera during NASA astronaut spacewalk.

ISS – Tweede ruimtewandeling voor Cassidy en Behnken.
Spaceflight Now: Spacewalkers begin another round of battery replacement work.

De volledige ruimtewandeling in beeld:
NASA: International Space Station Spacewalk, July 1, 2020

Over de vorige ruimtewandeling:
Video From Space: Astronaut lost mirror during spacewalk - How did it happen? (filmpje).
FNN: Astronaut says losing mirror on spacewalk was ‘real bummer’

En voor wie het nog niet mocht weten
Video From Space: Do Astronauts Wear Diapers During Spacewalks? Space Chat Replay
Video From Space: How do astronauts pee during spacewalks?

ISS – De blogentries, Daily Summary Reports en Science Highlights.
NASA ISS Blog: Astronauts Look to Wednesday’s Spacewalk.
NASA ISS Blog: Astronauts Finalize Preps Before Wednesday’s Battery Spacewalk.
NASA ISS Blog: NASA TV Goes Live Wednesday to Broadcast Spacewalk.
NASA ISS Blog: NASA TV is Live Now as Astronauts Get Ready for Spacewalk.
NASA ISS Blog: Astronauts Spacewalking Live Now on NASA TV.
NASA ISS Blog: Cassidy and Behnken Wrap Up Battery Spacewalk.
NASA ISS Blog: Astronauts Check Suits Following Spacewalk.

NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/26/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/29/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/30/2020.
NASA: ISS Daily Summary Report – 7/01/2020.

Space Station Science Highlights: Week of June 29, 2020.

ISS – Meer nieuws uit het ruimtestation.
NASA: NASA Names Joel Montalbano International Space Station Program Manager.

TASS: ISS orbit to be adjusted ahead of Progress MS-15 launch in July.

Het benzeen-probleem werd al in de vorige NUDR vermeld.
NasaSpaceFlight: Progress to aid Benzene investigation on ISS.
Sputnik News: Off-Nominal Levels of Toxic Benzene First Detected at International Space Station in April - Report.

TASS: Russian space agency ensures secrecy of vote for cosmonauts at ISS.

ISS National Lab: Genes in Space Winning Students Will Study Stress in Space.
ISS National Lab: Withstanding the Harsh Conditions of Space.

Filmpjes:
NASA: Space to Ground: New & Improved: 07/03/2020.
Video From Space: SpaceX Demo-2 astronauts talk to 'The Late, Late Show''s James Corden.
Video From Space: Space tourists doing spacewalks? How does Space Station crew feel about it?
NASA: Expedition 63 July 4th Message - July 3, 2020.
NASA: Expedition 63 Solar Annual Eclipse - June 21, 2020.

Over de volgende expeditie (dit najaar te lanceren met een Soyuz):
NASA: Expedition 63 64 Crew News Conference - July 1, 2020.

En nog een voordracht:
Space Generation: Health in Space Series: Women's health in space.

ARTEMIS – SLS/Orion.
NASA: NASA Plans for More SLS Rocket Boosters to Launch Artemis Moon Missions.
Space News: NASA continues efforts to set up long-term SLS production.
NasaSpaceFlight: NASA, Northrop Grumman plan for 12 additional SLS Solid Rocket Boosters.

Politico: The right tool to go to the moon.
NASA Watch: Lockheed Martin's Flawed Comparison Between Orion and Dragon.

Filmpjes:
NASA: NASA Completes Structural Test Campaign for SLS Rocket.
NASA: No Small Steps: The Brains of NASA’s SLS Rocket.

ARTEMIS – Gateway.
Space News: MDA to build robotic arm for lunar Gateway.
NasaSpaceFlight: Canadarm3 to support Lunar Gateway space station.

ARTEMIS – Naar de Maan in 2024 (?).
The Hill: NASA's mission to the moon is about far more than cost.
NASA Watch: You Can't Exert National Prestige With A Rocket That Does Not Fly.

NASA: NASA Extends Deep Space Atomic Clock Mission.

Nog een filmpje:
NASA: NASA Prepares to Explore Moon: Spacesuits, Tools.

Asteroid Day.
PhysOrg: Asteroid impact, not volcanoes, made the Earth uninhabitable for dinosaurs.

ESA: Gaia revolutionises asteroid tracking.

NASA: Deep Space 1 Spacecraft at 2.3 Million Miles from Earth.

RocketSTEM: Special Topic: Past spacecraft missions.

Filmpjes:
ESA: ESA Asteroid Day.
ESA: ESA Asteroid Day Programme (de Nederlandstalige versie).
ESA: Suitcase-sized asteroid explorer.
ESA (soundcloud): ESA Explores risky asteroids with Astronomer Marco Micheli.
NASA: What You Need To Know About Asteroids and Other Near-Earth Objects.
SETI: A Special SETILive on Asteroid Day.
Airbus: Albert Falke: Defending Earth - Keeping asteroids at bay.
Spacewatch: Space Café Special Recap: Dr Michael Kueppers on Asteroid Day.

Nieuws uit de (inter)planetaire ruimte.

Zon:
ESA: Solar Orbiter ready for science despite COVID-19 setbacks.
NASA: NASA Spacecraft Helps Identify Solar Radiation Patterns That Expose the Moon.

Ruimteweer:
NASA: NASA Awards NOAA’s Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS).

Venus
IRF: Swedish Institute of Space Physics return to Venus on Indian space mission.
(de Engelse versie vind je verderop in het artikel)

Aarde:
ESA: Contracts awarded for development of six new Copernicus missions.
Space News: ESA selects prime contractors for six new Copernicus missions.
IEEE Spectrum: U.S. Eases Restrictions on Private Remote-Sensing Satellites.
PhysOrg: NASA-NOAA satellite animation shows the end of Tropical Cyclone Boris.
NASA: Satellites See Saharan Dust from Space (filmpje).
NASA: NASA Satellites Help Farmers in Central America's Dry Corridor (filmpje).
TechnologyOrg: NASA technology that discovered evidence of snow on Mars reveals archeological sites on Earth.

Maan:
Parabolic Arc: Yutu 2 Reveals Possible Causes of Unknown Gelatinous Substance on Moon.
RoomEU: More metal on the Moon than previously thought, new study suggests.

Mars:
NASA: Sols 2805-2809: Pit Stop for Curiosity.
NASA: Sols 2810-2815: No Holidays on Mars.
ESA: Flight over Korolev Crater on Mars (met filmpje).
NASA – Houston We Have a Podcast: Rendezvous with Mars.

Aan de grens van het zonnestelsel:
JHU APL: Webinar: Imaging the Heliospheric Boundary.

SpaceX – Starship.
Teslarati: SpaceX Starship event expected this September, says Elon Musk.
Teslarati: SpaceX Starship prototype kicks off gauntlet of tests for the fifth time.

NasaSpaceFlight: Starship SN5 completes successful cryogenic proof, commencing test campaign.

Filmpje:
What About It?: SpaceX Starship - Why are they building it in a scrap yard?

UK neemt failliete OneWeb over.
GovUK: UK government to acquire cutting-edge satellite network.
Space News: British government and Bharti Global buy OneWeb, plan $1 billion investment to revive company.
Parabolic Arc: Bankrupt OneWeb Acquired by Consortium Led by UK Govt, Bharti Global.
NasaSpaceFlight: U.K. government acquires OneWeb in curious move.

Parabolic Arc: OneWeb – The Opportunity for the UK.

Filmpje:
Scott Manley: UK Government Rescues Oneweb From Bankruptcy.

Enkele oudere artikels:
Via Satellite: Report: Amazon Circles Bankrupt OneWeb Assets.
GeekWire: Bankrupt OneWeb files with FCC to put 48,000 broadband satellites in orbit.
Spacewatch: Opion: Resurrecting OneWeb – What impact for the global space industry?
SpaceQ: Telesat waits on OneWeb bankruptcy auction today.

Ook dat nog: De geur van de ruimte in een flesje.
NPR: You Can Now Smell Space Without Leaving Earth's Atmosphere.
Popular Mechanics: Eau de Space, the Perfume That Smells Like Outer Space.
Ars Technica: Can’t afford to fly to space? Settle for smelling like it.

Veel lees- en kijkplezier,

Koen.

Nog dit:
– Zo goed als dagelijks ruimtevaartnieuwtjes vind je op de Facebook-pagina “ruimtevaartnieuws”
– Een foutje gezien in deze (of andere) NUDR’s. Laat het ons weten via “nieuwsuitderuimtevaart @ gmail . com”