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WG3K > ANS 10.03.24 17:01l 10 Lines 4849 Bytes #68 (0) @ AMSAT
BID : $ANS070.9
Read: GUEST
Subj: Satellite Shorts From All Over
Path: ON0AR<OZ5BBS<CX2SA<N3HYM<WG3K
Sent: 240310/1552Z 1873@WG3K.#SMD.MD.USA.NOAM LinBPQ6.0.24
Congratulations to both Eddy Schebesta, OE3SEU, and Paulo Bauer Jorge, F5VMJ, for their outstanding achievements in providing satellite contacts! Eddy has achieved an impressive 132 grid squares, earning him the AMSAT VUCC/r Award #13, while Paulo has excelled with contacts from 102 grid squares, earning him AMSAT VUCC/r Award #14. The Reverse VUCC or VUCC/r Award, originally introduced by the Central States VHF Society and now carried on by AMSAT, recognizes the dedication of satellite rovers like Eddy and Paulo. For more information about this prestigious award, you can visit the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/reverse-vucc-or-vucc-r-award. Keep on roving, Eddy and Paulo, and continue to inspire others in the AMSAT community with your remarkable achievements! (ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards for the above information)
NASA will broadcast live coverage of SpaceX Crew-7's return to Earth from the International Space Station on March 10. The coverage will commence with a change-of-command ceremony at 11:55 a.m. EDT. Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov will conclude their nearly six-month science mission. Weather permitting, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is set to undock on March 11 at 11:05 a.m., with splashdown targeted for as early as 5:35 a.m. on March 12 off the Florida coast. The live coverage will be available on NASA , NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website, featuring farewell remarks, hatch closure, undocking, and splashdown events, as well as a media teleconference on March 12 with key participants. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)
SpaceX is aiming for the third test flight of its Starship rocket on March 14, as announced through a post on the X platform. The Starship vehicle comprises a stainless-steel reusable upper stage, also known as Starship, and a Super Heavy first-stage booster, standing over 400 feet tall together. A recent critical fueling test at the Starbase facility in Texas involved pumping over 10 million pounds of liquid methane and liquid oxygen into the rocket. The upcoming launch follows two previous test flights in April 2023 and November 2023, where Starship faced issues like failure to separate from the first-stage booster and a subsequent explosion of the Super Heavy. After the second test, the FAA identified seventeen corrective actions, all of which SpaceX claims to have completed, addressing issues related to leak reduction, fire protection, and propellant vent operations. The Starship and Super Heavy, designed for full reusability, are pivotal for NASA's Artemis 3 mission to land astronauts on the moon by 2026. (ANS thanks Brett Tingley, Space.com, for the above information)
NASA has identified a growing air leak on the International Space Station (ISS) located at the end of the Russian service module. The leak, situated in Russia's Zvezda service module, initially released one pound of air per day but accelerated to over two pounds daily in early February. Despite the increased rate, NASA assures that it does not currently jeopardize the safety of the ISS crew or impact the station's operations. Collaboration between the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada is underway to address the situation. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, confirms ongoing monitoring and asserts that there is no immediate threat to the crew or the station itself. The leak is in a three-foot-long area and has prompted precautionary measures, including sealing off the affected vestibule to mitigate further air loss from the rest of the space station. (ANS thanks Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, for the above information)
The inaugural components for Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket have reached the port of Pariacabo in Kourou, French Guiana, transported by the container ship, Canopée. Manufactured across Europe, the central core arrived on Canopée, which uses sails to reduce emissions and save up to 30¨n fuel during its 10-day, 7,000 km journey. The rocket's stages were produced in various European locations, with the main engine and stage integrated in Les Mureaux, France, and the upper stage and insulation in Bremen, Germany. Following transport, the components were offloaded and taken to the Ariane 6 assembly building, a few kilometers away, where they will undergo integration before liftoff. The boosters, already at Europe's Spaceport, are P120C solid propulsion boosters similar to those used for the Vega-C rocket. The central core will be assembled horizontally and then transported to the launchpad, where it will be erected, followed by the addition of boosters and the upper stage, with the goal of a summer launch for Flight Model-1. (ANS thanks the European Space Agency for the above information)
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