SpaceNews This Week | BulgariaSat next up for reused Falcon ride; Ariane 5 back in service following Guiana Space Center's five-week stand-down

May 5, 2017 View this email in your browser Bulgarian satellite to launch on reused Falcon 9 in June Jeff Foust —A communications satellite built for a Bulgarian operator will be the second payload to launch on a previously flown Falcon 9, that operator announced May 5. In a statement, BulgariaSat said its BulgariaSat-1 spacecraft is scheduled to launch in mid-June on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The first stage of that Falcon 9 will be the same one that launched 10 Iridium Next satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in January. Arianespace launches for first time since French Guiana protests ended Caleb Henry — Arianespace on May 4 completed its first launch since the end of French Guiana's five-week protest during which demonstrators seeking France's attention blocked access to the Europe's South American spaceport. The mission, dubbed VA236, orbited two telecommunications satellites, one for Brazil and one for South Korea, on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center. Air Force launches "Space Flag" exercise inspired by IMAX-worthy Red Flag war games Phillip Swarts — The U.S. Air Force held its first "Space Flag" exercise April 17 to 21, a new event designed to hone warfighter's skills at operations, problem solving, and potential conflict in space. "An exercise like Space Flag pushes our space operators to the limit of their capacity," said Col. DeAnna Burt, commander of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. "Space Flag is the initial step to developing an advanced training program that parallels Red Flag, which prepares our combat air forces for success in the air domain." Orbital Insight raises $50 million to grow alongside Earth-observation industry Debra Werner — Geospatial analytics firms Orbital Insight plans to expand its workforce and create new data products with a $50 million investment the Silicon Valley startup raised in Series C round announced May 2. "We are on the precipice of having daily five-meter imagery of the world, and then daily one-meter imagery within a few years," James Crawford, Orbital Insight founder and chief executive, said in a statement. "Until very recently, the standard was weekly 15-meter imagery, with one-meter imagery available much less frequently." Canada to build radar instrument for NASA Mars probe David Pugliese — The Canadian government will develop a radar instrument for NASA's future Mars orbiter as well as 13 cubesats to be deployed from the International Space Station. The projects, which also include a demonstration of the applications of quantum technology in space, will cost (CAN) $90 million ($65 million). The funding for the programs starts this year. At London SSA conference, calls for paradigm shift in space situational awareness Tereza Pultarova — Maintaining safety of space operations in the increasingly congested and contested space environment will require a paradigm shift in space situational awareness, including increased collaboration and active space traffic management. Speaking at the Military Space Situational Awareness Conference, which took place April 26- 27 in London, Maj. Gen. Roger Teague, director of space programs within the office of the U.S. Air Force assistant secretary for acquisition, said the increasing number of players in the space domain  — both governmental and commercial — means that maintaining order in Earth orbit will be increasingly difficult and will require new approaches to prevent space debris collisions, as well as intentional attacks. From the Magazine Mars traffic jams could overwhelm NASA's Deep Space Network Leonard David — An international flotilla of new spacecraft — orbiters and landers — is slated to arrive at Mars in 2021, creating an unprecedented telecommunications challenge for NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). These spacecraft all need to communicate with Earth en route to Mars, requiring large amounts of telemetry and tracking after launch and then on approach to the red planet. The sheer number of Mars-bound craft, launched by multiple nations, may stress NASA's ground tracking network and capabilities of international partners. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Advertise with Us | Privacy Policy | Subscribe Copyright © 2017 SpaceNews Inc., All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: SpaceNews Inc. 1414 Prince St, Suite 204 Alexandria, VA 22314