Space Roundup Dec 27th, 2020
Hello, dear space lovers! And merry Christmas!
Here’s a brief summary of my personal highlights of the week. So many things going on in space exploration (as usual, yay!). Take a seat and get ready for liftoff! :)
Tests and more tests!
A week full of tests! First, the James Webb Space Telescope’s Sunshield successfully passed its final tests, getting closer to the launch date
Then, NASA's SLS megarocket 'hot fire' test got delayed after an early shutdown in a fueling trial. Sad. Let’s hope this doesn’t have a relevant impact on the schedule.
Astrobotic CubeRover, a cute mini-robot that will go to the moon next year, keeps being tested on a moon-like environment getting ready for the big event.
And last but not least, SpaceX moved SN9 to the launchpad after fixing its wings. Can’t be more excited about the test campaigns that will take it to fly and (hopefully!) safely land.
Launches
After a super busy week last week, we have only had two Chinese launches this week: the new Long March 8 maiden flight and Long March 4C.
Regarding this new rocket (Long March 8), although this exact rocket was spendable, LM-8 is the first step towards “SpaceX-like” rocket reusability, so it is a very relevant step forward for the Chinese space industry. We’ll see how it progresses.
Mission extensions!
After two super-successful sample return missions, this week we received even better news from the Japanese mission Hayabusa-2 and the Chinese mission Chang’e-5: they are both continuing their scientific research going back to deep space. Yay!
Chang’e-5 will go to the L1 Lagrange point between the Earth and the Sun for the upcoming years, while Hayabusa-2 will go visit another asteroid far far away: it is expected to reach its destination in the year 2031. Wow.
Keep learning!
Talking about asteroids: do you like them? Our friend @astrogianca does! He has written two amazing articles about the beauty of these planetary left-overs on his blog and it is totally worth the read. Here’s article #1 and here’s article #2. Enjoy them! :)
Picture of the week
The Carina Nebula. Approximately 8,500 light-years from Earth. Discovered in 1752, it is one of the largest diffuse nebulae in our skies. Image credit: Hubble Space Telescope.
Upcoming launches
Dec. 28th: An Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch a French military satellite (CSO-2)
Space jobs
Do you want to play an active role in space exploration? Here are some open positions in the aerospace industry:
And that’s it for this week! :)
If you enjoy my Space Roundup, PLEASE SHARE IT or consider supporting me on Patreon.
Cheers from sunny Spain and happy new year!
Juan, the Curious Astronaut