Welcome to Terminal Count, the official weekly rundown of spaceflight news by Space Explored. This week, the story is once again about SpaceX and its Starship rocket. The company is gearing up for not just its sixth flight, but also for three other Falcon 9 launches this week.
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Founded in 2012 by the Gilmour brothers, Adam and James, Gilmour Space aims to position itself as an industry leader with the development of the Eris launch vehicle, a three-stage rocket engineered to transport small to medium payloads into orbit. This initiative underscores the company’s commitment to democratizing space access through innovative technology and strategic investments.
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In the remote landscapes of South Australia, a remarkable transformation is unfolding as the Koonibba Test Range, located just a 30-minute drive northwest of Ceduna, is poised to become a beacon of hope, empowerment, and innovation. This story weaves together the aspirations of the Koonibba Aboriginal community, the dreams of space exploration, and the limitless potential of in-space manufacturing.
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The United States and Australia have signed a Technology Safeguards Agreement, or TSA, which aims to pave the way for U.S. commercial space launch vehicles to conduct launch activities Down Under. The TSA not only intends to facilitate collaboration between the two nations but also safeguards sensitive U.S. launch technology and data on Australian soil.
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The Australian private space sector is facing uncertainty after the government cut a program worth $1.5 billion, and the current government is seeking to reduce spending to address a deficit.
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In a surprising move, the Australian government has made the decision to terminate the ambitious National Space Mission for Earth Observation, a billion-dollar project that aimed to establish a state-of-the-art satellite system for a range of monitoring purposes.
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NASA’s Voyager 2 space probe will soon spend 11 months without the ability to receive commands from Earth, according to the agency. That’s because the 48-year-old Australian radio antenna known as DSS43 will undergo much needed hardware upgrades starting this month.
Voyager 2 first launched almost 43 years ago with the task of studying the outer planets in our solar system. While the probe won’t be able to receive instructions from Earth for most of 2020, it will continue to send data to Earth as it enters a quiescent state. DSS43 is the only dish equipped to send data to the space probe in part because it’s only viewable from the southern hemisphere.
NASA’s space probe isn’t the only reason Deep Space Network is upgrading its 20 story office-sized dish either.
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