Starlink and Gaofen launched this week

Debris falls from a Momo suborbital rocket launched from Taiki, Hokkaido, Japan, 13 Jun 2020 2015 UT. The mission did not reach space. (Interstellar Technologies/Nicovideo)

Orbital and Suborbital News
13 Jun 2020 0512 UT – Mahia Electron US Military, rideshare
13 Jun 2020 0921 UT – Canaveral Falcon 9 Starlink
17 Jun 2020 0718 UT – Jiuquan CZ-2D Gaofen-9-03
13 Jun 2020 2015 UT – Taiki Momo-F5 suborbital mission [failed to reach space]

Regional News
13 Jun 2020 – Billings pilot earns licence at 17
13 Jun 2020 – Feature on Winnipeg’s eternal mosquito fight
14 Jun 2020 – 45 hectare wildfire near Prince Albert
14 Jun 2020 – C-FOAW emergency landing near Cut Knife SK
14 Jun 2020 – N836JC fatal crash at Mandan airport
14 Jun 2020 – N201UB gear-up landing in Muskegon
14 Jun 2020 – Seaplane flip in Thunder Bay
14 Jun 2020 – Watford City or Williston may get western North Dakota drone tower
14 Jun 2020 – WestJet protects planes from hail with hockey boards
15 Jun 2020 – Calgary mosquito boom
15 Jun 2020 – Kyle Wanner (North Dakota Aeronautics Commission) radio interview
15 Jun 2020 – N87395 landing gear damage at Butte airport
15 Jun 2020 – Williston weather radar now live on North Dakota State Water Commission website
16 Jun 2020 – Bozeman pilot fined for improper helicopter landing
16 Jun 2020 – Duluth Sky Harbor airport reopens
16 Jun 2020 – Edmonton-based Flair Airlines doesn’t offer social distance as standard
16 Jun 2020 – N27RZ nosegear damage at Ely MN
16 Jun 2020 – North Dakota gives $850,000 loan to drone video firm
16 Jun 2020 – Pathfinder Project at North Dakota SU nets NASA funds
16 Jun 2020 – Road traffic at Billings airport halted by misloaded truck
16 Jun 2020 – U North Dakota administrators share an engineering background
17 Jun 2020 – Alberto Passalacqua (Iowa SU) works on OpenQBMM flow model software
18 Jun 2020 – Mohit Gupta (U Wisconsin) and EPL build a better photo sensor

Further News
12 Jun 2020 – Bill Nye and Leland Melvin discuss social concerns and space travel
12 Jun 2020 – Solid rockets arrive at KSC
13 Jun 2020 – Spaceflight Industries finishes sale of rideshare division
14 Jun 2020 – Solar Orbiter first perihelion
16 Jun 2020 – Canadian Forces resume Cyclone helicopter flights after deadly crash
16 Jun 2020 – Chang’e-4 rover resumes work for 19th lunar day
16 Jun 2020 – New charcoal air filters installed on ISS to deal with benzene leak
17 Jun 2020 – 4300 apply for 2 UAE astronaut slots
17 Jun 2020 – Astra targets July orbital launch from Kodiak
17 Jun 2020 – NASA updates Crew Dragon contract with operational realities
17 Jun 2020 – Perseverance rover nearly launch ready
17 Jun 2020 – Robot mission plan would fly by Uranian moon Triton ~2038
17 Jun 2020 – SpaceX Starship program advances: pressure tests, floats launch platform idea
18 Jun 2020 – Florida firm Space Perspective floats space tour trial balloon
18 Jun 2020 – ISS benzene leak search will continue into next week
18 Jun 2020 – Leuders’ timeline is fuzzy for moon landing
18 Jun 2020 – Tom Cruise ISS film will need blockbuster bankroll

COVID-19 matters
12 Jun 2020 – CDC has new COVID recommendations for reopen
12 Jun 2020 – COVID can’t spread in breast milk
12 Jun 2020 – Peter Pelka (U Manitoba) works on adenovirus-based COVID vaccine
12 Jun 2020 – Temperature check required to fly in Canada
15 Jun 2020 – Manitoba extends COVID emergency
15 Jun 2020 – Minneapolis-based Premier Biotech resells China antibody tests
15 Jun 2020 – New China lockdown tries to avert second wave
15 Jun 2020 – NWT adds pass program at border checkpoint near Fort Smith
15 Jun 2020 – TRV027 drug trial attempts to solve COVID blood clots
16 Jun 2020 – Keep your mask on in public restrooms, especially after flushes
16 Jun 2020 – No COVID outbreak in SD due to protests
16 Jun 2020 – Quarantine violation in Fort Frances
16 Jun 2020 – Saskatchewan libraries reopen for remote pickup
16 Jun 2020 – U Iowa plans COVID cuts
17 Jun 2020 – Laurentian U makes hand sanitizer
18 Jun 2020 – Foxconn will still make 10 000 Medtronic ventilators in Wisconsin

Oceanography satellite launched this week

Long March 2C carries Haiyang-2D to orbit from Taiyuan, 10 Jun 2020 1831 UT. (Weibo)

Orbital news
10 Jun 2020 1831 UT – Taiyuan CZ-2C Haiyang-1D ocean EOS

Regional news
05 Jun 2020 – Alec Habig (U Minnesota Duluth) featured by Minnesota Space Grant
05 Jun 2020 – CBP doesn’t say who asked for drone over Minneapolis
05 Jun 2020 – Tom Pringle (North Dakota SU) part of team that built quantum dots with ordinary silicon
06 Jun 2020 – Alec Lovlein (U Utah) featured by Minnesota Space Grant
07 Jun 2020 – N44MX fatal crash at Sioux Falls Airport
07 Jun 2020 – N595KF fatal crash at Frye Lake WY
07 Jun 2020 – N827WS lands in cornfield near Marshall MI
08 Jun 2020 – Demoz Gebre-Egziabher (U Minnesota) updated by Minnesota Space Grant
08 Jun 2020 – N88ZT lands near campground in Bristol WI
09 Jun 2020 – 4.0 earthquake near High Prairie AB
09 Jun 2020 – Aerial photos of Twin Cities damage
09 Jun 2020 – Disease suspected in Lake Winnipeg fish kill
09 Jun 2020 – N2681D gear damage at Aitkin MN airport
09 Jun 2020 – Ravi Tutika (Iowa SU) embeds liquid metal into stretchy composites
09 Jun 2020 – Reminder about space weather risks to power grid
10 Jun 2020 – Feature on Lucean Arthur Headen, Chicago aviator and engineer
10 Jun 2020 – Iowa SU ag-bio lab builds plastic shields for classroom desks
10 Jun 2020 – UW MadScience blog joins 10 June 2020 day of action
11 Jun 2020 – Bell Canada deploys 5G network in Calgary and Edmonton

Further news
05 Jun 2020 – Interactive: ESA dashboard shows environmental changes from COVID
05 Jun 2020 – 2500 out at Bombardier, days after CRJ program sold off
05 Jun 2020 – AAC Clyde Space will bring solar power to all-UK launches
05 Jun 2020 – Canadian moon rover on the drawing board
05 Jun 2020 – China newspace firms test engines
05 Jun 2020 – JAXA will support tests of ALE J-SPARC electrodynamic deorbit system
05 Jun 2020 – Martian mole back underground
05 Jun 2020 – Northrop Grumman to make Lunar Gateway Crew Cabin
05 Jun 2020 – SpaceX progress swift on new test stand, SN5 prototype
07 Jun 2020 – Parker Solar Probe passes fifth perihelion
08 Jun 2020 – Black Lives Matter statement seen by earth-imaging satellite
08 Jun 2020 – Feature: How to stock the medicine cabinet for Mars
08 Jun 2020 – Kathy Sullivan first woman to explore Challenger Deep
08 Jun 2020 – Minnesota’s Northwest Angle cut off by COVID
08 Jun 2020 – NASA astronaut Victor Glover speaks mind on recent issues
08 Jun 2020 – ULA Vulcan rocket first flight sets lunar trajectory
09 Jun 2020 – Cosmonauts play to draw with chessmaster Sergei Karyakin
09 Jun 2020 – DM-2 crew expected back on Earth in August
09 Jun 2020 – SpaceX abandons plan for 3rd Starship plant in Los Angeles
09 Jun 2020 – Spain-built iSIM-170 EOS camera celebrated with royal call to ISS
10 Jun 2020 – Blood clot scans now standard for ISS crew
10 Jun 2020 – Canada weighs Artemis treaty
10 Jun 2020 – ESA featured image is Irish Cubesat
10 Jun 2020 – FCC will allow LEO constellations to bid for rural broadband funds
10 Jun 2020 – JWST delayed past March 2021
10 Jun 2020 – Mahia Electron weather scrub
11 Jun 2020 – Algoma U will keep campus closed for Fall semester
11 Jun 2020 – Astrobotic selected to deliver VIPER lunar rover
11 Jun 2020 – DHS seeks public comment on drone uses
11 Jun 2020 – Feature on NASA extern program for NFL players
11 Jun 2020 – ISS crew isolates airflow to find benzene leak
11 Jun 2020 – Perseverance rover will launch three days late

COVID-19 matters
05 Jun 2020 – Duluth hospitals mark one week COVID free
05 Jun 2020 – SaskTel, SaskPower to reopen offices soon
05 Jun 2020 – SK labs put COVID test kits on trial, to find most useful immunity measure
05 Jun 2020 – U Minnesota will resume onsite classes this fall
06 Jun 2020 – Ontario extends COVID emergency through 19 Jun
06 Jun 2020 – Outbreak in Austin MN; 200 food workers test positive
07 Jun 2020 – Brazil drops key COVID statistic
07 Jun 2020 – Marny Xiong, St. Paul school board, dead at 31 from COVID
08 Jun 2020 – New Zealand declares victory over virus
08 Jun 2020 – Recent flights to Saskatoon carried COVID
08 Jun 2020 – Saskatchewan allows indoor service at restaurants
08 Jun 2020 – Travel allowed to northern SK as COVID recedes
09 Jun 2020 – You can still catch COVID from someone without symptoms
10 Jun 2020 – Canada-U.S. border closure will be extended again
10 Jun 2020 – Effort to reopen Minnesota courts leads to new COVID cases
10 Jun 2020 – Mall of America opens about 1/3 of stores
10 Jun 2020 – Minnesota Governor, Lt. Governor, get new COVID tests
10 Jun 2020 – Minnesota reopens restaurants
10 Jun 2020 – Ontario Premier, Deputy, Education Minister exposed to COVID
10 Jun 2020 – Sudbury Airport exec talks about travel safety
10 Jun 2020 – Thunder Bay hospital looking at one-year backlog
10 Jun 2020 – United Airlines adds COVID questions to check-in process
11 Jun 2020 – Continued concerns in meat supply chain
11 Jun 2020 – Delta continues staff cuts, rolls out COVID tests at MSP
11 Jun 2020 – SAIT lab makes and donates face shields

Two Falcon and Two Chinese launches this week

Falcon 9 Starlink mission, 4 Jun 2020 (SpaceX)

Orbital news
29 May 2020 1930 UT – Cygnus NG-13 deorbit
29 May 2020 2013 UT – Xichang CZ-11 demo commsats
30 May 2020 1922 UT – Canaveral Falcon 9 Crew Dragon DM-2
31 May 2020 0853 UT – Jiuquan CZ-2D Gaofen-9
31 May 2020 1416 UT – DM-2 Arrives at ISS
01 Jun 2020 – DM-2 astronauts settle in for as long as possible
04 Jun 2020 0125 UT – Canaveral Falcon 9 Starlink

Regional news
29 May 2020 – Andrea Dutton (U Wisconsin) featured for work on earth science priorities
29 May 2020 – Ben Geadelmann (U Minnesota) featured by Minnesota Space Grant
29 May 2020 – Border Patrol drone surveilled Minneapolis
30 May 2020 – Malmstrom AFB servicemember dies in motorcycle crash
31 May 2020 – James Flaten (U Minnesota) updated by Minnesota Space Grant
01 Jun 2020 – Detroit’s Library Street Collective flies George Floyd’s final words
01 Jun 2020 – Kelly MacGregor, James ‘Mac’ Doherty (Macalester C) featured by Minnesota Space Grant
01 Jun 2020 – Plane landing gear damage at Worthington airport
01 Jun 2020 – Two die in dorm shooting at Grand Forks air base
01 Jun 2020 – Wind flips small aircraft at Colorado spaceport
01 Jun 2020 – Winnipeg airport increases facility charge to make up lost revenue
02 Jun 2020 – Duck Mountain forest fire largest since 1886
02 Jun 2020 – Kalpana Katti (North Dakota SU) to test anti-cancer properties of crops
02 Jun 2020 – Thomas Fehr (U Minnesota) featured by Minnesota Space Grant
02 Jun 2020 – WisDOT releases aviation guides
03 Jun 2020 – Minnesota internet gaps draw concern
03 Jun 2020 – Saskatoon airport deals with nearby fire
04 Jun 2020 – British Airways 787 scoots off pavement at Edmonton airport
04 Jun 2020 – Iowa Space Grant adds Sara Nelson (Iowa SU) as outreach director
04 Jun 2020 – Steven Hauschildt (Bemidji SU) featured by Minnesota Space Grant
04 Jun 2020 – U Manitoba, Misericordia Health Centre train health workers
04 Jun 2020 – U Wisconsin team builds camera for pSCT gamma ray telescope
04 Jun 2020 – FAA approves airline city cuts

Further news
29 May 2020 – Bankrupt Intelsat needs new permissions to sell rideshare business
29 May 2020 – Miscoded CRJ autopilot inverted directions
29 May 2020 – SN4 detonation
29 May 2020 – SpaceX gets Boca Chica flight test permits
01 Jun 2020 – Ars preview of next new spaceships under development
01 Jun 2020 – Bird strike suggested as cause of Snowbird crash
03 Jun 2020 – China airlines hit with US flight ban
04 Jun 2020 – Credit card chargebacks an option as airlines avoid refunds
04 Jun 2020 – NASA concerns over campaign video, now removed

COVID-19 matters
29 May 2020 – Alberta gives away masks with fast food
29 May 2020 – Amount of exposure to COVID a factor in illness
29 May 2020 – Bombardier builds ventilators in Thunder Bay
29 May 2020 – Minnesota firm SkyWater makes chips essential to temperature sensors
29 May 2020 – NASA picks 8 firms to build ventilator design
29 May 2020 – Rush to make chip-scale devices for COVID and antibody tests
29 May 2020 – Sask mask-makers get $34k donation
29 May 2020 – South Dakota biotech firm makes COVID antibody SAB-185
30 May 2020 – COVID outbreak ends at Lloydminster hospital
30 May 2020 – Ecolab of St. Paul supports disinfection efforts
02 Jun 2020 – AbCellera tests LY-CoV555 antibody against COVID
02 Jun 2020 – Ibuprofen study will determine if is helps or hurts COVID patients
02 Jun 2020 – Manitoba to buy COVID blood tests
02 Jun 2020 – Manitoba will pay poorer front line workers a one-time bonus
02 Jun 2020 – Respirators recommended for health workers as upgrade from masks
02 Jun 2020 – U Wisconsin funds nine projects after COVID contest
03 Jun 2020 – CDC failures scrutinized
03 Jun 2020 – Epigenetic factors studied; Type A blood places COVID patients at higher risk
03 Jun 2020 – Lake Manitoba First Nation will postpone gathering due to COVID concerns
03 Jun 2020 – Regina’s Queen City Ex cancelled
03 Jun 2020 – Thunder Bay health authority comments on Ontario regional reopen strategy
04 Jun 2020 – CM4620-IE “Auxora” drug passes Phase I clinical tests for COVID
04 Jun 2020 – North Dakota SU, Microsoft build online COVID aid directory

Late news
27 May 2020 – Airplane fire at Grand Forks airport
27 May 2020 – Montana high school sends hardware skyward on SpaceX mission

Soyuz launch this week

Soyuz launched early Friday with a Russian military payload, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne demonstrated its performance profile Monday in unscheduled water landings, and Florida thunderstorms prevented the launch of Crew Dragon DM-2 on Wednesday.

A Soyuz-2.1b takes off from Plesetsk, 22 May 2020 0731 UT (Roscosmos)

Orbital News
22 May 2020 0731 UT – Plesetsk Soyuz-2.1b EKS-4 RU MilEOS
25 May 2020 1950 UT – Mojave N744VG LauncherOne Demo (failed)
25 May 2020 1213 UT – Kounotori 9 arrives at ISS
27 May 2020 [2033 UT] – Delay of Canaveral F9 Crew Dragon DM-2

Regional News
24 May 2020 – Boeing lays off 400 in Winnipeg
24 May 2020 – Snowbirds welcomed back to Moose Jaw
25 May 2020 – Manitoba doctors highlight Lyme Disease heart risks
25 May 2020 – Minnesota Space Grant features Augsburg U Aerospace Club
26 May 2020 – Canadian Armed Forces creates new Space Specialist skill badge
26 May 2020 – Picturesque results from U Wisconsin Madison science photo contest
26 May 2020 – Porter Airlines stays grounded through 29 July
27 May 2020 – Minnesota Space Grant features Breanna Keith (Bemidji SU)
27 May 2020 – SciGirls show from Twin Cities PBS nominated for award
28 May 2020 – Kenora’s Sean ‘Stroker’ Gustafson trains fighter pilots
28 May 2020 – Minnesota Space Grant features Akshay Naik (U Minnesota – Twin Cities)
28 May 2020 – Minnesota Space Grant features U Minnesota Duluth rocket team
28 May 2020 – WestJet cheer patrol makes rounds

Further News
18 May 2020 – Perseverance rocket arrives at Canaveral
22 May 2020 – Mitsubishi Aircraft cuts jobs, slows SpaceJet
24 May 2020 – CZ-5 rocket at Wenchang for Tianwen-1 Mars mission
24 May 2020 – Fire at Airbus A220 factory in Belfast
24 May 2020 – NSF feature on rocket launch weather rules
25 May 2020 – EKS-4 launch dumps hardware over Australia
27 May 2020 – Bankrupt OneWeb asks for 48000 satellite slots
27 May 2020 – Boeing restarts 737 line, cuts 12000 jobs
28 May 2020 – China to fly civilian astronauts to planned space station
28 May 2020 – Despite warnings 150 k went to scrubbed launch of DM-2
28 May 2020 – SpaceX tests SN4 engine at Boca Chica

COVID-19 matters
22 May 2020 – Environmental Engineer James Schauer (U Wisconsin) assists WI COVID tests
22 May 2020 – Rezplast in Sudbury makes plexiglas barriers for cars and counters
23 May 2020 – North Dakota Governor pleads for tolerance of mask wearers
24 May 2020 – Medical discrimination against SK patients from outbreak zone
25 May 2020 – U Manitoba fab lab makes faceshields
26 May 2020 – North Dakota to reopen state offices 1 June
26 May 2020 – Winnipeg study shows COVID spreads for about eight days after symptoms
27 May 2020 – Worker at South Dakota Jack Link’s plant dies of COVID
27 May 2020 – Edmonton among cities considered for NHL playoff ‘hub’
27 May 2020 – Manitoba close to full containment of COVID
28 May 2020 – Alberta doctors concerned with provincial PPE plan

KZ-1A orbits two tech testbeds this week

A KZ-1A rocket carries two Xingyun-2 satellites to SSO from Jiuquan, 12 May 2020, 0116 UT. (Weibo)

Orbital news
08 May 2020 0549 UT – CNSA next-generation crew capsule lands after deorbit
08 May 2020 – Fregat from 2011 continues disintegration in high orbit
11 May 2020 1533 UT – CZ-5B first stage falls into Atlantic by luck alone
11 May 2020 1608 UT – Cygnus NG-13 departs ISS
12 May 2020 0116 UT – Jiuquan KZ-1A 2x Xingyun-2 EOS/Comm/Demo

Regional news
09 May 2020 – Statement by Winnipeg Airport rebuffed by Transport Canada
11 May 2020 – WestJet cancels flights into July
12 May 2020 – Snowbirds fly over Manitoba
12 May 2020 – MB 150 digital book collection holds hidden gems in aerospace history
12 May 2020 – Vincent Ledvina (U North Dakota) works on Aurora camera
13 May 2020 – Alberta wildfire still burns one year later
13 May 2020 – Budget cut means more layoffs at U Manitoba
13 May 2020 – Dr. Carl Isaacson featured by Minnesota Space Grant
13 May 2020 – U Minnesota Balloon Team featured by Minnesota Space Grant
13 May 2020 – Delta Airlines stops service to Saskatoon
14 May 2020 – Snowbirds fly over Saskatoon and Regina
14 May 2020 – Iowa Space Grant asks colleges for project proposals

Further news
09 May 2020 – USSF buys SpaceX data from other launches
10 May 2020 – Latest Starship SN4 cryotest reaches 750 kPa pressure
11 May 2020 – Virgin Galactic goes on sale to prop up sister airline
12 May 2020 – NASA signs deal for additional Soyuz seat
13 May 2020 – Falcon 9 test fires on pad ahead of ninth Starlink delivery
13 May 2020 – Crew Dragon DM-2 astronauts are in pre-launch medical isolation
14 May 2020 – EPA will not regulate water pollution from perchlorate, oxidizer for solid rockets
14 May 2020 – Intelsat goes bankrupt
14 May 2020 – Artemis program schedule slides into 2021

COVID-19 matters
08 May 2020 – FDA approves Rutgers easy but imperfect COVID spit test
08 May 2020 – Land-O-Lakes co-op opens up Wi-Fi for rural users
08 May 2020 – 3M to make 96 million N95 masks monthly at WI, SD factories
09 May 2020 – COVID spreads at Minnesota Amazon plant
09 May 2020 – Close quarters make COVID hard to fight at Iowa meat plant
09 May 2020 – FDA approves antigen test, faster than virus PCR
09 May 2020 – Lopinavir-ritonavir + ribavirin + interferon beta-1b drug triplet passes Phase II
11 May 2020 – COVID cases mount at Alberta food processors
12 May 2020 – Dr. Susan Kline (U Minnesota) tests drug cocktails against COVID
12 May 2020 – U Saskatchewan plans all-remote fall semester
12 May 2020 – Air Guard flyovers of Minnesota
12 May 2020 – Zyus Life Sciences of Saskatoon wants to print vaccine with plants
12 May 2020 – Rural SK lacks the broadband capacity for everyday needs
12 May 2020 – “MN Masks On” volunteers make masks for hospital visitors
13 May 2020 – Saskatchewan out 2.2 M$ for COVID tests now banned by Health Canada
13 May 2020 – Sask journo in UK takes a trial dose of U Oxford ChAdOx vaccine
14 May 2020 – Mayo and 5000 tests: Convalescent plasma doesn’t hurt COVID patients

Hopeful end to week of mixed news

Orbital News
21 Mar 2020 1706 UT – Baikonur Soyuz OneWeb x34
24 Mar 2020 0343 UT – Xichang CZ-2C Yaogan-30 x3
24 Mar 2020 ~ Venezuelan commsat’s less than perfect end of life
26 Mar 2020 2018 UT – Canaveral Atlas V AEHF-6


Biomedical research of COVID-19
23 Mar 2020 – Chloroquine risks too great for 85% of cases
26 Mar 2020 – VIDO-Intervac tests COVID jab on animals

Regional News
18 Mar 2020 – Al Worden, Apollo 15 astronaut, Michigander, dead at 88
20 Mar 2020 – WiSGC guide to meeting grant requirements in adversity
22 Mar 2020 – Aviation scholarship offered by Connell Aviation Group
23 Mar 2020 – WiSGC links to STEM education resources
23 Mar 2020 – Canadian space stuff for times at home
23 Mar 2020 – Minnesota Science Museum closes due to COVID
24 Mar 2020 – DiaSorin Molecular (Stillwater MN) makes COVID testkits
24 Mar 2020 – U North Dakota Aerospace grounded, online only
24 Mar 2020 – Massive layoffs at Calgary-based WestJet
24 Mar 2020 – Kenora firms making hand sanitizer
25 Mar 2020 ~ Minnesota drone competition for schools
25 Mar 2020 – Winnipeg firms building ventilators, PPE

Further News
19 Mar 2020 – Cyberattacks, the second epidemic of COVID
19 Mar 2020 – ANDESITE cubesat team sprints to deliver payload
19 Mar 2020 – SLS and Orion work halted
20 Mar 2020 – JWST work halted
20 Mar 2020 – Map of Bennu now available
20 Mar 2020 – NASA prioritizes Artemis landing over Lunar Gateway
20 Mar 2020 – Sinclair Interplanetary to stay in Toronto after buyout
21 Mar 2020 – Virgin Orbit gets California quarantine exemption
23 Mar 2020 – FCC approves SpaceX Starlink modems
23 Mar 2020 – Bigelow Aerospace lays off everyone
23 Mar 2020 – Astra Rocket 3 damaged on pad during prelaunch tests
23 Mar 2020 – OneWeb announces layoffs, almost bankrupt
24 Mar 2020 – OSIRIS-REX will add self-driving tech to get rock sample
24 Mar 2020 – Discussion of possibility of life on Mercury
24 Mar 2020 – NASA to scrutinize F9 engine flub for DM-2 safety
24 Mar 2020 – Helicopter abort in key test may delay Crew Dragon DM-2
25 Mar 2020 – Starliner to blame for comm problem, not TDRS
25 Mar 2020 – SpaceX, Argentina delay SAOCOM 1B launch
25 Mar 2020 – Rocket Lab changes plan, cancels 30 Mar 2020 launch
25 Mar 2020 – NASA may help with tech for COVID
25 Mar 2020 – SpaceX takes welder hiring spree public
26 Mar 2020 – ESA #SpaceConnectsUs event cheers up webstreamers

Nebulous plans
20 Mar 2020 – Ceres-1 rocket due in June, launches 4 M$ each
23 Mar 2020 – Aerojet recommends hydrazine, EOR for Artemis
24 Mar 2020 – Firefly Alpha due Summer 2020
25 Mar 2020 – China readies HX-1 Mars lander for July launch
26 Mar 2020 – H3 still may fly this year, Kounotori 9 will be last HTV

Late News
13 Feb 2020 – Mary Ann Tuchscherer (Fox Valley TC) featured by WiSGC
24 Feb 2020 – D’Amoure Washburn (Milwaukee SOE) featured by WiSGC
02 Mar 2020 – Megan Kocher (U Wisconsin-Milwaukee) featured by WiSGC
09 Mar 2020 – Rene Chavez (U Wisconsin-Milwaukee) featured by WiSGC

Fourth Starlink flight launched this week

60 satellites of the Starlink communications constellation are carried from Cape Canaveral on a Falcon 9 rocket on 29 January 2020 at 1406 UT. (SpaceX)

Orbital News
25 Jan 2020 – ISS EVA 227 (Parmitano, Morgan) fixes Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer
29 Jan 2020 1406 UT – Canaveral Falcon 9 Starlink 4
29 Jan 2020 2339 UT – Satellite collision avoided by just 47 meters
30 Jan 2020 – Spitzer Space Telescope end of mission

Regional News
24 Jan 2020 – Calgary Airport hit hard by MAX 8 ground stop due to Air Canada, WestJet fleets
27 Jan 2020 – Ellsworth AFB officer dies in E-11A crash
27 Jan 2020 – Jon Christopherson and Shankar Ramaseri of USGS EROS lecture at U North Dakota (Video)
27 Jan 2020 – Benjamin Fitzgerald (U Wisconsin – Whitewater) featured by Wisconsin Space Grant

Further news
24 Jan 2020 – Prototype spacecraft arrives at Wenchang ahead of CZ-5B demo launch
29 Jan 2020 – Boeing will pay to redo Starliner uncrewed test

New ISS batteries top a suborbital week

ISS EVA 226 wrapped up after astronauts attached the last of the uninstalled Nickel-Hydrogen batteries to an inactive storage site on the exterior of the International Space Station, 20 January 2020. (NASA TV)

Orbital and Suborbital News
19 Jan 2020 – Canaveral Falcon 9 Crew Dragon Launch Escape System test
20 Jan 2020 – ISS EVA 226 (Koch, Meir) completes battery replacements

Regional News
17 Jan 2020 – Rachel Senft (U Wisconsin – La Crosse) featured by Wisconsin Space Grant
17 Jan 2020 – 2 hurt in Cessna 172 N96145 at Big Timber MT
17 Jan 2020 – None hurt in Delta A319 runway slide in Kansas City
18 Jan 2020 – Shawna Pandya of Edmonton returns to Mars Desert Research Station
19 Jan 2020 – None hurt in Fairchild Metro III runway slide in Shamattawa MB
19 Jan 2020 – Shamattawa residents decry airline monopoly, CAD 900 ticket price
20 Jan 2020 – Labs in Winnipeg and Saskatoon ready to fight 2019-nCoV Wuhan coronavirus
20 Jan 2020 – U of North Dakota will make oil safety report system inspired by aviation standards
20 Jan 2020 – CGAS Traverse City explains “low-vis” flight campaign
21 Jan 2020 – Amy Reines (Montana State U) announces results of black hole research
21 Jan 2020 – Mae Jemison speaks at U Wisconsin – Madison
21 Jan 2020 – Amazon Prime Air takes over Pinnacle Logistics base at Rockford airport
21 Jan 2020 – Rocket-powered sled will try to break speed record at Bear Lake WI, 16 Feb 2020
23 Jan 2020 – Montana pilot killed in C-130 crash amid Australian wildfires
23 Jan 2020 – Fire at Churchill MB airport destroys warehouse leased to Calm Air

Further News
17 Jan 2020 – Canso NS spaceport breaks ground soon, signs research deal with St. Francis Xavier U
20 Jan 2020 – Diplomats negotiating first NASA-CNSA summit since 2017
21 Jan 2020 – Tethers Unlimited deorbit ribbons working well in orbital tests
23 Jan 2020 – Firefly Aerospace puts out fire on test stand for Alpha rocket
23 Jan 2020 – JAXA continues EOS work with UN FAO, signs agreement focused on forestry

Late News
16 Jan 2020 ~ Historian William E. Dubois retro-flies between Omaha, Cheyenne, and Salt Lake City
17 Jan 2020 ~ Dunn Mountain crash killed support group
17 Jan 2020 ~ Details of 2018 location shoot for Lost in Space in the Drumheller badlands
23 Jan 2020 ~ JPL features 2018 work at Palomar by North Dakotan Michelle Creech-Eakman

Ariane 5 ends the week

Orbital news
15 Jan 2020 0253 UT – Taiyuan CZ-2D ÑuSat x2 Jilin-1 Tianqi-5
15 Jan 2020 – ISS EVA225 (Koch, Meir) fixes battery system
16 Jan 2020 0302 UT – Jiuquan KZ-1A Yinhe-1
16 Jan 2020 2105 UT – Kourou Ariane 5 KONNECT GSAT-30

Regional news
10 Jan 2020 – Lucas Bauer (U Wisconsin-Madison) featured by Wisconsin Space Grant
10 Jan 2020 – Space Force commander visits U North Dakota, Cavalier AFS
12 Jan 2020 – Cessna TR182 N736YU crashes near Dunn Mountain, MT, 4 dead
13 Jan 2020 – USGS EROS “Eyes on Earth” Podcast 14 released
13 Jan 2020 – Safe emergency landing in Calmar, AB
14 Jan 2020 – Bismarck Career Academy to buy its own plane
14 Jan 2020 – Allegiant announces seasonal flights
14 Jan 2020 – Iran crash casualites revised, investigators now cooperating
16 Jan 2020 – Joseph B. Habeck (U Minnesota-Twin Cities) featured by Minnesota Space Grant

Further news
10 Jan 2020 – Graduation of NASA Astronaut Group 22, “The Turtles”
12 Jan 2020 – Maesawa puts gameshow in critical path for moon flight
12 Jan 2020 – SLS test article reaches Stennis Space Center

Late news
06 Jan 2020 – 44th Air Race Classic will fly between Grand Forks and Terre Haute June 2020

Starlink’s third launch tops the week

Orbital News
06 Jan 2020 – SOLAR (ISS) instruments removed, will deorbit with Cygnus NG-12
07 Jan 2020 0219 UT – Canaveral F9 Starlink-3
07 Jan 2020 1540 UT – SpaceX Dragon CRS-19 splashdown
07 Jan 2020 1513 UT – Xichang CZ-3B TJSW-5

Regional News
03 Jan 2020 – Delta employees take toxic uniforms case to Wisconsin court
04 Jan 2020 – Cedar Rapids pilots plan circumnavigation to fight polio
06 Jan 2020 ~ Saskatoon museum adds Avro Arrow design documents to exhibit
07 Jan 2020 – Jordan Bartlett (U Minnesota-Twin Cities) featured by MN Space Grant
07 Jan 2020 – Lethbridge races to preserve Fokker F28 used by Time Air
08 Jan 2020 – PS752 crashes after takeoff, 63 Canadians killed
08 Jan 2020 – Pilots in Casper say VOR shutdowns are risky
09 Jan 2020 – Wisconsin-designed DarkAero 1 kitplane featured by Flying

Further News
04 Jan 2020 – AAS: Cubesats proven useful in astrophysics
05 Jan 2020 – AAS: Astronomers must ask to use JWST before 1 May 2020
07 Jan 2020 – NASA and Boeing will study Starliner failure, no extra test planned
08 Jan 2020 – ESA, KTH announce improved 30 GHz waveguide antenna
08 Jan 2020 – SLS rocket rolls out of Michoud, will move to Stennis for tests
08 Jan 2020 – SpaceX wants to help astronomers, but low-vis coating still in tests
08 Jan 2020 – Virgin Galactic second hull can now stand on its own wheels