Science – Page 2 – Fargo Orbit

Hot abort past fortnight

Jiuquan CZ-2D Gaofen-9,
23 Aug 2020 0227 UT (CCTV)

Further news
23 Aug 2020 – PS752 flight data downloaded
25 Aug 2020 – Astronomers issue full report on how to see past glare of commsat clouds
25 Aug 2020 – Pulsar Fusion makes a plasma thruster, still chasing space fusion reactor
25 Aug 2020 – InSight detects Phobos transit
25 Aug 2020 – Tianwen-1 completes en route test

25 Aug 2020 – Crew returns to US side of ISS after leak check
25 Aug 2020 – Starliner plans for next three flights, starting as soon as December 2020
25 Aug 2020 – USPS mail processing sapped by cuts in Minnesota
25 Aug 2020 – Wildfire smoke billows into Iowa
26 Aug 2020 – ISS crew checks for air leak over extra day sealed in on Russian side

26 Aug 2020 – Hope probe images Mars
26 Aug 2020 – Skylab astronaut Jerry Carr dead at 88
27 Aug 2020 – Oneweb still getting new FCC approvals
28 Aug 2020 – SLS cost overruns
28 Aug 2020 – 787 defect grounds planes

29 Aug 2020 – Satellite TV operator DirecTV for sale again
31 Aug 2020 – Outage at CenturyLink affects over 3% of Internet traffic
31 Aug 2020 – Lucy, Jovian asteroid probe, starts assembly, may launch 2021
31 Aug 2020 – US mainline air carriers finally end onerous change fees
31 Aug 2020 – Teprel-B rocket engine passes test

31 Aug 2020 – Amazon approved to fly drone deliveries in US airspace
01 Sep 2020 – JAXA moon rover named ‘Lunar Cruiser’
01 Sep 2020 – Small nuclear reactor from NuScale gets US safety approval
01 Sep 2020 – Airline internet provider Gogo bought by Intelsat
01 Sep 2020 – Jetpack operator spotted too close to LAX

01 Sep 2020 – FAA approves Electron launches from Virginia
02 Sep 2020 – Plasma thruster research featured by ESA
02 Sep 2020 – The Register interviews Rocket Lab exec
02 Sep 2020 – Minuteman III test launch at Vandenberg AFB
02 Sep 2020 – SLS booster test

02 Sep 2020 – SpaceX seeks FCC broadband funds
03 Sep 2020 – FAA awards airport grants
03 Sep 2020 – US drone part import ban affects firefighting
03 Sep 2020 – Starship SN6 test flight

COVID-19 matters
21 Aug 2020 – Ontario finalizes 3M PPE factory deal
22 Aug 2020 – Canada Post closes Edmonton plant for cleaning after COVID case
22 Aug 2020 – South Dakota COVID data hacked
22 Aug 2020 – U North Dakota surge in COVID cases
22 Aug 2020 – 42 cases sets new record in Manitoba

23 Aug 2020 – VIDO-InterVac vaccine building own production line, other delays
24 Aug 2020 – COVID-19 can be caught multiple times, body does not stay immune
25 Aug 2020 – FDA resets expectations for convalescent plasma: safe but only slightly effective
25 Aug 2020 – North Dakota SU prof publishes roundup of COVID drugs
25 Aug 2020 – COVID outbreak follows Sturgis rally

25 Aug 2020 – Nebraska COVID data struck by computer glitch
25 Aug 2020 – Minnesota requires COVID testing for nursing home staff
25 Aug 2020 – Hy-Vee pharmacies added to drive-through COVID test effort

26 Aug 2020 – U Wisconsin redesigns the facemask
26 Aug 2020 – Minnesota sticks to wider COVID test plan
26 Aug 2020 – Kenosee water park reopens after closure
27 Aug 2020 – New antigen tests need less lab equipment, demand still outpaces supply
28 Aug 2020 – ASM Logic of Burnsville MN creates software to coordinate COVID supplies in Cameroon

28 Aug 2020 – Lengthy recovery from COVID for ND Supreme Court justice
29 Aug 2020 – Major outbreak at U Iowa
29 Aug 2020 – Manitoba fighting outbreaks at nursing homes
31 Aug 2020 – Roblin MB fights to keep full hospital services in town
31 Aug 2020 – US cancels ventilator order

31 Aug 2020 – U Calgary dorms are 70% empty this year
31 Aug 2020 – Canada buys Novavax, J+J vaccines
31 Aug 2020 – U Wisconsin joins Phase III tests of AstraZeneca vaccine
31 Aug 2020 – Travel restrictions return to Northern Manitoba
31 Aug 2020 – One fifth of COVID tests at Iowa SU are positive

31 Aug 2020 – Iowa reaches highest COVID rate in US
31 Aug 2020 – Sweden strategy, poor in hindsight, considered for United States
01 Sep 2020 – Biohackers test experimental vaccines on themselves
01 Sep 2020 – U Nebraska-Lincoln greek houses quarantined
01 Sep 2020 – Phase II/III study of Regeneron antibodies in Sioux Falls

01 Sep 2020 – U Minnesota reopens after 2 week delay
02 Sep 2020 – US not joining international vaccine effort
02 Sep 2020 – Phase III test of AstraZeneca vaccine at HealthPartners in Minnesota
02 Sep 2020 – Studies continue to confirm steroids help COVID patients in hospital
02 Sep 2020 – Medtronic announces restructuring and layoffs

02 Sep 2020 – Likely first US vaccines will ship frozen: Moderna at -20C, Pfizer at ultracold -70 C
03 Sep 2020 – Manitoba will launch PPE test centre
03 Sep 2020 – Iowa schools reopen in COVID wave, lawsuits fly

GPS flies and Beidou goes global last fortnight

The Long March 3B launch from Xichang on 23 Jun 2020 0143 UT, was covered live on television, unusual for a launch in China. The flight completed the Beidou-3 global satellite navigation constellation. (Xinhua)

Orbital news
23 Jun 2020 0143 UT – Xichang CZ-3B Beidou Navigation

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 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

Atlas V and H-IIB fly this week

Orbital News
17 May 2020 1314 – Atlas V X-37B US Military
20 May 2020 1731 – Tanegashima H-IIB Kounotori-9 ISS Cargo

Regional News
15 May 2020 – Airdrie AB students contact ISS by ham radio
15 May 2020 – None hurt in plane crash 75km from Fort Frances
15 May 2020 – MB seeks businesses to deploy Internet to the North
16 May 2020 – Air Canada lays off 20000, over half the workforce
16 May 2020 – National Microbiology Lab chief takes UK job, cites family
17 May 2020 – Safe pilot, bent wing in Bloodvein MB mishap
18 May 2020 – Medicine Hat air ambulance pleads for funds
18 May 2020 – Wildfires near Dauphin MB
19 May 2020 – Delta will fill planes to 60% for social distance
19 May 2020 – York Space Systems opens new facility in Denver
20 May 2020 – SK wildfire grows to 375 km²
21 May 2020 – Iowa SU features NASA work of Sara Mayne
21 May 2020 – MN astronaut Karen Nyberg talks with Ars Technica
21 May 2020 – U Wisconsin develops nanostructured PVDF spacecraft shield

Further news
15 May 2020 – Artemis Accords would enshrine Space Law concepts in a Treaty
15 May 2020 – China adds satellite internet to space infrastructure priorities
15 May 2020 – NASA Stennis partial reopen
15 May 2020 – Tokyo2021 loses another event – meteor shower satellite fails in orbit
17 May 2020 – Bill Norrie of Calgary sailed across the Pacific
17 May 2020 – Snowbird dead, another injured in Kamloops BC crash
18 May 2020 – NASA Michoud partial reopen
19 May 2020 – Annie Glenn dies in Minnesota, age 100
19 May 2020 – Head rolls at NASA after Artemis procurement probe
20 May 2020 – Skyrora completes Skylark-L rocket engine test
20 May 2020 – WFIRST now called the Roman Space Telescope
21 May 2020 – NASA takes extra time for DM-2 Flight Readiness Review
21 May 2020 – NSF feature on Crew Dragon abort modes

COVID-19 matters
15 May 2020 – COVID patients that need ventilators have 50 to 75% survival rate
15 May 2020 – FDA notice issued on inaccurate Abbott COVID test
15 May 2020 – SaskTel retirees fix donated computers to help keep communities connected
15 May 2020 – SK closes 12 rural ERs on two days’ notice
15 May 2020 – Sudbury library opens phone line for folks that want to chat about books
15 May 2020 – The Forks Market reopens in Winnipeg
15 May 2020 – U Alberta will conduct fall semester online
16 May 2020 – COVID causes blood clots in serious cases
17 May 2020 – Fire contained at Winnipeg hospital
18 May 2020 – Fuse33 Makerspace in Calgary fabs 12000 faceshields
19 May 2020 – Canada-US border closure extended to 21 June 2020
19 May 2020 – Civic honour planned for SD food workers
19 May 2020 – U Wisconsin creates COVID Crush video game
21 May 2020 – 2020 Grey Cup in Regina cancelled due to COVID
21 May 2020 – Privacy problem with ND/SD Care19 phone app
21 May 2020 – Rigid US medical supply chain ignored new test labs

Late News
13 May 2020 – JournoDrone shot down in Butterfield MN

Progress cargo launched to ISS this week

A Soyuz-2.1a rocket sends Progress MS-14 to the International Space Station from Baikonur, 25 Apr 2020. (Roscosmos)

Soyuz launched the uncrewed Progress cargo module to the ISS early Saturday, and NASA announced three winning bidders for commercial crew lunar landers Thursday.

COVID-19 science
27 Apr 2020 – CDC officially adds 6 more symptoms of COVID
30 Apr 2020 – Experts welcome news on Remdesivir with caution
30 Apr 2020 – High hopes for antigen tests

Orbital News
25 Apr 2020 0151 UT – Baikonur Soyuz Progress MS-14 ISS Cargo
29 Apr 2020 – ISS Kibo deploys Quetzal-1, Guatemalan cubesat

Regional News
25 Apr 2020 – Kit plane C-GTET survives emergency landing
28 Apr 2020 – JetBlue alters MSP service due to COVID
28 Apr 2020 – Layoffs at U Sask could start 4 May
28 Apr 2020 – VP visits Mayo without mask

Further News
24 Apr 2020 – ViaSat gets FCC approval for 20 MEO netsats
26 Apr 2020 – Al Amal, Emirati Mars orbiter, at Tanegashima for July launch
26 Apr 2020 – SN4 survives cryo test, first Starship to pass
28 Apr 2020 – SpaceX sunshield shadows shiny Starlink sats
29 Apr 2020 – An-225, world’s largest plane, will fly PPE to Québec
29 Apr 2020 – CZ-5B rolled to pad at Wenchang for ~5 May launch
29 Apr 2020 – Electron rocket goes vertical at Virginia spaceport, for tests
30 Apr 2020 – Blue Moon, Starship, and Alpaca selected for lunar lander awards
30 Apr 2020 – FDA approves NASA ventilator

COVID-19 response
24 Apr 2020 – Two SK meat plants close
25 Apr 2020 – Winnipeg seamstress donates facemasks
27 Apr 2020 – MB researcher studies difference in COVID outcomes in men and women
27 Apr 2020 – Sask experts caution against herd immunity strategies
28 Apr 2020 – Alberta pilots fly masks north
28 Apr 2020 – MN, SD meat plants ordered reopened
28 Apr 2020 – Winnipeg fair, Red River Ex, cancelled due to COVID
29 Apr 2020 – Alberta workers call for meat plant closures
29 Apr 2020 – Outbreak prevents Lloydminster from joining SK reopen plan
29 Apr 2020 – U Regina students sell facemasks
30 Apr 2020 – Duluth firms make PPE
30 Apr 2020 – North Dakota SU trains contract tracers
30 Apr 2020 – U North Dakota makes Viral Transport Media reagent

Illinois firm gets NIAC grant to study Alpha Centauri space probe

On 7 April 2020, NASA announced the 2020 awardees for its NIAC grants, which support preliminary work in space mission development. One winner is Hbar Technologies of West Chicago, Illinois. The firm’s experts, formerly of Fermilab, will refine a concept, entirely possible with near-future developments in antiproton manufacturing, to use perhaps a dozen grams of antimatter to propel robotic probes to our nearest stellar neighbours, Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B, and Proxima Centauri. The specific project of the $125,000 Phase I NIAC grant will focus on how to slow down a part of the probe fleet to allow Proxima Centauri b to be studied in detail. Results are expected within nine months.

Alberta and Manitoba mourn dozens lost in Tehran plane crash

An aviation disaster has claimed the lives of 63 Canadians, including 30 from Edmonton and five Winnipeggers.

Wednesday, 8 January 2020, Ukraine International flight PS752 crashed at 0249 UT, about eight minutes after leaving Imam Khomeini International Airport (OIIE). The burning wreckage of the Boeing 737-800NG was found less than 20 kilometers from the airport. The plane, which was only three and a half years old, had last been inspected on 6 January.

A number of doctors, researchers, and graduate students are in the casualty list, including Edmonton OB-GYN Dr. Shekoufeh Choupannejad, University of Alberta electrical engineering professors Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshmand, University of Alberta computer science graduate students Pouneh Gorji and Arash Pourzarabi, Winnipeg immunologist Forough Khadem, and at least 9 other academics with ties elsewhere in Canada.

Aviation safety authorities may not be allowed to effectively cooperate on the investigation as a result of recent tensions between Iran and the United States. Just hours before, 2230 UT on 7 January, between 15 and 22 Iranian theatre ballistic missiles (TBMs) targeted two bases in Iraq used by the United States military. Due to the ambiguous safety situation, EASA and the FAA have asked passenger airlines to avoid flying over Iraq and Iran.

Category: Science