OrbitalHub

ESA dixit:

“Through its Clean Space initiative, ESA is pioneering an eco-friendly approach to space activities. On the ground, that means adopting greener industrial materials, processes and technologies. In space, it means preserving Earth’s orbital environment as a safe zone, free of debris.

In the modern world, the quest to be environmentally friendly has been transforming the competitive landscape, as eco-friendly design turns into a new frontier of innovation. ESA is embracing this trend. Information on the environmental impact of Agency activities is, and will be, increasingly requested by ESA’s industrial, institutional and international partners, under pressure from customers, stakeholders and citizens.

Numerous analyses worldwide have shown the need for space debris removal, to contend with the proliferation of space debris. The only way to preserve key orbits for future use is to shrink the current amount of debris in absolute terms, which will require novel technologies and approaches for the removal of debris and the design of non-debris creating missions.

There is also substantial industrial potential: companies and organisations that take swift action towards meeting emerging regulations will obtain the competitive advantage of being first into the market. By fostering innovation, Clean Space aims to turn environmental challenges into opportunities for European space industry, to ensure a safer and cleaner environment both on Earth and in space.”

Video credit: ESA

NASA dixit:

“Scientists are closely monitoring positive signs of recovery of the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer, which is depleted by the use of chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) for a range of industrial and commercial purposes. Even after the landmark Montreal Protocol banned these substances in the late 1980s, threats to the ozone layer persist. Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center including Susan Strahan and Qing Liang (both NASA/USRA) are weighing in to an ongoing debate about the relative impacts of continuing sources of ozone depletion, including short-lived chemicals not banned by the Protocol, the effects of climate change, and banned chemicals that are still being released into the atmosphere. All could potentially delay the recovery of the seasonal ozone hole over Antarctica.”

Video credit: NASA Goddard

NASA dixit:

“This 24-hour infrared loop from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GOES-16 satellite shows the evolution of the deepening east coast cyclone. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) – R Series is a collaborative development and acquisition effort between NOAA and NASA. The GOES-16 (GOES-East) satellite, the first of the series, provides continuous imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s western hemisphere and space weather monitoring.”

Video credit: NOAA

Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system performed a giant leap nearer completion on Tuesday 12 December, as four more Galileo satellites were launched into orbit by Ariane 5.

Liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana took place at 18:36 UTC (19:36 CET, 15:36 local time), carrying Galileo satellites 19–22. Separation of the upper stage occurred about nine minutes after liftoff, followed by the first firing of the upper stage. The upper stage – carrying four 715-kg Galileo satellites – flew in ballistic configuration for three hours and eight minutes, after which a second upper stage firing placed it into circular separation orbit. Once stabilised at 3h 35 min after liftoff, the Galileo dispenser released the first two satellites, followed by the second pair 20 minutes later.

At orbital injection the launcher attained an altitude of 22 925 km, approximately 300 km below the Galileo satellites’ operational altitude. The four satellites manoeuvred themselves up to this height, leaving the passivated upper stage safely in a ‘graveyard orbit’.

Video credit: ESA

ESA dixit:

“ESA’s CryoSat and the Copernicus Sentinel-1 missions have been used to measure subtle changes in the elevation and flow of ice shelves that, in turn, reveals how huge canyons are forming underneath. Warm bottom ocean water is entering the cavity under Antarctica’s Dotson ice shelf and is stirred by Earth’s rotation. This is causing one side of the ice shelf to melt. The canyon, which has formed over 25 years, is now 200 m deep in places and the ice just above it is heavily crevassed, affecting the shelf’s future ability to buttress the ice on land.”

Video credit: ESA/University of Edinburgh–N. Gourmelen/Planetary Visions

NASA dixit:

“Early on the morning of Saturday, November 18, NASA successfully launched for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the first in a series of four advanced polar-orbiting satellites, equipped with next-generation technology and designed to improve the accuracy of U.S. weather forecasts out to seven days. The Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) lifted off on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s central coast. JPSS-1 data will improve weather forecasting and help agencies involved with post-storm recovery by visualizing storm damage and the geographic extent of power outages.”

Video credit: ULA / NASA