December 15, 2020 RELEASE 20-117*NASA Releases Best Practices Handbook to Help Improve Space Safety*  The NASA Spacecraft Conjunction Assessment and Collision Avoidance Best Practices Handbook includes information on best practices for coordinating in-orbit activity in a safe and responsible manner. */Credits: NASA/* NASA has released the first iteration of its Spacecraft Conjunction Assessment and Collision Avoidance Best Practices Handbook to share information on best prac ...Continue Reading

  December 15, 2020 RELEASE 20-127*Spinoff Highlights NASA Technology Paying Dividends in the US Economy*  The redesigned 2021 NASA Spinoff publication features dozens of NASA innovations improving life on Earth. */Credits: NASA/* Whether upgrading air traffic control software or honing the food safety practices that keep our dinner tables safe, NASA has worked for more than six decades to ensure its innovations benefit people on Earth. One of the agency’s most importa ...Continue Reading

:Product: Solar Region Summary :Issued: 2020 Dec 15 0030 UTC # Prepared jointly by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, # Space Weather Prediction Center and the U.S. Air Force. # Joint USAF/NOAA Solar Region Summary SRS Number 350 Issued at 0030Z on 15 Dec 2020 Report compiled from data received at SWO on 14 Dec I. Regions with Sunspots. Locations Valid at 14/2400Z Nmbr Location Lo Area Z LL NN Mag Type 2792 S22E39 105 0010 Bxo 04 03 Beta 2793 S16E60 084 0010 Axx 01 02 Alpha IA. H-alpha P ...Continue Reading

The following sections have been updated in the past 7 days. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- FIRES (1 updated event, 1 new image) -- EXTREME SUMMER 2020-21 WEATHER IN AUSTRALIA Recent years have brought persistent heat waves and fires in Australia. * Fraser Island Blazes (Image from Dec 7, 2020; Posted Dec 10, 2020) https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147638/fraser-island-blazes/?src=nha -- SEVERE STORMS (1 updated event, 1 new image) -- 2020 NORTH ATLANTIC HURR ...Continue Reading

  December 14, 2020 RELEASE 20-130*NASA, ESA Choose Astronauts for SpaceX Crew-3 Mission to Space Station* crew-3_composite.png The members of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station. Pictured from left are NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Tom Marshburn, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer. */Credits: NASA/ESA /* NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) have selected three astronauts to serve as crew members for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission ...Continue Reading

Official Space Weather Advisory issued by NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center Boulder, Colorado, USA SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY OUTLOOK #20-50 2020 December 13 at 6:21 p.m. MST (2020 December 14 0121 UTC) **** SPACE WEATHER OUTLOOK **** Summary For December 7-13 No space weather storms were observed during the summary period. Outlook For December 14-20 No space weather storms are expected during the outlook period. Data used to provide space weather services are contributed by NOAA, USAF, NASA, NSF, ...Continue Reading

:Product: Solar Region Summary :Issued: 2020 Dec 14 0030 UTC # Prepared jointly by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, # Space Weather Prediction Center and the U.S. Air Force. # Joint USAF/NOAA Solar Region Summary SRS Number 349 Issued at 0030Z on 14 Dec 2020 Report compiled from data received at SWO on 13 Dec I. Regions with Sunspots. Locations Valid at 13/2400Z Nmbr Location Lo Area Z LL NN Mag Type 2792 S22E52 105 0010 Bxo 01 04 Beta IA. H-alpha Plages without Spots. Locations Valid at 13/ ...Continue Reading

:Product: Solar Region Summary :Issued: 2020 Dec 13 0030 UTC # Prepared jointly by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, # Space Weather Prediction Center and the U.S. Air Force. # Joint USAF/NOAA Solar Region Summary SRS Number 348 Issued at 0030Z on 13 Dec 2020 Report compiled from data received at SWO on 12 Dec I. Regions with Sunspots. Locations Valid at 12/2400Z Nmbr Location Lo Area Z LL NN Mag Type 2790 S23W82 252 0020 Hrx 01 01 Alpha 2792 S23E67 103 0010 Bxo 02 03 Beta IA. H-alpha P ...Continue Reading

:Product: Solar Region Summary :Issued: 2020 Dec 12 0030 UTC # Prepared jointly by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, # Space Weather Prediction Center and the U.S. Air Force. # Joint USAF/NOAA Solar Region Summary SRS Number 347 Issued at 0030Z on 12 Dec 2020 Report compiled from data received at SWO on 11 Dec I. Regions with Sunspots. Locations Valid at 11/2400Z Nmbr Location Lo Area Z LL NN Mag Type 2790 S23W68 252 0060 Hsx 01 01 Alpha IA. H-alpha Plages without Spots. Locations Valid at 11 ...Continue Reading

  December 11, 2020 CONTRACT RELEASE C20-031*NASA Awards Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 Contract* NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) has awarded multiple Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contracts to launch small satellites (SmallSats) to space, including CubeSats, microsats or nanosatellites. The three companies selected to provide these commercial launch capabilities, and the value of their firm fixed-price contracts, are: [*]Astra Space ...Continue Reading