Space Stories: A Volcanic Moon, an Indian X-ray Launch, and New Chinese Communication Satellites

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): JunoCam image of Jupiter’s moon Io during its close encounter. The image was taken at an altitude of about 1,500 miles. (NASA JPL and Southwest Research Institute)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—Forbes: “A NASA Spacecraft Just Had A Close Encounter With A Volcanic Moon—See The Stunning First Image“

NASA’s spacecraft Juno just had a super-close encounter with the most volcanic world in the solar system—but its stunning first image could be among its last after 56 orbits of Jupiter. On December 30, the bus-sized spacecraft—orbiting Jupiter since 2016—got very close to Io, the giant moon of Jupiter. It reached a mere 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) from the moon’s surface. However, the spacecraft’s camera has suffered radiation damage and may not last much longer.

—Fox51 News: “India Kicks Off 2024 with X-ray Astronomy Satellite Launch“

India began 2024 with the launch of an X-ray astronomy satellite aboard the sixtieth flight of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The PSLV C58 mission lifted off at 9:10 AM local time (03:40 UTC) on Monday, Jan. 1, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. XPoSat, or X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, carries a pair of instruments that will be used to study X-ray emissions from astronomical sources. After deploying XPoSat, PSLV C58’s upper stage has remained in orbit as the third flight of the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM-3), serving as a free-flying platform hosting a range of attached payloads.

—SpaceNews: “First Satellite for Chinese G60 Megaconstellation Rolls Off Assembly Line“

The first satellite for a second planned Chinese low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation has been produced in new facilities in Shanghai. A new generation flat-panel satellite rolled off the assembly at the G60 digital satellite production factory in Shanghai’s Songjiang District Tuesday, Dec. 27, according to Chinese press reports. The satellite is the first for the G60 Starlink low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation. An initial 108 satellites of a total of around 12,000 G60 Starlink satellites are to be launched across 2024.