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Jonathan M.

@ororg.org
85 followers 148 following 51 posts

The sky sure looks beautiful today :) 🚀 Orbital rocket enjoyer 🛰️ Can often be found chasing satellite passes overhead @EnergiaRocket on the other place.

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Jonathan M. @ororg.org · 05/09/2026
Isar Spectrum deorbit burn was visible over Western Europe as a very dim, conical cloud moving north. Too dim to photograph :( It was above the Channel at approx. 23:47 CEST. I could not see the burn itself, just the exhaust gases starting to get illuminated by the sun, as expected by the figure.
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ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 03/09/2026
ACQUISITION OF SIGNAL CONFIRMED! 🎉🛰️ #BepiColombo telemetry shows the Mercury Transfer Module has successfully separated from the spacecraft stack! ✅ First step of Mercury arrival phase - complete! 👏 Next stop: Mercury orbit insertion for MPO and Mio in November! @esa.int #JAXA #Mercury
First signal after seperation from BepiColombo
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ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 03/08/2026
#BepiColombo is approaching Mercury 🛰️🌑☀️ And we’re here for it! 🙌 On 3 September, the @esa.int / #JAXA mission will carry out its first arrival manoeuvre, kicking off the Mercury Arrival Phase. Want to watch live on 3 Sept? ️️Stay tuned here and on @science.esa.int for more details on 27 August 🗓️
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Andy Scollick @andyscollick.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
The Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex at Robledo de Chavela municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain on fire. Burgohondo wildfire. 📷 via Infues Avila
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Dr. JB Vincent @comet-toolbox.com · 06/07/2026
Great week-end for small bodies ! Hayabusa 2# flyby of asteroid Torifune (www.jaxa.jp/press/2026/0...) and Tianwen-2 images of asteroid Kamo'oalewa (www.xinhuanet.com/20260706/eb8...) ! #PlanetaryScience
Asteroid Torifune imaged by Hayabusa 2# (JAXA)Asteroid Kamo'oalewa imaged by Tianwen-2 (CNSA)
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Toast @to0ast.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
>buy suborbital electron >look outside >orbital
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Anatoly Zak @anatolyzak.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Russian Academy of Sciences made a formal decision to extend work of the Spektr-RG observatory (stationed in an Earth-Sun Lagrange point) for 5 more years. It is the only major scientific spacecraft operated by Russia, following its launch in 2019. DETAILS: www.russianspaceweb.com/spektr_rg.ht...
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鳥嶋真也 Shinya TORISHIMA @luna-astroneering.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
宇宙航空研究開発機構(JAXA)は2026年6月12日9時53分59秒、H3ロケット6号機(30形態試験機)を、種子島宇宙センターから打ち上げました。 ロケットは正常に飛行し、離昇から約15分後に、目標の軌道に到達しました。
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Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Hello England, after 38 years in the USA I have returned!!
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Thomas @thomasthefrench.eurosky.social · 25/05/2026
Le dome de chaleur est bien en place
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Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
All that remains - 2 carryons, 4 checked bags, and 3 boxes to mail.
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Gunter Krebs @skyrocket.de · 18/05/2026
Gunter's Space Page is now 30 years old!!! While I can not pinpoint the exact day, my oldest back up files hint for a beginning in May 1996. Starting as an "external memory", my website has apparently become some kind of industry standard. space.skyrocket.de
space.skyrocket.de
Gunter's Space Page - Information on spaceflight, launch vehicles and satellites
Gunter's Space Page - Information on Launch vehicles, Satellites, Space Shuttle and Astronautics
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Jonathan M. @ororg.org · 18/05/2026
McDowell's space library is taking shape, you can always donate at gofund.me/6001a1c28 :)
gofund.me
Donate to Fund Jonathan's Space Report Library Transition, organized by Jonathan McDowell
UPDATE: Good news! I have acquired a home for the library and renov… Jonathan McDowell needs your support for Fund Jonathan's Space Report Library Transition
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European Space History @eurospacehistory.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
😱 We still have some ESA Bulletins going back to the 1980s! Surprise the space geek(s) in your life with an issue from their birth month/year. Just drop the month/year you’re interested in in the comments and, if we have it, we’ll mail it to you free of charge 😎👍
Colourful selection of ESA Bulletin covers, showing spacecraft, astronauts, satellites, data, artist impressions.
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Dexerto @dexerto.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
David Attenborough just turned 100 years old and is now officially too old to play with Lego
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T.S. Kelso @tskelso.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
We are officially at 68950, but that doesn't include 29 Starlink satellites launched May 1 and 45 rideshares launched May 3. We estimated we would hit 68999 on May 9. Time is running out. We will be making additional changes, like changing the default format to CSV. Watch here and spread the word!
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Jonathan M. @ororg.org · 05/05/2026
Finally got around to finishing the 1:110 Lego Ariane 5 by chha 😊
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Jonathan M. @ororg.org · 04/05/2026
Space Scout spitting straight facts as usual. "Isaacman’s reverse advocacy puts NASA in the bizarre position of convincing Congress that they should receive less resources, while the agency publicly abuses the resources it already has." 🗣🔥
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Aurélien Genin @astroaure.eurosky.social · 01/05/2026
🔴 Ça alors 🤯 Curiosity a soulevé le rocher coincé au bout de sa foreuse, et l'a même penché pour en faire tomber de la poussière 😮 C'est bon de rappeler que le bras du rover n'a pas du tout été prévu pour ça ! Mais les chercheureuses vont maintenant pouvoir étudier le sol sous ce rocher 🤩 1/5
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Jonathan M. @ororg.org · 29/04/2026
MMX has arrived at Tanegashima for launch later this year. This mission will be epic, the first to land on Phobos AND it will even return samples to Earth!
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ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 07/04/2026
Deep space antenna 4 is now live! 📡 @esa.int's newest deep space antenna has entered operations at New Norcia, Australia, expanding Estrack’s capacity and powering future missions across the Solar System. Curious about this next-generation antenna? Read more here: www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup... 📹ESA
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Kyle Montgomery @kylemphoto.com · 02/04/2026
Artemis 2 leaving behind her two solids
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Jonathan M. @ororg.org · 25/03/2026
Second flight of Isar's Spectrum at 21:00 CET tonight. With satellites on board, let's hope they don't consider anything less than orbit a "success". If all goes well, this will be the first orbital launch from Europe, not counting overseas territories or Russia. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsbZ...
youtube.com
Livestream: "Onward and Upward" Mission of Isar Aerospace
YouTube video by Isar Aerospace
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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
#PPOD: Saturn's fourth-largest moon, Dione, can be seen through the haze of the planet's largest moon, Titan, in this view of the two, taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on December 22, 2011, with the planet and its rings in the background. The north polar hood is visible on Titan here... 🧪 🔭
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, takes up the center of this image, shrouded in a yellowish haze. The plane of the rings can be seen behind the moon at its equator. Just below the rings, behind Titan and to the right, is a smaller moon called Dione, which is grey. Sunlight is coming from the left side. Saturn's yellow surface takes up the background, with ring shadows at the bottom.
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Andrew Parsonson @andrewparsonson.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
ESA has successfully re-established contact with its Proba-3 Coronagraph spacecraft more than a month after it was lost. europeanspaceflight.com/esa-regains-...
europeanspaceflight.com
ESA Regains Contact With Lost Proba-3 Spacecraft - European Spaceflight
ESA has successfully re-established contact with its Proba-3 Coronagraph spacecraft more than a month after it was lost.
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Jonathan M. @ororg.org · 16/03/2026
T+ 100 years
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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
The @axisprobe.bsky.social team learned that the phase A concept study report of AXIS (the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite) will not be reviewed because the lost personnel at NASA Goddard and government shutdown impacted our schedule and budget. 🔭 Here is the PI's e-mail with the explanation.
Email from Chris Reynolds to the AXIS Team. Subject is disappointing AXIS news. Text of e-mail reads: Dear AXIS Friends,


The AXIS team has received some very disappointing news – we have been informed by NASA HQ that AXIS is not eligible for selection and hence the Concept Study Report (CSR) will not be subjected to the full review process.   


AXIS represents the scientific aspirations of a large international community. As a member of one of the AXIS science working groups, you deserve a candid explanation from the PI of what happened and why.  That is the purpose of this note.


NASA’s decision was programmatic and not based on a review of the technology or science; the mission profile described in the submitted CSR was over the allowed budget and schedule.  How was such a thing possible?   In short, with NASA-GSFC as the AXIS managing center, the mission formulation process was critically compromised by the seismic shifts occurring in NASA and the Federal government.  The AXIS study team was hit hard by three unprecedented challenges: 


NASA’s Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) and the pressure at GSFC to resign/retire created a rapid and uncontrolled loss of over 20 personnel with key expertise during a critical mission formulation period, including the main GSFC Project Manager (Jimmy Marsh) and the X-ray mirror lead (Will Zhang) and many discipline engineers.GSFC priorities rapidly realigned to the FY2026 President’s Budget Request (PBR) that eliminated the Probe program, further reducing the availability of GSFC engineering and mission formulation personnel (incl. cost analysts and schedulers) over the critical Summer and Fall months. Key work was halted for almost seven weeks when the core GSFC AXIS study team, dominated by NASA civil servants, was furloughed during the government shutdown.  NASA HQ’s extension to the CSR submission deadline (from 18-Dec-2025 to 29-Jan-2026) was inadequate compensation for the disruption and lost time.


Taken together, these factors disrupted the basic grass-roots costing process (which requires extensive “reach back” to the discipline engineers to assess labor requirements) as well as the cost-design iteration process that is central to the formulation of a cost-capped and schedule-constrained mission.  While the mission design was finalized in April, our initial grass-roots costing (which was ~10% over budget) could only be completed in September due to the lack of assigned resources.  With the subsequent government shutdown and then “pens down” in early-December forced by the GSFC Executive Review process, there was no opportunity to work through the set of cost/schedule savings that had already been identified by the AXIS team. 


Ultimately, the GSFC executive council gave AXIS leadership the choice of submitting a CSR with a non-compliant schedule and cost, or not submitting a CSR at all.  We of course proceeded with the submission, including a narrative that we understood the path to a cost-compliant profile (that we would have discussed with the review panels during the Site Visit). NASA HQ has ruled this stance to be unacceptable.


It is important to stress that NASA’s programmatic decision was before any technical review had been conducted.  The decision was NOT due to any concerns about AXIS technology. Indeed, the AXIS Phase A work had major successes with furtheringIndeed, the AXIS Phase A work had major successes with furthering the key technologies. GSFC’s Next Generation X-ray Optics (NGXO) team successfully demonstrated iridium-coated, stress-compensated mirror segments that meet AXIS baseline requirements (i.e. segment-level performance at sub-arcsecond level).  NGXO also built the first AXIS demonstrator mirror module, learning critical lessons about mirror alignment, mounting and bonding. On the detector side, MIT quickly moved to fabricate AXIS-like CCDs and, working with our colleagues at Stanford, recently demonstrated that they achieve the required readout rate and spectral resolution. 


Similarly, NASA’s decision was NOT a judgment of the importance of AXIS science.  The AXIS science case was rated excellent in the Step 1 review, and it only became stronger during our Phase A study.  The AXIS Community Science Book, which many of you contributed to, is an extremely powerful demonstration of the relevance and importance of high-resolution X-ray observations to all areas of astrophysics. The Science Book is one of the most important legacies of the AXIS Phase A study and, I believe, will help define future mission concepts for many years to come.  I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all of your work on this.


AXIS has been a long journey; we started under the leadership of Richard Mushotzky more than nine years ago.  During that time, it’s been an enormous privilege to work with amazing people; the AXIS science team, the incredible/brilliant GSFC and Northrop Grumman engineers, and the wider astrophysics community.  I am, quite frankly, livid that AXIS ultimately fell victim to the programmatic chaos of 2025. The astronomical community deserves better. I hope that NASA leadership, especially at GSFC and HQ, can have an honest discussion about how to better support and protect programs during extraordinary times. For now, as a community, we must look forward. There is still one excellent mission under consideration for the Probe program, PRIMA, and we wish them a smooth and speedy path to selection and flight.  In X-ray astronomy, the SMEX and MidEX programs represent concrete pathways for focused, high-impact missions, and the scientific case we built for AXIS provides a strong foundation for those concepts. The technologies we advanced in Step 1 and Phase A, particularly the NGXO mirror work and the MIT/Stanford detector demonstrations, can anchor the next generation of proposals. Most importantly, the AXIS Community Science Book, representing more than 500 scientists across, is a living document and a powerful signal to NASA leadership that this community is organized, serious, and not going anywhere. I encourage everyone to use it actively, as a resource for future concept development, for Astro2030 engagement, and for building the next mission that will deliver high angular resolution X-ray imaging to address the fundamental questions about black hole growth, galaxy evolution, and the hot universe that motivated AXIS from the beginning. This community built something remarkable over nine years and that doesn't end here.


Thank you again for your support of AXIS over these times.


Best

Chris and the AXIS leadership team
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DutchSpace @dutchspace.eurosky.social · 19/02/2026
Baikonur and rocket launches, as crazy as ever... Source: Mikhail Kornienko
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Daniel Pomarède @pomarede.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Five years ago #Mars #Perseverance 🧪🔭
Image taken by a parachute-up-look camera aboard the protective back shell of NASA's Perseverance rover during its descent toward Mars' Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021.Sky crane at workImage acquired during Perseverance's descent to Mars, using the Descent Stage Down-Look Camera. This camera is mounted on the bottom of the descent stage and looks at the rover.bye bye sky crane, and thank you!
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Energia-Buran Archive @buranarchive.space · 15/02/2026
Over 4000 images now on buranarchive.space!
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Simeon Schmauß @stim3on.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
You may have seen pictures, but have you ever seen video of a gigantic jet #TLE from space? Astronaut Jeanette Epps captured this incredible sequence on July 20th, 2024 for the DTU/@science.esa.int Thor-Davis experiment. 🧪🔭 youtu.be/xN2J7_rOBJY Credit: ESA/NASA/J. Epps Processing: Simeon Schmauß
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Jack | China in Space 🐼🚀 🇨🇳 @china-in-space.com · 26/01/2026
While no official announcement has come on Shijian-25 and Shijian-21's activities during the past year, the two spacecraft are now heading away from each other following a likely refueling demonstration Details -> www.china-in-space.com/p/shijian-25...
china-in-space.com
Shijian-25 and Shijian-21 Are Going Their Separate Ways in Geostationary Space
The two technology demonstration satellites have likely concluded their joint testing a few weeks ago.
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Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Had my last Chandra senior staff meeting this morning; filled in my Smithsonian timesheet for the last time today. Last day in the office is Friday. I'll miss my colleagues but I won't miss the management and admin chores. On to full-time spacenerdery!
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Astropierre @astropierre.com · 19/01/2026
" Puisque je n'ai pas eu le Prix Nobel de la Paix, je vais envahir le Groenland, na ! " Mes petits cousins de 6 ans gèrent mieux la frustration que ce type. Et ils n'ont pas d'armées sous leur commandement...
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Space Sciences Laboratory @ucbssl.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
The Carruthers mission, led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Lara Waldrop and managed by SSL, has arrived at an L1 orbit between the Earth and the Sun. Its 2-year science mission observing Earth's exosphere begins in March.
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Casey Dreier @caseydreier.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Very good news for NASA Science in the compromise 2026 funding bill released by Congress today:
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lego11 @lego11.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Buongiorno dal Metop B! Intanto mi fa molto piacere vedere che i thread tecnici (USB-C e REC, che copio a breve qui) sono stati molto apprezzati quindi continuerò ogni tanto a farne. Nel frattempo, mezza Francia è stata imbiancata! Da noi nevica sull'Appennino Romagnolo e anche un po' in pianura.
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Philippe Smet @pfsmet.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Hoewel het nu zowat elke dag sneeuwt, daalt het aantal dagen (in Ukkel) met sneeuwval wel degelijk. Van winterseizoen tot winterseizoen zit er heel grote variatie op, maar als je wat uitmiddelt, dan valt de trend wel op. Data via frankdeboosere.be/klimaatukkel... #sneeuw #weer #klimaat
Grafiek van het aantal sneeuwdagen per winterseizoen (gerekend van oktober tot mei). Het aantal sneeuwdagen varieert van slechts enkele tot 51 in het seizoen 1906-1907. Balkjes tonen het gemiddelde per 10 jaar. Van rond de 25/jaar in de eerste helft van de twingste eeuw, naar  rond de 20 per jaar (1985-2015). In de periode 2015-2025 zijn het er slechts een tiental per jaar.
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Gene J. Mikulka @genejm1017.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Grand news about the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope!!
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ESA Space Transport @transport.esa.int · 19/09/2025
Standing on its own four legs🦿🦿🦿🦿 @esa.int's reusable rocket demonstrator Themis is standing tall. Themis will demonstrate rocket stage recovery and reuse technologies and the first model arrived at the Esrange Space Center launch pad in Sweden 🇸🇪 over the summer.
The first model of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) reusable rocket demonstrator Themis standing on its launch pad in Kiruna, Sweden, with a cloudy sky in the background.
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Jonathan M. @ororg.org · 17/08/2025
NOAA-15 1800UTC pass One of the last days of NOAA APT transmissions, as NOAA-15 will be decommissioned this week 😢 That good ol' satellite has been transmitting for all my life, though, so I suppose it has earned its rest.
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Jonathan M. @ororg.org · 10/07/2025
Ariane 6 has now been active for 1 year!
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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 31/05/2025
Internet Roadtrip is my favorite thing on the internet right now—it’s basically Twitch Plays Google Street View. They started in Boston, spent several weeks on a quest to cross the Canadian border, and are now exploring New Brunswick. neal.fun/internet-roa...
neal.fun
Internet Roadtrip
Let's take a streetview roadtrip
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Star 🏳️‍⚧️ @scistar.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
im assembling a team
firefly alpha flt-006 second stage nozzle having fell offjaxa's SLIM lunar lander, after an engine nozzle fell offula's vulcan vc2 in the middle of, you guessed, losing a nozzlestarship flight 8, missing two different nozzles
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Tory Bruno @torybruno.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
For your visual enjoyment. The last set was in the Finished Goods Warehouse in Decatur. These are at the Cape.
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Gene J. Mikulka @genejm1017.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
I could not have said this any better. Rockets are cool but what's the point of having them if we're not going to explore other worlds by using them? It's what we DO with these machines that matter. The funds ARE there,gang. Let's continue to be the driving force in space science.
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Andrew Parsonson @andrewparsonson.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
An Andøya Space notice has revealed that the launch of the inaugural flight of the Isar Aerospace Spectrum rocket is set for 20 to 30 March. europeanspaceflight.com/inaugural-is...
europeanspaceflight.com
Inaugural Isar Aerospace Spectrum Launch Set for Late March
An Andøya Space notice has revealed that the launch of the inaugural flight of the Isar Aerospace Spectrum rocket is set for 20 to 30 March.
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Scott Tilley @coastal8049.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
I'm seeking a large sensor directional sensor that can track an object in solar orbit near Earth on the 137MHz VHF band. Anyone in the #radioastronomy community or satellite tracking community got a lead? THANKS!
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Jonathan M. @ororg.org · 08/03/2025
My best satellite image yet! All the way from the Sahara to Iceland 😁 Meteor M2-4 LRPT ~14:00UTC
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DutchSpace @dutchspace.eurosky.social · 06/03/2025
Meanwhile, Rafale vs Ariane 6 source: Chef d'état-major armée de l'Air et de l'Espace #VS263 #CSG #CSO3
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