MESMERIZING SATELLITE VIDEO CAPTURES MAGICAL VIEW OF EARTH - Please direct your attention to the absolutely magical video of planet Earth from space. Like cats with a sparkly toy, we here at Space.com have been unable to pull our gazes away from this stunning website, glittering.blue. The site plays a looping video of a 24-hour period captured by the Himawari-8 Japanese weather satellite, sped up to last just a few seconds. The satellite is in a geostationary orbit, positioned over Japan and Australia. More (Source: Space.com - Jan 30)
LASER-EQUIPPED SATELLITE TO INAUGURATE EUROPEAN DATA RELAY SYSTEM - The first node of a space-based European laser communications network will soar into orbit Friday aboard a commercial Eutelsat broadcasting spacecraft, setting the keystone for a satellite system to relay vast volumes of imagery at lightning fast speeds. A laser communications terminal affixed to the Eutelsat 9B telecom satellite set for launch Friday will collect data from spacecraft circling a few hundred miles above Earth such as Europe’s Sentinel environmental satellites and the International Space Station, officials said. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 30)
RUSSIA TO LAUNCH RESURS-P SATELLITE ON MARCH 12 - The launch of Russia's Resurs-P No. 3 remote sensing satellite has been scheduled for March 12, the Russian Space Systems (RSS) company said Wednesday. "In the current year, another four remote sensing satellites are planned to be launched. Among the spacecraft are Resurs-P No. 3, Kanopus-V-IK, Meteor-M No.1 and 2, and Elektro-L No. 3. The launch of Resurs-P No. 3 is planned for March 12," Russia's space corporation Roscosmos department of automatic space systems deputy head Valeriy Zaichko said, as quoted in the company's statement. More (Source: Space Daily - Jan 29)
PROTON-M ROCKET CARRYING EUTELSAT 9B COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE SET FOR LAUNCH FROM BAIKONUR - The International Launch Services (ILS) company is set to launch its Proton-M rocket on Friday, Jan. 29. The booster is being sent aloft to deliver the Eutelsat 9B communications satellite to orbit. Liftoff is scheduled to take place at 5:20 p.m. EST (22:20 GMT) from Launch Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch was initially planned to take place on Jan. 25, but it was delayed due to weather-related logistical issues. Currently, the Proton-M booster is erected on the launch pad and is ready for the final processing before the scheduled liftoff. More (Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Jan 29)
US COMMEMORATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF CHALLENGER SPACE SHUTTLE DISASTER - Tributes flooded in for the seven astronauts who lost their lives on the Challenger Space Shuttle Thursday as the United States commemorated the 30th anniversary of the disaster. The shuttle exploded just 73 seconds after launch from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all crewmembers of mission STS-51L. The disaster claimed the lives of astronauts Francis “Dick” Scobee, Michael Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka and Gregory Jarvis. NASA is holding a day of remembrance to commemorate the crews of Challenger, Apollo 1 and Columbia. More (Source: Fox News - Jan 29)
INTELSAT ROLLS OUT EPIC NEXT-GEN SATELLITE SYSTEM - The high-throughput platform should provide customers with superior connections at a lower cost. Designated Intelsat 29e, it will sit at 50 degrees west, and deliver services to the Americas and the North Atlantic aeroplane and shipping routes. At least six more Epic spacecraft will follow, to cover other regions and to provide back-up. Commentators and analysts see the success of the fleet as critical to the fortunes of Intelsat, which is based in McLean, Virginia, and is battling to hold its ground in a fiercely competitive market. More (Source: BBC News - Jan 28)
IS NORTH KOREA PLANNING ROCKET LAUNCH? ACTIVITY SPARKS CONCERN, OFFICIALS SAY - It's a site so secretive that an underground railroad line delivers parts into a movable building, hiding activity from view. North Korea describes it as a place where the country launches satellites into space. But U.S. spy satellites are keeping a sharp eye on North Korea's Sohae Satellite Launching Station at Tongchang-ri. And increased movement of equipment and personnel into the facility is raising renewed concerns in the U.S. military and intelligence community that something imminent could be in the offing. More (Source: CNN - Jan 28)
RUSSIA’S PROTON-M ROCKET WITH EUROPEAN SATELLITE INSTALLED ON BAIKONUR LAUNCH PAD - Russia’s Proton-M carrier rocket with the Eutelsat-9B satellite of the European Space Agency has been installed on the launch pad of the Baikonur cosmodrome, the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (Proton manufacturer) said in a release received by TASS on Tuesday. On January 26, the Proton-M space rocket with the Eutelsat-9B satellite was moved to the launch pad area No 200 at the Baikonur cosmodrome and lifted to the vertical position, the Khrunichev Centre reported. More (Source: TASS - Jan 27)
HOW A VA. STARTUP PLANS TO LAUNCH 648 SATELLITES - Low orbit internet satellite company OneWeb, who is backed by celebrity investor and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, announced in early January that it planned to relocate its headquarters to Arlington, Va. The company, along with a team of 32 employees, brought to northern Virginia not just their business but also grand ambitions of launching a constellation of 648 satellites by 2019. With an eye on 2016, OneWeb plans to hire big, reach lawmakers in Washington and expand operations with the establishment of a network and satellite operations center, said CEO Matt O’Connell. More (Source: DC Inno - Jan 27)
A NEW AND STUNNING WAY TO SEE THE WHOLE EARTH - The Japanese weather satellite Himawari-8 sits 22,000 miles from Earth in orbit. On August 5, 2015, it peered down at the half of Earth that it can see, a hemisphere with Japan at its center. What did it see? August 5 was a fine day in Sydney, Australia. Overcast with wintry clouds, temperatures still almost climbed to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The sun set in the late afternoon, while many people were still at work, after which temperatures fell. In Hong Kong, meanwhile, it was swelteringly hot, 93 degrees, hotter than the city almost ever gets. Three days later, the city would experience its hottest day ever. More (Source: The Atlantic - Jan 27)
EUROPE'S SPACE LASER COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM WILL LAUNCH THIS WEEK - A "space data highway" that links satellites using high-speed laser transmissions should take a big step forward this week with the launch of the Eutelsat 9B satellite. The satellite's main role will be downlinking hundreds of TV channels to viewers in Europe, but it will also carry the first node in the European Space Agency's European Data Relay System (EDRS). EDRS is an attempt to provide a high-speed interconnect between satellites. If it works, scientists will be able to gather data from low-orbiting satellites much more quickly than they can today. More (Source: PCWorld - Jan 27)
BOEING BUILDS THE MOST POWERFUL ROCKET EVER MADE - A giant metal frame standing several yards wide rises up nearly 200 feet inside the Michoud Assembly Facility, NASA's massive 832-acre space park outside New Orleans. "What you're looking at is the largest welding system in the world," said Jackie Nesselroad. She is leading a team from Boeing that's welding together the world's most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System. "It's about the coolest job on earth." SLS is not a rocket that will be reusable, like the one Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin just landed for the second time in a row. More (Source: CNBC - Jan 27)
INDIA TO BUILD SATELLITE TRACKING STATION IN VIETNAM THAT OFFERS EYE ON CHINA - India will set up a satellite tracking and imaging centre in southern Vietnam that will give Hanoi access to pictures from Indian earth observation satellites that cover the region, including China and the South China Sea, Indian officials said. The move, which could irritate Beijing, deepens ties between India and Vietnam, who both have long-running territorial disputes with China. While billed as a civilian facility - earth observation satellites have agricultural, scientific and environmental applications - security experts said improved imaging technology meant the pictures could also be used for military purposes. More (Source: Yahoo News - Jan 26)
‘STRAIGHT OUTTA SPACE': NASA’S SCOTT KELLY ON GALLON-SIZED URINE BALLS AND SPACE-STATION ETIQUETTE - It’s been 303 days since Scott Kelly’s feet last touched the ground. All the callouses have fallen off his soles, he wrote, leaving the skin as soft as “newborn baby feet.” The tops, on the other hand, which he uses to propel himself in the zero gravity 250 miles above Earth, are as rough as alligator skin. This came up over the weekend during a Reddit question-and-answer session on the many glories and indignities of life aboard the International Space Station. More (Source: Washington Post - Jan 26)
SPACE JUNK COULD CAUSE WAR, SAY RESEARCHERS - I spend most of my days hidden in a bunker below stairs. This is because I've heard so many portents of doom over the last year or so that I can't possibly risk living what used to be a normal life. There are apparently threats from all sides. Everyone is out to get us. Moreover, there are so many disparate characters vying to be our next president that you never know how excitable they might be with their fingers over the nuclear button. More (Source: CNET - Jan 25)
BREATHTAKING PHOTOS SHOW 'SNOWMAGEDDON' BLIZZARD FROM SPACE - Stunning photos taken from outer space show the East Coast resembling a winter wonderland after a powerful blizzard unleashed hurricane-force winds and several feet of snow. The region’s extreme transformation was captured in a number of photos tweeted out by International Space Station Commander Scott Kelly from his orbiting perch. He shared his marvel at major cities being completely blanketed with snow as well as the rare sighting of “thundersnow” -- a winter thunderstorm that produces snow instead of rain. More (Source: Huffington Post - Jan 25)
AN INCREDIBLE PICTURE FROM THE SPACE STATION - Today’s photograph from NASA, taken from the International Space Station, is a joy to behold, particularly if you believe, as I do, that the wonder of flight is that it gives you an entirely fresh perspective on your place in relation to the world around you. We learned that when Apollo 8 made its first swing around the moon and gave us a chance to look at ourselves, and this photograph does the same thing. It’s unusual to get so much of the United States in one picture. More (Source: Minnesota Public Radio News - Jan 25)
PHOTOGRAPHER CAPTURES STUNNING IMAGE OF SPACE STATION OVER ICONIC CORNWALL LANDMARK - This incredible image shows the International Space Station’s (ISS) movements above Cornwall's iconic St Michael's Mount. Photographer Alan James, who lives nearby in Penzance, captured the ISS blazing through the night sky over the rocky island crowned by a medieval church and castle. The 70-year-old had to get his feet wet to capture the stunning image on January 20 as he discovered the causeway was still covered by an outgoing tide on arrival despite checking the times beforehand. More (Source: Telegraph.co.uk - Jan 24)
NEW SATELLITE TO UPGRADE REMOTE SENSING CAPABILITY - The International Conference on Remote Sensing concluded in Riyadh on Wednesday and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), which sponsored the event, announced plans to launch a new satellite in cooperation with China which will upgrade its remote sensing facilities and services in the Kingdom. Badr Al-Swaidan from the Institute of Space and Aviation Research of KACST said the city had completed preparation for the components of the Saudi satellite (Saudi SAT 5B) which is locally made. It will be launched by the Chinese space rocket (Long March 2D) to support remote sensing services in the Kingdom. More (Source: Arab News - Jan 24)
