NASA'S FASTSAT SATELLITE ARRIVES AT KODIAK, ALASKA, LAUNCH COMPLEX - NASA's first microsatellite designed to create a capability that increases opportunities for secondary, scientific and technology payloads, or rideshares, to be flown at lower cost than before has arrived at Kodiak Island, Alaska, to begin final launch preparations. The Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite, or FASTSAT, arrived at the Kodiak Launch Complex on Aug. 10 from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Following final checkout, the just under 400-pounds satellite will be integrated on a Minotaur IV launch vehicle as one of three secondary payloads. More (Source: Space Ref - Aug 13)
PERSEID METEOR SHOWER TONIGHT: IT'S A SPECTACULAR TROUBLEMAKER - The Perseid meteor shower tonight, which peaks during the early hours of Friday morning, is widely regarded as perhaps the most consistently spectacular meteor shower of the year. But it also is the only meteor shower known to have killed a satellite and delayed a space-shuttle launch. And as recently as last year, it may have knocked the Landsat 5 Earth-observing satellite off its rocker temporarily. Enter Bill Cooke, who heads the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. His small shop is the meteor-shower equivalent to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. More (Source: Christian Science Monitor - Aug 13)
U.S. AIR FORCE READY TO LAUNCH FIRST ADVANCED EXTREMELY HIGH FREQUENCY SATELLITE BUILT BY LOCKHEED M - The U.S. Air Force's first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications satellite, designed and built by a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) team, is ready to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on Saturday, August 14. The launch window is 7:07 to 9:06 a.m. EDT. The AEHF system will provide survivable, protected, assured, communications to the U.S. government, warfighters and international partners, including the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands. More (Source: PR Newswire - Aug 13)
SEPT LAUNCH EXPECTED FOR DEBRIS-WATCHING SATELLITE - A new satellite that will monitor the clutter in orbit around the Earth is now expected to launch in late September, more than two months later than originally scheduled. The Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite was grounded first by concerns about software in the Minotaur IV rocket and then by a problem in some connectors in the rocket's electronics. Officials announced the second set of problems Thursday. They say there are no problems in the satellite itself. More (Source: KSWT-TV - Aug 13)
NEW SPY SATELLITE LAUNCHED BY LONG MARCH ROCKET - A secret Chinese reconnaissance payload successfully launched on a Long March rocket Monday, the sixth time China has sent a satellite into orbit so far this year. The tenth Yaogan mission lifted off aboard a Long March 4C rocket at 2249 GMT (6:49 p.m. EDT) from the Taiyuan launching center in northern China's Shanxi province. It was 6:49 a.m. local time at Taiyuan. The three-stage booster placed the spacecraft in an orbit about 380 miles high with an inclination of 97.8 degrees, according to independent tracking data. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Aug 11)
FUNNEL CLOUD HANGS OVER LAUNCH PAD - A funnel cloud appeared over the Kennedy Space Center on Friday, hanging over the space shuttle's launch complex and triggering warning sirens. The funnel dropped from a pop-up thunderstorm just before 1:30 p.m. EDT, but the swirling cloud never touched down on land or in the Atlantic Ocean offshore KSC. It appeared over launch pad 39B as viewed from the KSC press site near the Vehicle Assembly Building. Tornado sirens at the space center blared for a few minutes as the funnel drifted near the beach. The warning horn cut off as the funnel dissipated and moved out of the area. More (Source: Space Flight now - Aug 8)
ARIANE 5 ROCKET POWERS AFRICAN SATELLITES TO ORBIT - Europe's Ariane 5 rocket accomplished its third commercial mission of the year Wednesday, delivering to orbit two African communications satellites to broadcast television programming and boost connectivity with rural villages. The 166-foot-tall launcher took off at 2059 GMT (4:59 p.m. EDT) and soared into partly cloudy skies over the French-run space base in Kourou, French Guiana. After turning east from the South American coast, the Ariane 5 rocketed into the upper atmosphere and shed its twin solid rocket boosters about 2 minutes, 15 seconds after liftoff. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Aug 5)
BALL DELIVERS MILITARY SATELLITE - Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has shipped the STPSat-2 satellite built for the U.S. Air Force to Alaska's Kodiak Launch Complex. The satellite, the first spacecraft for the U.S. Department of Defense Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle program, supports the Operationally Responsive Space strategy to ensure U.S. space superiority. It is scheduled for launch aboard a Minotaur 4 rocket in the fall. Ball said the STPSat-2 spacecraft provides a standard interface compatible for multiple launch vehicles that support a variety of experimental and risk-reduction payloads at different low-Earth orbits. More (Source: UPI.com - Aug 5)
WEDNESDAY'S ARIANE 5 ROCKET LAUNCH WILL BENEFIT AFRICA - Two African communications satellite will blast off aboard an Ariane 5 rocket Wednesday, giving a boost to burgeoning direct broadcasting markets and helping connect remote villages with urban centers. The tandem-payload mission is due for liftoff at 2045 GMT (4:45 p.m. EDT) Wednesday, the opening of a lengthy launch window that extends to 2334 GMT (7:34 p.m. EDT). More (Source: Space Flight Now - Aug 4)
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