IRAN CLAIMS IT LAUNCHED NEW IMAGING SATELLITE INTO ORBIT - Iran claimed on Wednesday it successfully launched an imaging satellite into space, which could further ratchet up tensions with Western nations that fear its space technology could be used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran's Communication Minister Isa Zarepour said the Noor-3 satellite had been put in an orbit 450 kilometers (280 miles) above the Earth's surface, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It was not clear when exactly the launch took place.    More
(Source: CBS News - Sep 29)

WATCH A NASA ASTRONAUT AND 2 COSMONAUTS RETURN TO EARTH AFTER 1 YEAR IN SPACE ON SEPT. 27 - Frank Rubio and his two Russian crewmates are scheduled to depart the ISS at 3:54 a.m. ET on Wednesday (Sept. 27). An extra-long space mission for three men in orbit is about to come to an end. American astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA and his two Russian crewmates are scheduled to return to Earth early Wednesday (Sept. 27) after spending more than a year in space, and you can watch the action live online.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 27)

FIRST LONG-DURATION LIDAR SATELLITE MISSION CALIPSO ENDS - CALIPSO, a lidar satellite that advanced the world’s understanding of climate, weather, and air quality, ended its scientific mission on Aug. 1, 2023. CALIPSO Researchers used the space-based CALIPSO lidar to measure the planet’s largest animal migration, which takes place when small sea creatures swim up from the depths at night to feed on phytoplankton, then back down again just before sunrise. Credits: NASA/Timothy Marvel Across 17 years of operation, the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation recorded more than 10 billion lidar measurements and informed thousands of scientific reports. CALIPSO was launched jointly by NASA and the France's Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales/CNES and in tandem with the cloud-profiling radar system on the CloudSat satellite.   More
(Source: NASA - Sep 27)

NASA WANTS MORE 'SPACE TUG' IDEAS TO DEORBIT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IN A FIERY FINALE - NASA is asking U.S. industry for proposals to create a "space tug" for removing the International Space Station from orbit in the early 2030s. The agency plans to use a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) to safely steer the International Space Station (ISS) into Earth's atmosphere. (White House officials previously called this vehicle a "space tug.") If all goes according to NASA's plan, after the ISS program concludes, flights and commercial research will proceed on industry-led space stations, which are now in their early stages of development.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 26)

U.S. SPACE FORCE AND ASTROSCALE TO CO-INVEST IN A REFUELING SATELLITE - Astroscale U.S., a provider of on-orbit services to extend the life of satellites, has signed an agreement with the U.S. Space Force to co-invest in an on-orbit refueling vehicle. Col. Joyce Bulson, project manager at Space Systems Command, said the agreement includes $25.5 million in government funding and approximately $12 million to be provided by Astroscale. The company will deliver in 24 months a “manifest ready” prototype vehicle capable of refueling a satellite in orbit, Bulson said Sept. 25 in an interview with SpaceNews.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 26)

SPACE FORCE GETS ANOTHER WEATHER SATELLITE FROM NOAA - The U.S. Space Force for the second time has taken ownership of a retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather satellite to fill gaps in coverage for the U.S. military. NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite known as GOES-15, originally activated in 2011, was transferred to the Space Force to extend weather coverage of the Indian Ocean region for the next several years, the Space Force announced Sept. 22.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 25)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 21 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM CALIFORNIA ON SEPT. 25 - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from California early Monday morning (Sept. 25), carrying 21 Starlink satellites to orbit. The Falcon 9 is lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Monday at 4:48 a.m. EDT (0848 GMT; 1:48 a.m. local California time). The launch was streamed live via SpaceX's account on X (formerly Twitter); coverage started about five minutes before liftoff.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 25)

NASA SEEKS PROPOSALS FROM US INDUSTRY FOR STATION DEORBIT SPACECRAFT - NASA has released a request for proposal from U.S. industry for the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (USDV), a spacecraft meant to safely deorbit the International Space Station as part of its planned retirement. To maximize value to the government and enhance competition, the acquisition will allow offerors flexibility in proposing Firm Fixed Price or Cost Plus Incentive Fee for the Design, Development, Test and Evaluation phase. The remainder of the contract will be Firm Fixed Price.   More
(Source: NASA - Sep 21)

BANG! INFLATABLE SPACE STATION MODULE BLOWS APART IN EXPLOSIVE TEST - That's now five space station prototypes blown up for science's sake. The Colorado company Sierra Space, which is creating an inflatable module for an International Space Station (ISS) successor, deliberately exploded a new design on Aug. 17 that included a metal plate. (In this case, the plate was a cheaper stand-in for a window, but metal can also be used to simulate robotic attachments or other items.)   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 21)

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