NASA MAY ASK SPACEX TO EXTEND DURATION OF CREW DRAGON TEST FLIGHT - NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley may spend more time on the International Space Station than originally planned when they ride SpaceX’s new human-rated Dragon spacecraft into orbit on its first crewed test flight, a space agency official said Friday. A decision to extend the duration of the Crew Dragon test flight with Behnken and Hurley, designated Demo-2, is one of several options under consideration to ensure the space station remains staffed with U.S. astronauts after NASA’s agreement to procure seats on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft expires next year. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 8)
SPACE STATION CREW STAGES FIRST OF 5 BATTERY SWAP SPACEWALKS - Astronauts Christina Koch and Drew Morgan floated outside the International Space Station on Sunday, removed three aging batteries from the lab's solar power truss and installed two more powerful replacements. It was the first of five planned spacewalks to upgrade the complex electrical system and extend the station's life through the 2020s. More (Source: CBS News - Oct 7)
VIRGIN ORBIT PLANS FIRST SATELLITE LAUNCH IN 2 MONTHS - Good news, space fans! Virgin Orbit, the rocket-launching sibling to Sir Richard Branson's space tourism company Virgin Galactic, is now just two months and two flights away from putting its first satellite in orbit. Announcing the advent of its newest "LauncherOne" test rocket late last month, Virgin laid out its plans to officially entering the space race. More (Source: Motley Fool - Oct 7)
NORTHROP'S SATELLITE REFUELING SPACECRAFT LAUNCHES ON OCTOBER 9TH - Space junk is hard to completely avoid when satellites can only carry so much fuel, but that might not be a problem for much longer. Northrop Grumman and NASA are launching a "first-of-its-kind" refueling vessel, the Mission Extension Vehicle, aboard a Russian rocket on October 9th. The inaugural MEV-1 will dock with an Intelsat satellite in three months' time and provide life-extending services over five years. After that, it should be free to help other satellites -- it'll still have 10 years' worth of fuel. More (Source: Engadget - Oct 7)
REQUIEM FOR A CLIMATE CHANGE SATELLITE, DECOMMISSIONED AFTER 11 YEARS - After 11 straight years of success, the U.S.-European Jason-2/Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) has come to an end. A joint mission combining the forces of NASA, the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), OSMT has studied Earth's changing oceans at a critical time in the planet's history. More (Source: Popular Mechanics - Oct 7)
CHINA LAUNCHES HD OBSERVATION SATELLITE - China has successfully launched a high definition microwave remote sensing satellite capable of providing photographs with a resolution of less than a metre, official media reported. PTI PTI, Beijing, Oct 05 2019, 17:25pm ist updated: Oct 05 2019, 17:44pm ist Image for RepresentationImage for Representation China has successfully launched a high definition microwave remote sensing satellite capable of providing pho... More (Source: Deccan Herald - Oct 6)
WANT TO SEE THE FIRST SATELLITE PROPELLED SOLELY BY THE SUN? HERE'S HOW. - LightSail 2, The Planetary Society's solar sailing spacecraft, has spent more than two months in orbit. During that time, the bread-box-sized spacecraft deployed a set of silver Mylar sails and began to climb, proving that the small satellite can raise its orbit without a drop of conventional fuel. Propelled solely by the power of the sun, the spacecraft has shown that solar sailing may be a viable means of propulsion. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 6)
STUCK IN SAFE MODE, DSCOVR EARTH-WATCHING SATELLITE MAY FINALLY GET FIXED: REPORT - An Earth-observing satellite called DSCOVR has been stuck in safe mode for three months, and its operators finally have a plan to reboot it — but not for another few months. DSCOVR, which is short for the Deep Space Climate Observatory, fell silent on June 27 because of a glitch in its position-maintenance system that prompted mission managers to put the spacecraft into a "safehold." The spacecraft was launched by NASA and is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). More (Source: Space.com - Oct 4)
SOYUZ SPACECRAFT LANDS IN KAZAKHSTAN WITH THREE-MAN CREW - Leaving six crewmates behind in orbit, a Russian commander, his NASA co-pilot and a first-time flier from the United Arab Emirates undocked from the International Space Station early Thursday, executed a fiery plunge back to Earth and landed safely on the steppe of Kazakhstan. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 4)
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