SPACEX SET TO LAUNCH FALCON 9 ROCKET TO SPACE STATION FROM CAPE CANAVERAL DEC. 4 - SpaceX is targeting 12:51 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, for the launch of its Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft also will carry crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory to support the Expedition 61 crew for the 19th mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract.   More
(Source: SpaceCoastDaily.com - Nov 20)

COMPOSITE IMAGE OF SPACEX STARLINK SATELLITE SWARM - Last week – on Monday, November 11, 2019 – a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 60 more Starlink satellites to Earth-orbit. According to Stephen Clark at SpaceFlightNow.com, the satellites traced paths across twilight skies around the world last week, and, even this morning (November 18) astrophotographers are still capturing them, as shown in this image from our friend Padraic Koen.    More
(Source: EarthSky - Nov 19)

NO WAY BACK SPACE DEBRIS SPACE POLLUTION POSES EXISTENTIAL THREAT - Since the start of space exploration, countless spacecraft have disintegrated in outer space, leaving a ring of space debris orbiting planet Earth. The international space community has slowly woken up to the fact that littering space is not a victimless crime. Space debris poses a threat to orbital stations. The International Space Station (ISS) moves in space at a speed of 8 km per second   More
(Source: RT - Nov 18)

CHINA TO BUILD SPACE STATION ACCOMMODATING 3 ASTRONAUTS - China is scheduled to build and operate a space station in 2022, which will accommodate three astronauts, and space would be reserved for enlargement. Zhou Jianping, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the chief designer of China's manned space program, said at the Forth China Summit Forum on Human Factors Engineering that the station, which will orbit 340 to 450 kilometers above Earth's surface, could be enlarged to 180 tons if necessary and will accommodate three to six astronauts, Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.   More
(Source: ecns - Nov 18)

CHINA LAUNCHES SECOND KUAIZHOU-1A ROCKET IN FOUR DAYS - In just a little more than a four day period, from the very same pad, with the very same launch team and launch truck, China has launched yet another Kuaizhou-1A rocket carrying satellites into orbit. This flight, fresh on the heels of yet another flight with the Jilin-1 Gaofen-2A satellite on November 13, lifted off from the mobile launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China today at 10:00 UTC. Chinese media has later declared the launch a success.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Nov 18)

1ST UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA SMALL SATELLITE NOW IN SPACE - University of Minnesota senior Jenna Burgett was on bleachers two miles from the NASA Virginia launching site on Nov. 2, watching a rocket launch into space that carried a small satellite she and other students helped create. “The sound hits you and from two miles away ... the bleachers were shaking. You can hear it resonating in your ears and in your chest,” said Burgett, manager of the University’s Small Satellite Project.   More
(Source: U.S. News & World Report - Nov 17)

SPACEWALKERS BEGIN "OPEN HEART SURGERY" TO REPAIR COSTLY COSMIC RAY DETECTOR - Two astronauts ventured outside the International Space Station Friday for the first of four spacewalks to repair a $2 billion cosmic ray detector, breezing through difficult work to prep the device for invasive surgery to splice in new coolant pumps and extend the instrument's life probing the composition of the universe. "We're going to perform what could be considered open heart surgery on this amazing experiment," said Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, the current space station commander.   More
(Source: CBS News - Nov 16)

BROADBAND SATELLITE TO SERVE PACIFIC ISLANDS DELIVERED TO FLORIDA LAUNCH BASE - A powerful commercial communications satellite to broadcast Internet signals over the Asia-Pacific region has arrived at Cape Canaveral for final launch preparations ahead of a planned Dec. 15 liftoff on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 communications satellite, based on Boeing’s 702MP satellite design, is a shared spacecraft between Sky Perfect JSAT Corp. of Japan and Kacific, a startup telecom company headquartered in Singapore.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 16)

WATCH SPACEWALK ON FRIDAY NOVEMBER 15 - On Friday, November 15, 2019, two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station for the first of a series of complex spacewalks to repair a cosmic ray detector. NASA TV begins its live spacewalk coverage Friday at 10:30 UTC (5:30 a.m. EST). Translate UTC to your time. The astronauts, Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA Flight Engineer Drew Morgan will set their spacesuits to battery power at 12:05 UTC (7:05 a.m EST), signifying the start of their spacewalk.   More
(Source: EarthSky - Nov 15)

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