SPACEFLIGHT AND ROCKET LAB WILL PUT A JAPANESE SHOOTING-STAR SATELLITE INTO ORBIT - Seattle-based Spaceflight says it’s handling the pre-launch logistics for a Japanese satellite that’s designed to spray artificial shooting stars into the sky. Tokyo-based ALE’s spacecraft is just one of seven satellites due to be sent into orbit from New Zealand as early as Nov. 25, aboard a Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle. It’ll be the 10th Electron launch, earning the nickname “Running Out of Fingers.” It’ll also be the first launch to test the guidance and navigation hardware as well as the sensors that Rocket Lab will eventually use to help make the Electron’s first stage recoverable.   More
(Source: GeekWire - Nov 7)

A BIPARTISAN GROUP OF SENATORS WANTS TO EXTEND THE SPACE STATION TO 2030 - A bipartisan quartet of United States senators has filed a new bill that sets out space policy for NASA over the coming decade. The new authorizing legislation is largely consistent with much of NASA's present activities, but it differs from White House policy in some key respects.   More
(Source: Ars Technica - Nov 7)

ADIDAS IS PARTNERING WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TO TEST PRODUCTS IN SPACE - Adidas is going above and beyond the confines of Earth and looking to the stars to push the boundaries of innovation. The apparel company is launching a multi-year partnership with the International Space Station (ISS) US National Laboratory.   More
(Source: CNN - Nov 6)

CHINA TESTS GRID FINS WITH LAUNCH OF GAOFEN-7 IMAGING SATELLITE - A Chinese Long March 4B delivered an Earth observation into orbit satellite late Saturday, with grid fins guiding the descent of the rocket’s first stage. The launch took place at 11:22 p.m. at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China. For the first time the Long March 4B first stage carried a grid fin system to constrain the area in which it falls.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Nov 6)

SPACE STATION RECEIVES SPACEWALKING GEAR, NEW BAKING OVEN - NASA astronaut Jessica Meir took control of the International Space Station’s Canadian-built robot arm Monday to capture a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship carrying crew provisions, spacewalking gear to repair an aging particle physics experiment, tech demo satellites for the U.S. military, and an oven to bake the first cookies in space.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 6)

SPACEX PLANNING TO LAUNCH 30,000 ADDITIONAL STARLINK GLOBAL INTERNET SATELLITES - The Space Exploration Technologies Corp. known as SpaceX has recently filed the paperwork to send 30,000 new satellites to the sky. The official paperwork was filed with the International Telecommunication Union and it is expected to be fulfilled soon. Elon Musk’s SpaceX already has the permission to launch 12,000 new satellites into space and they have filed the paperwork for 30,000 more. The company is planning to launch such an such enormous amount of satellites to ensure that the their network can meet the upcoming demand.   More
(Source: Forbes - Nov 3)

REPAIR EQUIPMENT FOR PARTICLE PHYSICS EXPERIMENT ABOARD NEXT STATION CARGO LAUNCH - Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus supply ship set for liftoff Saturday will deliver to the International Space Station the final hardware for a series of ambitious spacewalks later this month to install a new coolant system on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a $2 billion particle physics experiment seeking the cosmic signatures of dark matter and antimatter. The new coolant system, along with specially-built spacewalking tools, are stowed inside the automated Cygnus cargo craft awaiting liftoff Saturday at 9:59 a.m. EDT (1359 GMT) from Wallops Island, Virginia.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 3)

A FRENCH SPACE STARTUP IS LAUNCHING WINE INTO ORBIT - If the space industry these days really is an opportunity on par with the dawn of the internet, Nicolas Gaume is a businessman built to take advantage. Gaume believes in the future. He founded his first technology company, which made video games, as a 19-year old in 1990. “I’ve built nine different companies in very different areas,” he told Quartz last year. “I was a millionaire, I was a billionaire, I was bankrupt, I was a millionaire again.”   More
(Source: Quartz - Nov 3)

ANTARES LAUNCHES CYGNUS CARGO SPACECRAFT ON FIRST CRS-2 MISSION - A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket successfully launched a Cygnus cargo spacecraft on a mission to the International Space Station Nov. 2, kicking off a new era in cargo delivery for the station. The Antares 230+ rocket lifted off from Pad 0-A at the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport here at 9:59 a.m. Eastern. The Cygnus spacecraft, named by Northrop Grumman the S.S. Alan Bean after the late Apollo-era astronaut, separated from the rocket’s upper stage about eight and a half minutes later. The Cygnus is scheduled to arrive at the ISS Nov. 4, grappled by the station’s robotic arm at around 4:10 a.m. Eastern and berthed to the station later that morning. It will remain on the station until January.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Nov 2)

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