ROSCOSMOS POSTPONES LAUNCH OF SECOND ARCTIC WEATHER SATELLITE - Recently, Roscosmos postponed the launch of the first Arktika-M satellite for 2020. The space program of Russia for 2016–2025 also includes plans to launch three Arktika-M satellites but their production contracts are yet to be issued. The launch of the second Russian satellite for weather forecasting and monitoring climate and the environment in the Arctic region, Arktika-M, has been postponed to 2023 from 2021, according to the Russia space corporation, Roscosmos.   More
(Source: SatelliteProME.com - Aug 5)

SPACEX DELAYS LAUNCH OF AMOS-17 COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE FOR ISRAEL'S SPACECOM - The private spaceflight company SpaceX has postponed its planned weekend launch of an Israeli communications satellite as engineers replace a suspect valve on the company's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX was initially targeting a launch today (Aug. 3) of the Falcon 9 carrying Amos-17, a communications satellite owned by the Israeli company Spacecom Ltd., from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. On Thursday (Aug. 1), the company said it would stand down for further rocket checks after test-firing the Falcon 9 a day earlier.    More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 4)

NORTHROP GRUMMAN’S CYGNUS CARGO SPACECRAFT TO DEPART INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION AUGUST 6 - More than three months after delivering several tons of supplies and scientific experiments to the International Space Station, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft, the SS Roger Chaffee, will depart the orbiting laboratory Tuesday, August 6. Live coverage of the craft’s release will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at noon EDT, with release scheduled for 12:15 p.m.   More
(Source: SpaceCoastDaily.com - Aug 4)

NASA RELEASES REPORT ON WEATHER SATELLITE FAILURE - A NASA board assigned to investigate the April 2018 failure of an infrared-detecting instrument on board a next-generation weather satellite has released its report. The malfunction has been attributed to a pipe blockage that prevented the flow of needed coolant.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Aug 3)

SPACE STARTUP AIMS TO LAUNCH THOUSANDS OF SATELLITE ‘CELL TOWERS’ THAT CONNECT TO THE AVERAGE PHONE - The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched to the International Space Station last week carried a tiny package that could eventually lead to the smartphone you have in your pocket getting cell service from space. If it works, the instrument could be a precursor to a giant constellation of thousands of mini-satellites that function as cell towers circulating all over the globe. The package is the product of a startup called UbiquitiLink, the latest company to propose putting a mega-constellation of satellites into low orbit above Earth.   More
(Source: The Verge - Aug 3)

LIGHTSAIL TEAMS DECLARES SUCCESS IN SOLAR SAIL EXPERIMENT - The gentle push of sunlight is slowly changing the orbit of the Planetary Society’s crowd-funded LightSail 2 satellite after it unfurled a thin solar sail the size of a boxing ring last week, officials confirmed Wednesday. LightSail 2 is the capstone of a decade-long, $7 million effort to advance the science of solar sailing, a technique that could allow small probes to travel across the solar system, or to other stars, at faster speeds and lower cost.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 3)

RUSSIA LAUNCHES PROGRESS 73 CARGO SHIP ON SPEEDY FLIGHT TO SPACE STATION - A new Russian Progress cargo ship launched into orbit Wednesday (July 31) to make a successful (and speedy) delivery mission for astronauts on the International Space Station. The Progress 73 cargo ship, packed with nearly 3 tons of supplies for the station's crew, lifted off atop a Soyuz rocket from Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:10 a.m. EDT (1210 GMT). It arrived at the station just over 3 hours (and two orbits around Earth) later, docking at 11:29 a.m. EDT (1529 GMT) as both vehicles soared high above northwestern China, NASA officials said.    More
(Source: Space.com - Aug 1)

INVESTIGATORS CONCLUDE EXTERNAL FORCES KILLED AN INTELSAT SATELLITE IN APRIL - Investigators probing the sudden failure of the Boeing-built Intelsat 29e geostationary relay station in April have concluded an electrostatic discharge, aggravated by a harness flaw on the spacecraft, or a micrometeoroid strike prematurely ended the satellite’s mission, resulting in a $382 million hit to Intelsat’s quarterly financial report.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 1)

CLIMATE CHANGE VISIBLE FROM SPACE STATION - Astronaut Luca Parmitano has warned he has seen the ravages of the climate crisis from the International Space Station. The Italian engineer, of the European Space Agency, spoke about the issue during a press conference from the space station. He said that changes in the appearance of the planet are noticeable from the satellite, which orbits 408 km from Earth.   More
(Source: 7NEWS - Jul 31)

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