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)

SWARM OF TINY SATELLITES COULD RELAY MESSAGES BY YEAR’S END - Since 2017, Swarm Technologies has built, launched and operated nine miniature satellites, raised more than $28 million for a 150-spacecraft constellation and forged agreements with some 200 potential customers. The company’s most impressive accomplishment, though, isn’t on that list. Swarm has repaired its relationship with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to the point where the Silicon Valley startup is closing in on a license to offer communications services in the United States.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Oct 3)

RAF PILOT TO HELP LAUNCH SPACE SATELLITE - Fifty years after the lunar landing the Royal Air Force is taking its first small steps into space. Flight Lieutenant Mathew Stannard will be the first RAF pilot to help launch a satellite as part of the Ministry of Defence's £30m space programme. He will be swapping the cockpit of his RAF Typhoon jet for a heavier and slower Boeing 747. The specially adapted passenger plane has been designed to carry a rocket which can launch satellites into space.    More
(Source: BBC News - Oct 3)

HOW NASA WILL GRAPPLE AND REFUEL A SATELLITE IN LOW EARTH ORBIT - For the foreseeable future, access to space will remain very expensive. Even with tricks like reusing rockets or launching from balloons and giant airplanes, it still costs thousands of dollars per kilogram to put something into low Earth orbit. And once you've put something up there, that thing is generally on its own (with very few exceptions), and hopefully does what it needs to until it runs out of fuel, at which point most satellites are completely useless. This is, overall, an extraordinarily inefficient system. NASA would like to change this, and thinks that putting gas stations and repair shops in space would be an absolutely smashing idea.   More
(Source: IEEE Spectrum - Oct 3)

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