THE PENTAGON WANTS TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF SATELLITES AND REFUEL ON ORBIT - Northrop Grumman is on the verge of launching a new satellite servicing vehicle that could extend the life of satellites by years, and the Pentagon is interested in becoming a customer. The lifespan of satellites is often limited by their allotment of fuel, which they use to remain in their assigned orbit or to move to a new one. While the satellite might be fully operational for years to come, if it runs out of fuel then it’s the end of the road. So even though the technology already in orbit is still useful to a client, a satellite provider has to launch an entirely new space vehicle with enough fuel to replace the doomed satellite. But what if satellites could be refueled in orbit?    More
(Source: C4ISRNet - Oct 2)

ASTROSCALE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON WORK ON SPACE DEBRIS REMOVAL - Astroscale will collaborate with the University of Southampton on a project to investigate collision risks between satellites, highlighting the necessity for financial incentives for satellite operators to engage with active debris removal services. The University of Southampton is a partner university on the national SPRINT (SPace Research and Innovation Network for Technology) program and the project with Astroscale will be funded by SPRINT.   More
(Source: VIA Satellite - Oct 1)

DATA FROM CHINESE SATELLITE SHEDDING LIGHT ON COSMIC RAYS - An international team of researchers studying data from China's Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) has measured cosmic ray protons up to the energy of 100 TeV with high precision for the first time. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes the research they have been conducting on data received from the satellite and what they have learned thus far.    More
(Source: Phys.org - Oct 1)

“BIG, FAT, JUICY TARGETS”— THE PROBLEM WITH EXISTING EARLY-WARNING SATELLITES. AND A SOLUTION. - In 2018, the US Air Force announced its intention to cancel the seventh and eighth space vehicles in the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program—a collection of satellites that provides early warning of incoming missiles—and declared its desire to transition over to the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared program, which will serve the same purpose but which proponents say will be less expensive and more robust. Indeed, it was the escalating costs and vulnerability to countermeasures that seem to have motivated the decision to terminate the SBIRS program.    More
(Source: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - Oct 1)

MUSK SHOWS OFF NEXT-GENERATION "STARSHIP" PROTOTYPE - SpaceX founder Elon Musk showed off a towering prototype of his next-generation stainless steel "Starship" Saturday, telling a throng of reporters, cheering supporters and company workers the gleaming rocketships could begin piloted orbital test flights within the next year. "With any development into uncharted territory, its difficult to predict these things with precision," the tech billionaire said in a question-and-answer session. "But I do think things are going to move very fast."   More
(Source: CBS News - Sep 30)

RUSSIA POSTPONES LAUNCH OF 3 COMMUNICATION SATELLITES TO 2020 - As per reports, in September an unnamed official had revealed that three Gonets-M satellites will be launched on the Rocket carrier rocket this November but now it has been postponed to 2020. Another three satellites were supposed to launch atop Soyuz 2.1b rocket later this year. In 2020, another launch of Soyuz 2.1b with three Gonet-M was scheduled and in 2021-22 6 satellites are scheduled to be launched into space by two Angara 1.2 rockets.    More
(Source: Republic World - Sep 30)

UNPILOTED JAPANESE CARGO SHIP DELIVERS FRESH BATTERIES AND MORE TO SPACE STATION - A robotic Japanese cargo ship successfully arrived at the International Space Station Saturday (Sept. 28) carrying more than 4 tons of supplies, including new batteries for the outpost's solar power grid. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) HTV-8 cargo ship pulled up to the space station at 7:12 a.m. EDT (1112 GMT), where it was captured by a robotic arm wielded by NASA astronaut Christina Koch inside the orbiting lab. The station and HTV-8, also known as Kounotori 8 (Kounotori means "white stork" in Japanese), were soaring 262 miles (422 kilometers) over Angola in southern Africa at the time.    More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 29)

RUSSIA QUIETLY BUILDING NETWORK OF SPY SATELLITES THAT CAN SPOT US MISSILES FROM SPACE - RUSSIA has launched another of its secretive spy satellites designed to silently track nukes fired from the US. Hurled into orbit from a launchpad in northeast Russia, the probe can detect long-range missiles the moment they launch and record their progress across the sky. It's the third such satellite to be deployed by Russia since 2015 as part of plans to build a network of warhead-tracking space tech.   More
(Source: The Sun - Sep 28)

SOYUZ 2-1B LAUNCHES LATEST TUNDRA SATELLITE - Russia’s Soyuz rocket has made its second launch in less than twenty-four hours, delivering a missile detection satellite to orbit Thursday in a military launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Soyuz lifted off at 10:46 Moscow Time (07:46 UTC), placing the Tundra satellite into its planned orbit with the aid of a Fregat upper stage.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 27)

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