INDIAN COMMUNICATION SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED BY ARIANE ROCKET - Indian communication satellite GSAT-31 will be put into orbit by Arianespace’s Ariane 5 heavy lift rocket on February 5 from its spaceport in French Guiana, the company said in a statement. According to Arianespace, its rocket Ariane 5 has been authorised for lift-off after the review of its launch readiness. The rocket will carry two satellites – Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 and the GSAT-31.   More
(Source: The Siasat Daily - Feb 4)

IRAN IMPROVING ITS ROCKETS TEN YEARS AFTER ITS FIRST SATELLITE LAUNCH - On 2 February 2009 the Islamic Republic of Iran made its first satellite launch, using a Safir rocket to deploy a small satellite, Omid. Ten years later Iran is boastful about plans for the future of its space program as it begins to mature, with new rockets entering service and new satellites preparing to launch. The February 2009 launch of Omid, whose name means “Hope” in Farsi, saw Iran become the ninth sovereign nation to place a satellite into orbit using a rocket of their own development.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Feb 3)

MOMENT METEOR HIT CUBA CAUGHT ON SATELLITE CAMERA (VIDEO) - Atmospheric radar systems caught the moment when a meteor smashed into western Cuba near the town of Viñales on Friday afternoon, stunning onlookers as far away as the Florida Keys. Colorado State University’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere caught the projectile hurtling through space to rock the Pinar del Rio province with what witnesses described as two large blasts.   More
(Source: RT - Feb 2)

BLUE ORIGIN TO LAUNCH SATELLITES FOR COMPANY BATTLING SPACEX AND OTHERS FOR SPACE INTERNET SUPREMACY - Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin announced Thursday, January 31 that it has signed an agreement to launch satellites for Canadian telecommunications company Telesat. Telesat is one of several companies racing to build satellite internet in low Earth orbit, a list that includes Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Richard Branson-backed OneWeb. As per the agreement announced yesterday, January 31, Blue Origin will launch satellites for Telesat on its New Glenn rocket, which it is hoping to launch the first time in 2021, giving the company the ability to reach orbit.    More
(Source: Forbes - Feb 2)

SOYUZ ROCKET 'ANOMALY' TO DELAY U.S. SATELLITE LAUNCH - The launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket set to carry satellites into space for a U.S startup has been delayed after an "anomaly" was discovered on the spacecraft, the company says. "It's true, there is an anomaly on the rocket which will cause us to push out the launch. Our satellites are ready to go! More to come…" OneWeb Chairman Greg Wyler tweeted on January 31.   More
(Source: RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty - Feb 1)

AS POLAR VORTEX FREEZES US, SATELLITES TRACK IT FROM SPACE - It's winter in the United States, and swaths of the country are currently experiencing bitter cold brought on by a phenomenon nicknamed the polar vortex, a pattern weather satellites are watching closely. The National Weather Service is offering a blunt message about the cold weather, calling it "life-threatening." The cold temperatures are caused by Arctic air masses drifting farther south than usual, bringing biting winds that are pushing wind-chill temperatures in regions of a dozen states as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius). That's cold enough to cause frostbite in half an hour.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 1)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION DEPLOYS SATELLITE DESIGNED BY USI STUDENTS - Nearly two months ago, a satellite designed by University of Southern Indiana students was launched into space. Those students watched as their creation was deployed from the International Space Station to begin its year-long mission. It was an exciting morning for USI’s Unite Team. "I'm still a little bit like...my heart is still fluttering a little bit from the experience." A group of undergraduates watched as the first CubeSat satellite, created by a Public Indiana Institution, was shot into Earth’s orbit.   More
(Source: TriStateHomepage.com - Feb 1)

EARTH LOOKS SPECTACULAR FROM SPACE IN THIS BREATHTAKING COSMONAUT VIDEO - From the International Space Station's orbit about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth, crewmembers enjoy unique — and stunning — views of our home planet, as new footage from the station shows once again. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, shared the footage on Twitter yesterday (Jan. 30). The time-lapse view from the orbiting laboratory showcases the bright lights of Earth's cities and the reddish glow of the lower layers of Earth's atmosphere. At times, auroras are also visible on the right-hand side of the video.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 1)

NEXUS DESIGNATED AS FUJI-OSCAR 99 - On January 18, 2019, NEXUS was launched on an Epsilon launch vehicle from the JAXA Uchinoura Space Center in Japan. NEXUS (NExt generation X Unique Satellite) is a satellite developed jointly by Nihon University College of Science and Technology and the Japan Amateur Satellite Association (JAMSAT). NEXUS demonstrates several new amateur satellite communication technologies, and includes a mode V/u linear transponder. Telemetry has been received and decoded around the world since the launch, and the transponder was successfully tested on January 26th. More information may be found at http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/nexus/E0_Top.html   More
(Source: AMSAT - Jan 31)

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