INDIA’S POLAR SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE FLIES IN NEW CONFIGURATION - An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off Jan. 24 in a new, intermediate configuration with two strap-on solid rocket boosters, providing a lift capability between the PSLV’s previous variants with zero or six side-mounted rocket motors. The 145-foot-tall (44-meter) rocket took off from India’s spaceport on Sriharikota Island, located on the country’s southeastern coast, at 1807 GMT (1:07 p.m. EST) on Jan. 24.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 31)

EUROPE'S SPACE STATION MODULE HAS HUNDREDS OF TINY DENTS FROM 'MARAUDING' DEBRIS - A new scan of an International Space Station module shows several hundred impact craters from "marauding" debris, according to the European Space Agency. But so far, the hull of the European Columbus science laboratory is doing its job in protecting astronaut crews. After nearly 11 years in orbit, Columbus shows wear and tear from tiny meteorites striking its surface, as well as from possible bits of human-generated space debris, according to a statement from ESA. Agency officials haven't expressed any concerns about the damage yet, but this new information will better feed into models of orbital debris density near Earth.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 30)

PRIVATE COMPANY LAUNCHES "LARGEST FLEET OF SATELLITES IN HUMAN HISTORY" TO PHOTOGRAPH EARTH - For decades the U.S. Has relied on spy satellites to look deep inside the territory of its adversaries. These giant billion-dollar satellites take high resolution photographs which can see objects as small as a fist inside Russia, North Korea or wherever the target is. Tonight we will take you inside the intelligence agency where those photos are analyzed, and we will also take you inside a revolution that is rocking the top secret world of spy satellites. A private company named Planet Labs has put about 300 small satellites into space, enough to take a picture of the entire land mass of the Earth every day.    More
(Source: CBS News - Jan 29)

RUSSIA DETECTS US MILITARY SATELLITES' MANOEUVRES IN OUTER SPACE – REPORT - The reported manoeuvres come after US President Donald Trump presented the country's new Missile Defence Review last week, saying that in line with the document, Washington "will recognise that space is a new war-fighting domain, with the Space Force leading the way". Russian surveillance systems have detected the separation of two smaller space vehicles from a large US military satellite in geostationary orbit, according to a document from the Astro-Cosmic Scientific Centre which Sputnik obtained.   More
(Source: Sputnik International - Jan 28)

ICYMI: CHINA HAS LAUNCHED 2 ROCKETS SO FAR THIS YEAR, PLACING 5 SATELLITES IN ORBIT - The China National Space Administration has launched two rockets so far in 2019, placing five satellites in orbit for a variety of uses. China's first space mission of the year lauched Jan. 11, with a Long March 3B rocket carrying the Zhongxing-2D communications satellite into orbit from the country's Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the Sichuan Province. The satellite will provide transmission services for the country's radio and television networks, according to the China Academy of Sciences.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 28)

CAN COMMERCIAL SATELLITES BE USED FOR ESPIONAGE? - For decades, the U.S. has relied on spy satellites to look deep into the territory of American adversaries, and for years, these were the cameras dominating Earth's orbit. Not anymore. As David Martin reports on 60 Minutes this week, there are now commercial companies putting small satellites in space and allowing customers to purchase panoramic images of Earth. As a result, the U.S. government no longer holds a monopoly on the photos taken from orbit—and has no power to classify commercial images as top secret.    More
(Source: CBS News - Jan 28)

CARGO SHIP TAKES OUT TRASH; CREW WORKS ON CYGNUS PREPS AND SCIENCE HARDWARE - A Russian cargo ship left the International Space Station this morning and was deorbited for a destructive demise over the Pacific Ocean. The Expedition 58 crew now turns its attention to the departure of a U.S. space freighter next month. The Progress 70 (70P) resupply ship ended its six-and-a-half month stay at the station when it undocked from Pirs docking compartment today at 7:55 a.m. EST. It descended into Earth’s atmosphere less than four hours later loaded with trash and discarded gear and burned up safely over the southern Pacific.   More
(Source: NASA - Jan 28)

PROGRESS MS-09 LEAVES INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Progress MS-09 departed from the International Space Station after spending spending more than six months at the outpost. The cargo freighter autonomously undocked from the Pirs docking compartment at 7:55 a.m. EST (12:55 GMT) Jan. 25, 2019. Following its departure, the vehicle spent several hours moving away from the space station before performing a deorbit burn at about 11:08 a.m. EST (16:08 GMT). Once it entered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, it burned up with unneeded equipment and trash.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Jan 27)

SWARM RAISES 25M TO BUILD WORLD'S LOWEST-COST SATELLITE NETWORK - Swarm Technologies, developer of the world's lowest-cost global communications network, reports it has closed its Series A financing round of $25M. The round was led by Craft Ventures and Sky Dayton, founder of EarthLink and Boingo, with participation from Social Capital, 4DX Ventures and NJF Capital. Swarm will use the capital to accelerate software and hardware integrations for customer deployments, to continue hiring world-class talent, and to deploy a constellation of 150 satellites over the next 18 months.   More
(Source: Space Daily - Jan 26)

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