A NEW EUROPEAN SATELLITE LAUNCHING THIS WEEK IS IMPORTANT FOR WEATHER FORECASTS - I often refer to geosynchronous weather satellites as the "lead singers" of the weather satellite rock band. They get much of the attention and produce stunning views of hurricanes, tornadic storms, and other real-time weather events. However, polar orbiting satellites are equally important, but often have a much lower profile like the drummer or bass player. The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing to launch the next satellite in its MetOp series next week. This satellite will continue a critical series of weather and climate measurements vital to Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world. Why is MetOp-C so important? More (Source: Forbes - Nov 4)
SOYUZ 2-1B LAUNCHES URAGAN-M GLONASS SATELLITE - A Russian Soyuz-2-1b rocket launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome Saturday night, deploying a replacement satellite for the GLONASS navigation system with the aid of a Fregat-M upper stage. Liftoff is due to take place at 23:17 Moscow Time (20:17 UTC), beginning a three-and-a-half hour journey to the spacecraft’s destination orbit. Russia’s GLONASS navigation system is served by a constellation of satellites named Uragan, meaning Hurricane. The current-generation Uragan-M spacecraft are designed for seven years of service, with new satellites being launched as needed to replace failing spacecraft on orbit. Saturday’s launch deployed Uragan-M No.757 – the forty-eighth Uragan-M and the 137th GLONASS satellite overall. More (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com - Nov 4)
RUSSIA SET TO RESUME ASTRONAUT TRIPS TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - The Russian space agency announced on Thursday that it was planning to launch three astronauts to the International Space Station on Dec. 3., signaling that it believes the country’s Soyuz spacecraft is safe for travel after an in-flight failure last month. The Soyuz is the only way for people to get to the space station. In October, two astronauts made a harrowing but safe emergency return after the Soyuz they were riding in suddenly lost control. Thursday’s announcement also heads off a situation that could have left the space station with no crew aboard as early as January. More (Source: New York Times - Nov 3)
CHINA LAUNCHES FIRST GEOSTATIONARY BEIDOU-3 SATELLITE - China has launched its first geostationary satellite for the BeiDou constellation, according to press reports. The successful launch of satellite G1Q took place at 15:57 UTC on Nov. 1 from the LC2 Launch Complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan province, using a Long March-3B/G2 (Chang Zheng-3B/G2) launch vehicle. Beidou-3G satellites are the geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) component of the third phase of the Chinese Beidou satellite navigation system. The GEO satellites will be in high orbit, about 36,000 kilometers above the Earth, following the Earth’s rotation to view the same point on Earth continuously. More (Source: GPS World magazine - Nov 2)
ELVIS AND DARTH VADER INVADE SPACE STATION FOR ASTRONAUTS' HALLOWEEN - Happy Halloween from the International Space Station! The space station's three current inhabitants posed for some spooktacular group photos in their out-of-this-world Halloween costumes and beamed the pics down to Earth today (Oct. 31). "Having a scary day in space," European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst tweeted. In the photos, Gerst is dressed up as Darth Vader while wielding a red lightsaber. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 2)
RUSSIANS TRACE SOYUZ LAUNCH ABORT TO FAULTY SENSOR - Russian investigators have traced the cause of a dramatic Oct. 11 Soyuz launch abort to a “deformed” sensor in a system that controlled the separation of a strap-on first-stage booster from the rocket’s central core stage, triggering a dramatic emergency escape for the Russian mission commander and his NASA co-pilot, senior managers said Thursday. Oleg Skorobogatov, who led the accident investigation, said the sensor was damaged during final assembly at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, adding the conclusion had been “proven and confirmed.” He did not say how the sensor was bent, only that it occurred during the rocket’s assembly. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 2)
WE ARE ABOUT TO ENTER A NEW ERA OF SPACE STATIONS - The International Space Station (ISS) may well be the most valuable project created by humans. Not only is it the most expensive structure ever built, the station has also amassed unrivaled scientific, geopolitical, and aspirational value. But while the ISS is a singular achievement, it is also just the latest incarnation of a dream that dates back centuries. This history is explored in the new illustrated book Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space by Gary Kitmacher, Ron Miller, and Robert Pearlman, out from Smithsonian Books on Tuesday. More (Source: Motherboard - Nov 2)
SPACEX FIRES ROCKET FOR COMMERCIAL CREW TEST FLIGHT - SpaceX just took another step toward launching astronauts. On Oct. 25, Elon Musk's company test-fired the Falcon 9 rocket that will loft the Crew Dragon capsule on its first flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under a commercial-crew contract with NASA. That demonstration mission, currently targeted for January 2019, will not carry astronauts. But the next Falcon 9-Crew Dragon launch will be crewed, and it'll lift off in June 2019 if everything goes according to plan. More (Source: Space.com - Nov 1)
REMOVEDEBRIS: UK SATELLITE TRACKS 'SPACE JUNK' - The British-led mission to test techniques to clear up space junk has initiated its second experiment. The RemoveDebris satellite ejected a small object on Sunday and then tracked it using a camera and laser system. This vision-based navigation (VBN) technology essentially tells a pursuing spacecraft how its target is behaving - how it's moving and even tumbling. It would provide the information to safely approach the object ready for capture. RemoveDebris has already tested a net system. In that experiment, a small object was again ejected before having a mesh thrown around it. More (Source: BBC News - Oct 31)
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