CUBESATS TO DEPLOY FROM INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ON JULY 13 - Japan’s space agency JAXA has announced that nine CubeSats will be deployed from the International Space Station on July 13. Three of the satellites — EnduroSat AD, EQUISat, and MemSat — will transmit telemetry in the 70-centimeter Amateur Radio band. EnduroSat AD will transmit on 437.050 MHz (CW, 9.6 kB GFSK); EQUISat will transmit on 435.550 MHz (CW, 9.6 kB FSK), and MemSat will transmit on 437.350 MHz (9.6 kB BPSK).    More
(Source: ARRL - Jul 12)

ARRL URGES REGULATORY REGIME TO KEEP NON-AMATEUR SATELLITES OFF AMATEUR SPECTRUM - ARRL wants the FCC to facilitate bona fide Amateur Satellite experimentation by educational institutions under Part 97 Amateur Service rules, while precluding the exploitation of amateur spectrum by commercial, small-satellite users authorized under Part 5 Experimental rules. In comments filed on July 9 in an FCC proceeding to streamline licensing procedures for small satellites, ARRL suggested that the FCC adopt a “a bright line test” to define and distinguish satellites that should be permitted to operate under Amateur-Satellite rules, as opposed to non-amateur satellites authorized under Part 5 Experimental rules.   More
(Source: ARRL - Jul 11)

EUROPE'S ICE-WATCHING SATELLITE DODGES SPACE JUNK IN ORBIT - The European Space Agency nudged one of its satellites from its normal orbit this week to avoid a potential collision with space junk, with the satellite soaring almost 400 feet (122 meters) above the risky object. But now, the agency needs to move the satellite back on track. The operation comes less than a week after the agency released a new report about the huge amount of debris in space. That report found a total of almost 20,000 pieces of space junk in orbit as of the end of 2017 — more than 8,000 lbs. (3,628 kilograms) of dead spacecraft and their remnants.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 11)

IMAGE: THE INTEGRATED CHEOPS SATELLITE - Cheops, the Characterising Exoplanet Satellite, will make observations of exoplanet-hosting stars to measure small changes in their brightness due to the transit of a planet across the star's disc. The information will enable precise measurements of the sizes of the orbiting planets, in particular in the Earth-to-Neptune mass range: combined with measurements of the planet masses, this will provide an estimate of their mean density – a first step to characterising planets outside our Solar System.   More
(Source: Phys.Org - Jul 11)

CHINESE NAVIGATION SATELLITE DEPLOYED BY LONG MARCH ROCKET - China launched its second space mission in less than 24 hours Monday, sending a Beidou navigation satellite toward an orbital perch around 22,000 miles above Earth. The Beidou navigation lifted off on top of a Long March 3A rocket at 2058 GMT (4:58 p.m. EDT) Monday from the Xichang launch base, situated in a mountainous region of southwest China’s Sichuan province, according to the Beidou program’s official government website. Liftoff occurred at 4:58 a.m. Tuesday, Beijing time.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 11)

CHINA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES 2 SATELLITES FOR CLOSE ALLY PAKISTAN - China today successfully launched two remote sensing satellites for its "all-weather" ally Pakistan, which will also help the two countries monitor progress as they build the strategic USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The launch of the two satellites marks yet another space cooperation between China and Pakistan since the launch of PAKSAT-1R, a communication satellite, in August 2011.    More
(Source: Economic Times - Jul 10)

PROGRESS FREIGHTER COMPLETES FASTEST-EVER TRIP TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - A Russian Progress resupply and refueling craft launched Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, riding a Soyuz booster into orbit on a perfectly-timed departure that set the stage for an on-target docking with the International Space Station less than four hours later. The Progress MS-09 cargo carrier lifted off atop a Soyuz-2.1a rocket at 2151:34 GMT (5:51:34 p.m. EDT) Monday from the historic spaceport on the Kazakh steppe. Riding nearly a million pounds of thrust, the Soyuz rocket tilted toward the northeast, quickly exceeding the speed of sound and casting an orange glow over the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where liftoff occurred at 3:51 a.m. local time Tuesday.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 10)

RUSSIAN CARGO SHIP TO TRY FAST-TRACK RENDEZVOUS WITH SPACE STATION - A Russian Soyuz rocket and Progress resupply freighter are set for liftoff Monday on an accelerated, less-than-four-hour rendezvous with the International Space Station after last-minute launch scrubs prevented two similar fast-track approach attempts in recent months. The Progress MS-09 cargo craft will blast off on top of a Soyuz-2.1a rocket at 2151 GMT (5:51 p.m. EDT) Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where liftoff is set to occur at 3:51 a.m. local time Tuesday.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 9)

HOW A SNAFU OVER SWARMING SATELLITES LED SPACEFLIGHT TO SHARPEN ITS LAUNCH POLICY - When India’s PSLV rocket launched a host of satellites into orbit in January, one big piece was missing: the Federal Communications Commission’s authorization for Swarm Technologies’ super-miniaturized satellites. The FCC had nixed Swarm’s application on the grounds that the wallet-sized communications satellites, known as SpaceBEEs, were too small to be tracked properly. But Seattle-based Spaceflight, which had arranged for the launch, didn’t know that. January’s unauthorized launch of the SpaceBEEs resulted in a regulatory slap for Swarm, and no small embarrassment for Spaceflight.   More
(Source: GeekWire - Jul 8)

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