SPACEX READIES USED ROCKET FOR SPACE STATION FLIGHT - SpaceX is readying a previously flown Falcon 9 booster and an equally "used" Dragon cargo ship for launch Wednesday, one day later than planned, on a flight to deliver 4,800 pounds of equipment and supplies to the International Space Station. It will be the California rocket builder's 17th flight so far this year. The launching will mark the fourth time SpaceX has reflown a recovered Falcon 9 first stage -- a first for NASA -- and the second time the California rocket builder has re-launched a Dragon supply ship.   More
(Source: CBS News - Dec 12)

ROCKET LAB ABORTS TEST LAUNCH SECONDS BEFORE LIFTOFF - The private spaceflight company Rocket Lab aborted a scheduled test launch of its small-scale Electron rocket today (Dec. 11), just 2 seconds before liftoff. At Rocket Lab's private launch facility in New Zealand, the countdown clock had nearly reached zero when a white puff of smoke erupted from the bottom of the Electron rocket — but then, the clock stopped, and the rocket failed to rise off the ground. The launch was abruptly halted at 10:50 p.m. EST on Dec. 11 (0350 GMT), which is 4:50 p.m. New Zealand Time on Dec. 12.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 12)

ROCKET LAB LAUNCH CANCELLED SIX MINUTES INTO WINDOW - Rocket Lab postponed the launch of its second trial rocket until Tuesday after cancelling its launch on Monday afternoon. Rocket Lab spokeswoman Morgan Bailey said the launch was cancelled due a mix of atmospheric conditions and space traffic. The International Space Station flying through orbit coupled with the weather conditions gave a tight six minute window to attempt launch at 2.30pm, she said.   More
(Source: Stuff.co.nz - Dec 11)

CHINESE LONG MARCH 3B LAUNCHES ALGERIA’S FIRST TELECOM SATELLITE - China Great Wall Industry Corp. launched Algeria’s first telecommunications satellite, Alcomsat-1, aboard a Long March 3B rocket at 11:40 a.m. Eastern to geostationary transfer orbit, the Algerian press agency APS said today. The 5,225-kilogram satellite carries a 33-transponder payload comprised of 19 in Ku-band, 12 in Ka-band and two in L-band, according to a statement from China Great Wall Industry Corp. (CGWIC). Similar to China’s other foreign satellite deals, CGWIC built the satellite and provided the launch vehicle, sidestepping manufacturing and rocket restrictions tied to U.S. components, which are in most other commercial telecom satellites.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 11)

TINY SPACE-DEBRIS DETECTOR WILL FLY TO STATION THIS WEEK - How many tiny bits of space debris are pummeling the International Space Station day after day? A new experiment headed into orbit this week will find out. NASA's Space Debris Sensor is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule on Tuesday (Dec 12). The sensor is designed to gather data on micrometeoroids and pieces of space debris, each about the size of a sand grain — far too small to be tracked from the ground. The sensor will reveal how frequently these bits of material collide with the station, how fast they are moving when they hit and the direction they came from.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 11)

GALILEO NAVIGATION SATELLITES BUTTONED UP FOR LAUNCH ON ARIANE 5 ROCKET - Technicians working in the jungle of French Guiana have installed four new European Galileo navigation satellites on top of their Ariane 5 launcher, and filled the rocket’s upper stage with storable liquid propellants for liftoff Tuesday. The satellite quartet will join 18 others already in space to build out Europe’s Galileo fleet, an independent civilian-run analog to the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System and the Russian military’s Glonass network. Liftoff of the Ariane 5 rocket is set for an instantaneous launch opportunity at 1836:07 GMT (1:36:07 p.m. EST; 3:36:07 p.m. French Guiana time) Tuesday.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 10)

ROCKET LAB PUSHES BACK SECOND ELECTRON LAUNCH TO SUNDAY - Rocket Lab plans to roll out the company’s second light-class Electron rocket to its launch pad in New Zealand on Thursday for final countdown preparations, but officials have delayed liftoff to no earlier than Sunday night, U.S. time. The Electron booster, standing roughly 55 feet (17 meters) tall, could blast off from Rocket Lab’s commercial launch pad as soon as 0130 GMT Monday (8:30 p.m. EST Sunday) at the opening of a four-hour launch window. The launch opportunity opens at 2:30 p.m. Monday in New Zealand.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 9)

SPACEX SET TO LAUNCH MYSTERIOUS ZUMA SATELLITE NEXT MONTH - Zuma really isn't living up to its name, is it? Expected to launch into orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 15, Zuma has kept space watchers waiting for nearly three weeks to see it zoom. Instead, SpaceX -- which will be using a Falcon 9 rocket to put the reportedly Northrop Grumman-built Zuma satellite in orbit -- canceled the Nov. 15 launch, then canceled another launch date on Nov. 16, postponing that one to Nov. 17, only to cancel the following day as well. The company had stayed mum on its status ever since -- until this week.   More
(Source: Motley Fool - Dec 8)

NASA SATELLITE CAPTURES RAGING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRES FROM SPACE - Thick blankets of smoke from wildfires burning in Southern California are visible from space. An image captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite shows large plumes of smoke streaming into the Pacific, illustrating the fires' scope and size. The fast-moving blazes, centered in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, have been fueled by dry, gusty Santa Ana winds. Three major fires are raging in Southern California.    More
(Source: Los Angeles Times - Dec 7)

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