JORDAN'S FIRST SATELLITE — JY1-SAT — COMPLETES BUILD - The JY1- SAT was designed and built by young engineering students in Jordanian universities under the supervision of the Crown Prince Foundation (CPF). His Highness, who made a visit to the Nanotechnology Institute, participated in the installation of the last piece of the mini satellite, which comes within CPF’s "Masar" initiative aimed to guide young people toward space science and related research, and provide training and research opportunities in the field of satellite engineering and design of space missions.   More
(Source: SatNews Publishers - Oct 25)

SPACEX, ULA WIN NASA CONTRACTS TO LAUNCH EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES - NASA has selected SpaceX and United Launch Alliance to deliver to orbit a joint U.S.-European oceanography mission and the next land imaging satellite in the Landsat series on Falcon 9 and Atlas 5 rockets. The space agency announced the contracts Thursday, splitting awards between the two U.S. companies certified to launch NASA’s large robotic space missions. NASA’s Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center made the selections after separate competitive procurements. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will loft the next satellite in a line of oceanography missions extending back to 1992. Known as Sentinel 6A, or Jason Continuity of Service (Jason-CS), the satellite will measure sea level and wave height on the world’s oceans...   More
(Source: SapceFlight Now - Oct 25)

ANOTHER SATELLITE ENTRY OVER UAE SKIES LIKELY TODAY - In case you missed last week's fiery space junk entry over the UAE skies, here's another rare opportunity for you. In a tweet by the UAE Space Agency, an expired satellite was expected to enter the atmosphere on Monday at around 6.15pm, and there was a likelihood of it being seen from some Arab countries, including UAE. "An expired satellite is expected to enter the atmosphere at 6.15 pm, which may be seen from some Arab countries, including the UAE," Dr. Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, said.   More
(Source: Khaleej Times - Oct 24)

DETECTOR TROUBLE EXPECTED TO DELAY ESA’S EUCLID DARK ENERGY MISSION - Technical problems discovered during ground testing of U.S.-built detectors for the European Space Agency’s Euclid astronomy mission will delay the completion of the telescope’s scientific payload, jeopardizing the observatory’s 2020 launch target, the head of NASA’s astrophysics division said last week. Officials expect the problem, traced to an electronics package, will delay assembly of the detectors with Euclid’s Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer, or NISP, instrument at least 12 months.   More
(Source: SpaceFlignt Now - Oct 24)

A SPACECRAFT GRAVEYARD EXISTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN — HERE'S WHAT'S DOWN THERE - The most remote location on Earth has many names: It's called Point Nemo (Latin for "no one") and the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility. Most precisely, its exact coordinates are 48 degrees 52.6 minutes south latitude and 123 degrees 23.6 minutes west longitude. The spot is about 1,450 nautical miles from any spot of land — and the perfect place to dump dead or dying spacecraft, which is why its home to what NASA calls its "spacecraft cemetery." "It's in the Pacific Ocean and is pretty much the farthest place from any human civilization you can find," NASA said.    More
(Source: Business Insider - Oct 23)

NASA INSTALLS A SWEET NEW HD CAMERA ON THE SPACE STATION - The International Space Station has been in orbit since 1998. Camera technology has come a long way since then. Astronauts out on a spacewalk on Friday just installed a new enhanced HD camera and NASA posted a first look at its eye-catching capabilities. It gives viewers a much crisper look at exterior activities like Friday's spacewalk.   More
(Source: CNET - Oct 21)

HOW TO SEE A SPACE STATION FALL FROM THE SKY - Six years after it launched, a truck-sized space station is flying out of control on a collision course with Earth—and it could come crashing down almost anytime between now and next April. The 8.5-ton spacecraft is China’s first space station, named Tiangong-1, which translates to “Heavenly Palace.” Placed in orbit in September 2011, the station was designed to be a test-bed for robotic technologies, and it has seen multiple vehicle rendezvous, dockings, and taikonaut visits during its operational lifetime. The activity lays the groundwork for a more permanent space station the Chinese plan to launch in the near future.   More
(Source: National Geographic - Oct 21)

RADFXSAT (FOX-1B) FM SATELLITE SET TO LAUNCH IN NOVEMBER - The next AMSAT Fox-1 satellite, RadFxSat (Fox-1B), is scheduled to launch on November 10 at 0947 UTC. RadFxSat (Fox-1B), which will carry a 435/145 MHz FM transponder, is one of four CubeSats making up the NASA ELaNa XIV mission, riding as secondary payloads aboard the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) mission. JPSS-1 will launch on a Delta II vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. RadFxSat is a partnership with Vanderbilt University Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE) and hosts four payloads for the study of radiation effects on commercial off-the-shelf components.   More
(Source: ARRL - Oct 21)

SPACEX GIVES FREE RIDE TO REPLACEMENT FOR FACEBOOK'S FRIED SATELLITE - Spacecom and SpaceX have settled their differences over a burned satellite. The Israeli company has once again signed Elon Musk's company for launch services. Spacecom has told the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange it expects to use SpaceX for a launch in 2019, and possibly a further launch in 2020. Their relationship looked doomed after a spectacular Falcon 9 launch failure in 2016 destroyed a Spacecom satellite built to help Facebook take over those parts of the world not yet under Mark Zuckerberg's loving gaze.   More
(Source: The Register - Oct 20)

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