CHINESE CAS-4A AND CAS-4B AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE TRANSPONDERS ACTIVATED - The Amateur Radio linear (SSB/CW) inverting transponders on the CAS-4A and CAS-4B satellites were activated on October 18. CAMSAT’s Amateur Radio payloads piggybacked on the optical remote-sensing micro-satellites OVS-1A (CAS-4A) and OVS-1B (CAS-4B), launched on June 15. CAS-4A (call sign BJ1SK) has a CW telemetry beacon on 145.855 MHz, and 4.8 kB GMSK telemetry on 145.835 MHz. The uplink is 435.220 MHz, the downlink is 145.870 MHz (20-kHz passband).   More
(Source: ARRL - Oct 19)

ICON SATELLITE EXPLORES THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN EARTH AND SPACE - On Dec. 8, 2017, NASA launches the Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, a low-Earth orbiting satellite that will give us new information about how Earth's atmosphere interacts with near-Earth space—a give-and-take that plays a major role in the safety of our satellites and reliability of communications signals. Specifically, ICON investigates the connections between the neutral atmosphere—which extends from here near the surface to far above us, at the edge of space—and the electrically charged part of the atmosphere, called the ionosphere.    More
(Source: Phys.org - Oct 19)

NORTH KOREA PLANS TO LAUNCH MORE SATELLITES, SAYS US TRYING TO BLOCK SPACE EFFORTS - North Korea’s deputy UN ambassador said Tuesday the country plans to launch many more satellites and accused the United States of trying to block its efforts to help peacefully develop outer space. Kim In Ryong told a UN General Assembly committee meeting on “International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space” that the country’s five-year plan for 2016-2020 includes development of “practical satellites that can contribute to the economic development and improvement of the people’s living.”   More
(Source: New York Post - Oct 19)

PARTS OF UNMANNED RUSSIAN SPACESHIP BURN UP OVER DUBAI - Parts of an unmanned Russian cargo spaceship burned across the night sky of the Arabian Peninsula, drawing gasps from Dubai to Riyadh before breaking up in the Earth's atmosphere and scattering in the Indian Ocean. The fiery end Monday night to parts of Progress MS-07 came as planned after it delivered 2.5 metric tons (2.75 tons) of water, food and scientific equipment to the astronauts aboard the International Space Station.   More
(Source: ABC News - Oct 18)

CHINA’S FIRST SPACE LAB WILL SOON CRASH TO EARTH. NO ONE KNOWS WHERE IT’LL HIT. - Sometime within the next few months, the heavens will come crashing down. Tiangong 1, which translates to "Heavenly Palace," is China's first space laboratory, launched in September 2011, serving as a prototype for a permanent space station that it aims to eventually build and launch. But six years after it first went into orbit, the 8½-ton laboratory is soon expected to meet a fiery and uncontrolled end, hurtling down to Earth and crashing somewhere — anywhere — on the planet. In September 2016, Chinese officials confirmed that they had lost control of the space lab and that it would crash into Earth sometime in the latter half of 2017. In May, China told the United Nations that the lab would reenter Earth between October and April 2018.   More
(Source: Washington Post - Oct 17)

RUSSIAN CARGO SHIP DOCKS AT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - An uncrewed Russian cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station early Monday (Oct. 16) to deliver nearly 3 tons of fresh food, fuel and other supplies. The Progress 68 resupply ship linked up with the space station at 7:04 a.m. EDT (1104 GMT) as the two spacecraft sailed 252 miles (405 kilometers) over eastern China. The docking came two days after a Soyuz rocket launched the cargo craft Saturday (Oct. 14) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.    More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 17)

ATLAS 5 PIERCES THE NIGHT TO BOOST NATIONAL SECURITY SATELLITE INTO SPACE - A covert communications relay station to route spy satellite data directly to users was successfully launched by a million-pound Atlas 5 rocket overnight. The United Launch Alliance rocket left Cape Canaveral under the cover of darkness at 3:28 a.m. EDT (0728 GMT), dodging rain showers while speeding through decks of clouds, for a trek to geosynchronous transfer orbit to deploy the NROL-52 spacecraft. The fifth launch attempt proved to be the charm for NROL-52 after four thwarted tries over the past week, mainly due to bad weather. The last Atlas variant of any kind with this many scrubs was AC-167, the final Atlas 2AS in 2004, that experienced four scrubs and launched on the fifth try.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 16)

CAN TINY SATELLITES HELP THE COAST GUARD DO ITS JOB? - Satellites, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, are driving a new Space Age, researchers say, and the U.S. Coast Guard wants in. In 2018, two so-called cube satellites will be launched into low Earth orbit from a SpaceX rocket, part of a project to test whether the satellites can detect emergency distress beacons in the Arctic. The mission, dubbed "Polar Scout," is also a way for the Coast Guard to look at potential uses for these satellites in its day-to-day work.   More
(Source: theday.com - Oct 15)

WATCH ASTRONAUTS FLIP WHEN THEY GET TO PLAY WITH A FIDGET SPINNER ON THE SPACE STATION - We’re not entirely sure if fidget spinners are still a thing on Earth. But judging by a new video from NASA, they’re still cool on the International Space Station. The video uploaded on Friday by the Johnson Space Center YouTube account was trending Saturday on the social platform. “How long does it spin? I’m not sure, but it’s a great way to experiment with Newton’s laws of motion!” the description on the video reads.   More
(Source: GeekWire - Oct 15)

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