JAPAN LAUNCHES H-2A ROCKET CARRYING RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITE - Japan on Tuesday launched an H-2A rocket carrying a government intelligence-gathering satellite from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan. The optical reconnaissance satellite will be used for such purposes as monitoring developments at North Korean missile launch facilities, increasing the number of the nation's intelligence-gathering satellites to seven. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. launched the H-2A F38 rocket from JAXA's launch site in Kagoshima Prefecture.   More
(Source: Kyodo News Plus - Feb 27)

SPACE HOTELS COULD BE REALITY BY 2021 - For many of us, space tourism seems pretty far off. But according to the Daily Mail, the ultra-wealthy could be making reservations in a space hotel as early as 2021. Once again, we are all super jealous of rich people and their extravagant travel plans. Billionaire hotel mogul, Robert Bigelow, founder of private space company Bigelow Aerospace, has announced the company’s plans to send an inflatable hotel into orbit and create a new space station.   More
(Source: Travel Weekly - Feb 27)

JAPANESE SPY SATELLITE LAUNCH DELAYED BY POOR WEATHER FORECAST - A bad weather forecast has prompted Japanese space officials to delay the launch of an H-2A rocket with a high-resolution government-owned reconnaissance satellite by at least 48 hours until Monday night, U.S. time. Ground crews at the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan’s primary spaceport in the southwestern part of the country, will keep the H-2A rocket protected inside a vertical assembly building before rollout to the launch pad around a half-day before liftoff.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 25)

SPACEX POSTPONES FALCON 9 LAUNCH OVER PAYLOAD FAIRING CONCERNS - SpaceX officials have postponed the launch of a Spanish-owned telecommunications satellite from Cape Canaveral planned for this weekend to conduct additional testing on the Falcon 9’s payload fairing pressurization system, the company announced Saturday. SpaceX did not set a new launch date, but the mission was expected to be pushed back multiple days from its previous Sunday launch target. “Standing down from this weekend’s launch attempt to conduct additional testing on the fairing’s pressurization system,” SpaceX said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Once complete, and pending range availability, we will confirm a new targeted launch date.”   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 25)

ASTRONAUT: TRUMP'S PLAN FOR THE SPACE STATION A HUGE MISTAKE - Donald Trump's administration is floating a proposal to return to the moon -- and to shut down the International Space Station to help pay for it. The first part of this idea is good. The second is horrible. If enacted, it could well spell the end of NASA's human spaceflight for the foreseeable future. There is a wild card here, too: I refer to the commercial spaceflight efforts of companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. For the first time, visionary leaders of commercial companies are striving to build space infrastructure and exploration programs funded by commercial activities. Yes, there is the possibility of NASA partnering with them, but that is not the pressing question in my view now; the continuation of ISS is.    More
(Source: CNN - Feb 23)

LOCKHEED MARTIN COMPLETES ASSEMBLY ON ARABSAT'S NEWEST COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE - A new, high-capacity communications satellite that will deliver TV, internet and mobile phone services to the Middle East, Africa and Europe is one step closer to launch. Lockheed Martin has completed assembly on the Arabsat-6A satellite, which was recently shipped to its Sunnyvale, California facility to begin a comprehensive series of tests to ensure the satellite is ready for operations in orbit. "This new satellite will strengthen our existing fleet that offers millions of people mobile and landline communications service across the region," said Khalid Balkheyour, CEO of Arabsat. "We look forward to completing and launching this state-of-the-art new satellite to offer even greater internet, television and radio services to our customers."   More
(Source: Space Daily - Feb 23)

THE LOW-COST MINI SATELLITES BRINGING MOBILE TO THE WORLD - Large chunks of the planet are still of out of reach of mobile phone signals - that's about four billion people without access to digital communications. But this could change thanks to shrinking satellite sizes and costs. Lower-cost, space-based mobile phone services will soon be a reality thanks to one firm's fleet of nano-satellites that will bounce your voice or text signal from one spacecraft to the next and finally down to the person you're calling.    More
(Source: BBN News - Feb 23)

RECYCLED SPACEX ROCKET BOOSTS PAZ RADAR SATELLITE, FIRST STARLINK TESTBEDS INTO ORBIT - Launching with a Spanish radar observation craft and the first two experimental satellites for SpaceX’s planned global broadband network, a Falcon 9 rocket fired away from California’s Central Coast shortly before sunrise Thursday after several days of delays. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 launcher climbed into a clear sky from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, riding a column of orange exhaust from nine kerosene-burning Merlin main engines.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 22)

ARMY’S IMAGING SATELLITE UP AND RUNNING, BUT ITS FUTURE IS TBD - How valuable is it for troops in the field to have their own dedicated source of satellite imagery and other space-based intelligence? That is a question officials hope to answer in upcoming military exercises where commanders will have an opportunity to test the Army’s newly deployed Kestrel Eye microsatellite. The Kestrel Eye Block IIM was sent into orbit in October from the International Space Station. “It is now operational,” said Dan Harkins, marketing manager at Adcole Maryland Aerospace, the satellite manufacturer.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 22)

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