COMMERCIAL ROCKET FIRM USES NEW ZEALAND AS LAUNCH-PAD FOR SMALL SATELLITE DEPLOYMENT - Rocket Lab successfully put three small satellites into low orbit on its second rocket launch. The company is looking to capitalize on what it sees as a burgeoning market for commercial satellites. Rocket Lab, a California-based rocket company, has successfully put three small satellites into orbit via a rocket launched from New Zealand on Sunday. More (Source: Deutsche Welle - Jan 22)
CHINA LAUNCHES 2 REMOTE SENSING SATELLITES, 4 SMALL SATELLITES - China launched two high-resolution optical remote sensing satellites into a preset orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 12:12pm Friday Beijing Time. The two commercial satellites, Jilin-1 Video 07 and 08, were independently developed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd., and will provide remote sensing data and products for government and industry users in conjunction with the eight previously launched Jilin-1 satellites. More (Source: Shine News - Jan 21)
ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES 2ND TEST FLIGHT OF ELECTRON SMALL-SATELLITE BOOSTER - An Electron rocket built by the commercial startup Rocket Lab successfully launched on its second test flight from New Zealand, carrying the company's first customer payloads into orbit. The Electron blasted off today from the company's private launch facility on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand at 2:43 p.m. local time, which is 8:43 p.m. EST on Jan. 19 (0143 GMT). The launch was delayed 24 hours after two ships encroached into the launch's offshore keep-out zone. More (Source: Space.com - Jan 21)
ROCKET LAB TEST LAUNCH HALTED BY SHIP TRAFFIC, DETERIORATING WEATHER - An attempt to place three small satellites in orbit on an experimental test flight was halted Friday after two ships strayed into a keep-out zone offshore Rocket Lab’s privately-owned launch base in New Zealand, delaying the Electron booster’s second demonstration mission at least 24 hours. The countdown was stopped less than a minute before a planned liftoff at 10:10 p.m. EST Friday (0310 GMT; 4:10 p.m. New Zealand time Saturday) after officials detected two ships inside a danger area in the Pacific Ocean downrange from Rocket Lab’s launch pad in New Zealand. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 20)
U.S. MILITARY SATELLITE LAUNCHED TO FORTIFY AGAINST MISSILE ATTACKS - A billion-dollar U.S. military satellite rode a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket into orbit Friday night from Cape Canaveral, joining a network of space sentinels warning of threatening missile launches from North Korea, or any other place on the globe. The 189-foot-tall Atlas 5 rocket ignited its RD-180 main engine and a single Aerojet Rocketdyne strap-on solid rocket booster at 7:48 p.m. EST Friday (0048 GMT Saturday). The launcher soared eastward from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad to kick off the 75th flight of ULA’s workhorse Atlas 5. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 20)
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION HAS BEEN ORBITING FOR 7,000 DAYS - The International Space Station is a large spacecraft that orbits Earth's atmosphere about 220 miles above the planet's surface. Friday marks the ISS's 7,000th day in orbit. In those 7,000 days, the outpost has seen its ups and downs; here’s a run-through of some of the biggest highlights. 1998: The construction of the ISS began on November 20, 1998, and was a result of international efforts involving 16 countries, the BBC reported. More (Source: Newsweek - Jan 20)
JAPANESE EPSILON ROCKET SENDS ASNARO-2 RADAR SATELLITE TO ORBIT - A Japanese Epsilon rocket successfully delivered the ASNARO-2 radar Earth observation satellite to orbit this afternoon. The Epsilon rocket launched from Uchinoura Space Center at 6:06 Japan Standard Time, or (21:06 UTC on Wednesday). The Advanced New Satellite with New System Architecture for Observation (ASNARO) series of satellites are spacecraft created for the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) by the Japan Space Systems company. More (Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Jan 19)
ATLAS 5 TEAM SCRUBS LAUNCH TO STUDY TROUBLESOME VALVE - Launch of an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral with a U.S. Air Force infrared surveillance satellite was scrubbed Thursday evening after engineers encountered a balky valve associated with the first stage’s liquid oxygen system. United Launch Alliance, a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, said the problem was narrowed to a ground system at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad. The countdown was paused to allow members of the Atlas 5 launch team to study a stuck fill-and-drain valve needed to fill the rocket’s first stage with liquid oxygen. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 19)
DEVELOPMENT: CHINA TO LAUNCH FIRST STUDENT SATELLITE FOR SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION - China’s first nano-satellite with primary and middle school students involved in the development and building process will be launched into space Friday. The satellite, named after late Premier Zhou Enlai, was sent from its production base in Huai’an Youth Comprehensive Development Base in east China’s Jiangsu Province to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China’s Gansu Province, where a “CZ-11” solid fuel rocket is scheduled to put it into orbit Friday. More (Source: Vanguard - Jan 18)
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