ADVANCED SATELLITE TRACKS AIR POLLUTION IN EXTRAORDINARY DETAIL - A new Earth-observing satellite called Sentinel-5P carries an advanced atmosphere-monitoring instrument that can scan Earth at a higher resolution than any other such instrument in orbit. The novel multispectral imaging spectrometer aboard the spacecraft, which is operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), reveals pollutants in our planet’s atmosphere with unprecedented granularity, according to the agency. Sentinel 5P can track gases such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide, methane, and carbon dioxide that are important to air quality and climate. More (Source: Eos - Dec 19)
NEW CREW ARRIVING EARLY TUESDAY TO JOIN THE STATION - The Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA’s Scott Tingle, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is scheduled to dock to the International Space Station’s Rassvet module at 3:43 a.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 19. Coverage of docking will begin at 3 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website, followed at 5 a.m. for coverage of the opening of hatches between the spacecraft and station, expected to occur at approximately 6:35 a.m. The arrival of Tingle, Shkaplerov and Kanai will restore the station’s crew complement to six. More (Source: NASA - Dec 19)
RECYCLED SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE MAKES 2ND DELIVERY TO SPACE STATION - A used SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station for the second time Sunday (Dec. 17), delivering more than 2 tons of NASA supplies just in time for Christmas. The uncrewed Dragon capsule was captured by astronauts using the space station's robotic arm at 5:57 a.m. EST (1057 GMT) as both spacecraft sailed 252 miles (405 kilometers) above the Pacific Ocean, between Australia and Papua New Guinea. More (Source: Space.com - Dec 18)
SOYUZ MS-07 MANNED SPACECRAFT WITH NEW ISS CREW LAUNCHED FROM BAIKONUR - A Russian Soyuz-FG carrier rocket with the Soyuz MS-07 manned spacecraft lifted off on Sunday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan to deliver the crew of Expedition 54/55 to the International Space Station (ISS), a Sputnik correspondent reported from a launch site. The rocket has launched from the pad, Yuri Gagarin used for the first journey to space in the history of humankind. More (Source: Sputnik US - Dec 17)
SOYUZ MS-07 PREPARES FOR FINAL HUMAN LAUNCH OF 2017 - The Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, is preparing for the final human space launch of 2017. Three new members for the International Space Station – Anton Shkaplerov, Scott Tingle, and Norishige Kanai – are scheduled to launch aboard the Soyuz MS-07 vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 02:21 EST (07:21 GMT) on Sunday, 17 December for a two-day orbital chase to the international outpost. Soyuz MS-07 represents the 136th flight of a crewed Soyuz vehicle and the 62nd launch of the Soyuz-FG rocket since it entered service in 2001. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 17)
SPACEX’S 50TH FALCON ROCKET LAUNCH KICKS OFF STATION RESUPPLY MISSION - A cache of cargo bound for the International Space Station lifted off on a commercial SpaceX launcher Friday, thundering into mostly clear skies over Florida’s Space Coast aboard a reused booster that made a bullseye landing back at Cape Canaveral accompanied by a crackling sonic boom. Riding a column of brilliant flame from nine Merlin 1D main engines, the Falcon 9 rocket climbed away from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad at 10:36:09 a.m. EST (1536:09 GMT) Friday, turning northeast over the Atlantic Ocean to align with the space station’s orbital track. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 16)
SOYUZ CARRIES THREE STATION CREW MEMBERS BACK TO EARTH - A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three space station crew members hurtled back to Earth Thursday, completing a fiery plunge back through the atmosphere before settling to a frigid touchdown on the snowy steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a 139-day mission. With Soyuz MS-05 commander Sergey Ryazanskiy at the controls in the charred descent module’s center seat, flanked on the left by NASA flight engineer Randy Bresnik and on the right by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli, the spacecraft landing near the town of Dzezkazgan at 3:37 a.m. EST (GMT-5; 2:37 p.m. local time). More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 15)
WATCH LIVE: SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE LAUNCH TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - On Friday morning, commercial space company SpaceX is due to send a spacecraft full of supplies and science projects up to the International Space Station, and you can watch all the excitement live on NASA's website. The broadcast is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET to accommodate the launch window, which opens at 10:36 a.m. There also is a SpaceX webcast of the launch. The launch was originally scheduled for December 8, then was pushed to Tuesday morning and then Wednesday morning and finally Friday morning, after SpaceX announced delays late Monday and Tuesday evenings. More (Source: Newsweek - Dec 14)
SPACE STATION CREW RETURNS TO EARTH TONIGHT: HOW TO WATCH LIVE - Three space travelers will depart from the International Space Station (ISS) tonight after a six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. Cramped inside a small Soyuz space capsule, NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy will undock from the ISS early tomorrow morning (Dec. 14) at 12:14 a.m. EST (0514 GMT). You can watch their journey home live here on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV. NASA TV will begin airing live coverage at 8:30 p.m. today (Dec. 13) as the members of the spacefaring trio bid farewell to the three remaining crewmembers, settle into the Soyuz capsule and close the hatch. More (Source: Space.com - Dec 14)
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