SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS TAKING SPACEWALK TODAY: WATCH IT LIVE - Two NASA astronauts will head outside of the International Space Station today (Oct. 10) for the second of three planned spacewalks this month. Expedition 53 commander Randy Bresnik and flight engineer Mark Vande Hei, who took a spacewalk together last Thursday (Oct. 5), will spend another 6.5 hours working outside the orbiting laboratory today. They'll continue working on the Latching End Effector (LEE), a "hand" at the end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm, which they replaced last week, and install some new high-definition cameras outside the space station.    More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 11)

SPACEX TO LAUNCH SES-11 SATELLITE WEDNESDAY - Less than 60 hours after a Falcon 9 rocket launched 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into space from the West Coast, on the other side of the continent SpaceX is set to send the SES-11 spacecraft into orbit for a scheduled liftoff at 6:53 p.m. EDT (22:53 GMT) Oct. 11, 2017, from Launch Complex 39A. Launching atop a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket, SES-11 will be SpaceX’s 15th mission in 2017, continuing a very busy year for the company. The particular first stage used for this mission, core 1031, was first flown during CRS-10 in February 2017.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Oct 11)

HOUSE-SIZED ASTEROID WILL PASS BY EARTH AT JUST ABOVE SATELLITE ALTITUDE - A house-size asteroid will give Earth a near-miss on Thursday, giving experts a rare chance to rehearse for a real-life strike threat as it passes inside the moon’s orbit. Dubbed 2012 TC4, the space rock will shave past at an altitude of less than 44,000km (27,300 miles) – just above the 36,000km plane at which hundreds of geosynchronous satellites orbit the Earth. That represents about an eighth of the distance between the Earth and the moon.   More
(Source: The Guardian - Oct 11)

JAPAN'S LATEST GPS SATELLITE WILL GUIDE SELF-DRIVING CARS - apan just fulfilled a key part of its space ambitions -- and it'll have important ramifications for everything from self-driving cars to self-defense. The country has launched its fourth Michibiki satellite, which expands a "quasi-zenith" system designed to provide greater access to GPS in urban 'canyons' where buildings tend to block signals from lower-orbit satellites. Needless to say, that's vital for autonomous vehicles that need GPS to get their bearings in a country dominated by sprawling cities. The military might want it, too. While Japan's armed forces are largely focused on defense, this fourth quasi-zenith satellite could help those calling on the nation to buy cruise missiles as a deterrent to North Korea.   More
(Source: Engadget - Oct 11)

CHINA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES EARTH-IMAGING SATELLITE FOR VENEZUELA - A Chinese Long March 2D rocket launched Venezuela’s second Earth-observing surveillance satellite Monday, adding a new space-based reconnaissance asset the country’s government says it will use to aid security forces, emergency responders, farmers, and health professionals. The two-stage, 134-foot-tall (41-meter) Long March 2D booster took off at 0413 GMT (12:13 a.m. EDT) Monday from the remote Jiuquan space base in the Gobi Desert in northwest China, according to China Great Wall Industry Corp., the government-owned company chartered to sell Chinese rockets and satellites on the global market.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 10)

SPACEX LAUNCH ADDS ANOTHER 10 SATELLITES TO IRIDIUM NEXT FLEET - Ten more satellites for Iridium’s upgraded voice and data communications fleet rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into a nearly 400-mile-high orbit from California’s Central Coast Monday. A few minutes after liftoff, the booster’s first stage made a pinpoint landing on an offshore platform in the Pacific Ocean, adding to SpaceX’s string of successful rocket recoveries for refurbishment and reuse. The 10 French-designed, U.S.-built satellites deployed one-by-one from the Falcon 9’s second stage around an hour after launch. Live video from the launcher showed the spacecraft releasing from a specially-designed carrier module on the upper stage.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 10)

STARTLING IMAGES FROM SPACE SHOW SMOKE PLUME AND HEAT FROM CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES - Fast-moving, destructive wildfires raced across parts of Napa and Sonoma County on Sunday night and Monday, fanned by strong winds and dry conditions. The fires exploded in size, with one, known as the Tubbs Fire, jumping from 200 acres on Sunday to 25,000 by Monday. According to the Associated Press, 1,500 structures have been destroyed by the blazes so far, making them collectively among the most destructive in state history.   More
(Source: Mashable - Oct 10)

POPE TO GET CLOSER TO HEAVENS WITH CALL TO SPACE STATION - Pope Francis will get closer to the heavens this month when he puts in a call to the International Space Station. The Vatican said on Monday the pope would make the call at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) on October 26. It gave no further details, but Francis has supported the work of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which regularly brings together scientists from around the world to exchange views on topics such as climate change. The current six-member crew of the International Space Station is made up of three Americans, two Russians and one Italian.    More
(Source: Reuters - Oct 10)

AS SATELLITES GET SMALLER AND CHEAPER, SPACE PROGRAMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE GETTING BIGGER - The premise of After The Flare, a new space fantasy novel by Deji Bryce Olukotun, is that a solar flare has hit earth and destroyed electricity grids followed by devastating cyber attacks that paralyze all communication. This all sounds plausible until you learn the only functioning space program left on earth is supposed to be in Nigeria. Of course, the only reason space programs in sub Saharan African countries might seem unlikely is because there’s a common belief developing countries have more pressing priorities with everything from poverty and food security to disease and childhood mortality.    More
(Source: Quartz - Oct 9)

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