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)
PROGRESS CARGO FREIGHTER BEGINS TWO-DAY TREK TO SPACE STATION - A Russian Progress freighter carrying nearly three tons of fuel, cargo and supplies for the International Space Station took off from Kazakhstan Saturday, two days after an uncommon last-minute abort for its Soyuz booster. The unpiloted Progress MS-07 supply ship launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0846:53 GMT (4:46:53 a.m. EDT; 2:46:53 p.m. Baikonur time) Saturday to kick off a two-day pursuit of the orbiting research laboratory flying 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the planet. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 15)
SEE BACK-TO-BACK ROCKET LAUNCHES EARLY SATURDAY: HOW TO WATCH THEM ONLINE - Calling all early-bird space fans! Two rockets — one Russian and the other American — will launch on two very different missions early Saturday (Oct. 14). You can watch both launches online, but you'll have to wake up in the wee hours to do it. The space action starts at 3:31 a.m. EDT (0731 GMT) with the launch of a classified U.S. spy satellite on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 14)
AMERICANS WILL HEAD TO SPACE AGAIN, WITHOUT A RUSSIAN TAXI - Since the Space Shuttle’s retirement six years ago, NASA has been buying spots aboard Russian Soyuz craft to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. It’s a politically awkward arrangement, to say the least, given more than a decade of strained relations, Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the dented American pride in having to ask in the first place. The situation has understandably increased pressure on NASA, which hired Boeing Co. and Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build a new generation of vessels to shuttle U.S. astronauts to the station. Both companies are scheduled to fly two test flights next year for NASA’s commercial crew program, including one each that will carry two crew members—an ambitious schedule that could slip into 2019. More (Source: Bloomberg - Oct 14)
TIANGONG-1: CHINESE SPACE STATION WILL CRASH TO EARTH WITHIN MONTHS - An 8.5-tonne Chinese space station has accelerated its out-of-control descent towards Earth and is expected to crash to the surface within a few months. The Tiangong-1 or “Heavenly Palace” lab was launched in 2011 and described as a “potent political symbol” of China, part of an ambitious scientific push to turn China into a space superpower. It was used for both manned and unmanned missions and visited by China’s first female astronaut, Liu Yang, in 2012. More (Source: The Guardian - Oct 14)
MODIFIED RUSSIAN MISSILE BOOSTS EUROPE’S NEWEST ENVIRONMENTAL SENTINEL TO SPACE - A European satellite that will collect daily air quality measurements over every major city on Earth rode an uprated Russian ballistic missile into orbit Friday. Assembled in Britain with a significant Dutch contribution, the Sentinel 5 Precursor satellite will measure greenhouse gases with unrivaled precision, mapping atmospheric chemistry in city-sized blocks to help tell policymakers and scientists how air pollution changes day-to-day. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 13)
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