SES LOSES 12 TRANSPONDERS ON NSS-806 SATELLITE, SAYS IMPACT IS TEMPORARY - A 19-year old SES satellite lost nearly a third of its transponders in an anomaly this month, marking the second major satellite malfunction in the SES fleet this year. NSS-806, a C- and Ku-band telecommunications satellite from Lockheed Martin, is still serving customers despite being seven years past its intended design life. However, 12 transponders ceased functioning this month, SES said July 28, without specifying which frequencies. In the company’s half year earnings results for 2017, SES estimated the impact on revenue would be between 7 and 9 million euros ($8.3 and $10.4 million).    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Aug 1)

ISRAEL TO LAUNCH TWO SATELLITES INTO SPACE THIS WEEK - For the very first time, two Israeli satellites will be launched into space together, including the first governmental research satellite; Director General of the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science, Avi Blasberger: 'Several countries are interested in our observation satellites.' In 1984, Avi Blasberger was one of the first engineers at the Elop company, now owned by Elbit Systems, transferred to working on a top secret project: developing the camera for Israel's forthcoming spy satellite, a capability only possessed by the US and the USSR at the time.    More
(Source: Ynetnews - Jul 31)

ELON MUSK SAYS SPACEX'S FIRST FALCON HEAVY LAUNCH WILL LIFT OFF IN NOVEMBER - SpaceX's new megarocket, the massive Falcon Heavy, will make its launch debut in November, according to the company's founder and CEO Elon Musk. n Twitter and Instagram statements late Thursday (July 27), Musk announced the fall target for the Falcon Heavy's maiden flight. "Falcon Heavy maiden launch this November," Musk wrote on Twitter. He did not reveal a specific target date for the launch, though it is expected to fly from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 31)

ANTICIPATING UPGRADED SPACESHIPS, SPACEX BUILDS FINAL FIRST-GENERATION DRAGON CARGO CRAFT - The Dragon supply ship set for liftoff from Florida next month was the last of SpaceX’s first-generation cargo capsules off the production line, meaning future logistics deliveries to the International Space Station will fly on recycled spacecraft until a new Dragon variant is ready. SpaceX launched a reused Dragon cargo craft on its last commercial supply shipment to the space station in June, and officials said then that the next Dragon mission — now scheduled for launch next month — will use a newly-manufactured capsule. Plans for subsequent resupply missions were still under review, NASA and SpaceX officials said at the time.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 31)

U.S. SLAPS SANCTIONS ON IRAN FIRMS AFTER SATELLITE LAUNCH - The United States imposed sanctions on Friday on six subsidiaries of a company key to Iran's ballistic missile program, citing continued "provocative actions" like Tehran's launch of a rocket capable of putting a satellite into orbit. Iranian state television reported on Thursday that Iran had successfully tested a rocket that can deliver satellites into orbit, an action the United States and others say breaches a U.N. Security Council resolution because of its potential use in ballistic missile development. A joint statement on Friday from the United States, France, Germany and Britain said the launch was inconsistent with a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Iran not to conduct such tests.    More
(Source: Reuters - Jul 30)

SONY’S A7S II STUNS WITH 4K FOOTAGE FROM OUTSIDE THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Sony’s lineup of full-frame mirrorless cameras is impressive, and have become a staple for videographers and photographers worldwide. But now, the a7S II has gone beyond just our world, capturing amazing 4K footage from outside the International Space Station. The a7S II was mounted on the ISS on the KIBO Japanese Experiment Module created by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan’s space agency, after the organization determined that it was durable and reliable enough to survive outer space conditions, including vacuum, radiation and extreme temperature swings of up to almost 400 degrees Fahrenheit depending on whether the camera is oriented towards the sun or not.    More
(Source: TechCrunch - Jul 29)

ASTRONAUTS ON THE SPACE STATION WILL SEE THE SOLAR ECLIPSE 3 TIMES - When the Great American Solar Eclipse sweeps across the continental U.S. on Aug. 21, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will have a chance to see it from a unique vantage point. "We're going to have a front-row seat to that [the solar eclipse] — 250 miles [400 kilometers] closer than you will there down on Earth," NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik told Space.com in a preflight interview on NASA TV.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 29)

LAUNCH OF SENTINEL-5P SATELLITES SCHEDULED FOR FALL - Preliminary plans indicate a Russian booster vehicle Rokot will take the European research satellite into orbit from the Plesetsk Space Center on October 9, Rene Pischel, the representative of the European Space Agency in Russia told TASS. "The latest information we have suggests the launch has been scheduled for October 9 but we’re still awaiting official confirmation of the date," Pischel said. He recalled that, in line with earlier plans, the booster vehicle was to lift off from Plesetsk but more time was needed to eliminate the faults tracked down during the testing of the vehicle.    More
(Source: TASS - Jul 29)

SOYUZ ROCKET TAKES OFF CARRYING 3-MAN CREW TO SPACE STATION - A Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off from Kazakhstan Friday, boosting a three-man crew into orbit for a six-hour flight to the International Space Station. The workhorse Soyuz rocket thundered to life at 11:41 a.m. EDT (GMT-4; 9:41 p.m. local time) and streaked away from the same pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome that was used to launch Sputnik 60 years ago and Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, in 1961. Trailing a brilliant plume of exhaust visible for miles around in the clear early evening sky, the Soyuz booster climbed away directly into the plane of the space station's orbit, kicking off a six-hour rendezvous.    More
(Source: CBS News - Jul 28)

Previous Next