A SPY SATELLITE BUZZED THE SPACE STATION THIS MONTH, AND NO ONE KNOWS WHY - About six weeks ago, SpaceX launched a spy satellite into low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. As is normal for National Reconnaissance Office launches, not much information was divulged about the satellite's final orbit or its specific purpose in space. However, a dedicated group of ground-based observers continued to track the satellite after it reached outer space.   More
(Source: Ars Technica - Jun 15)

ROBOTIC RUSSIAN RESUPPLY FREIGHTER ON THE WAY TO SPACE STATION - A Russian Progress supply ship packed with several tons of crew provisions and fuel lifted off Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a two-day trip to the International Space Station. The Progress MS-06 cargo and refueling freighter launched at 0920:13 GMT (5:20:13 a.m. EDT), or 3:20 p.m. local time at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The unpiloted cargo craft rode into orbit on a Soyuz-2.1a rocket, a modernized version of Russia’s venerable booster.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 15)

'SATELLITE CATCHER' WILL USE MAGNETS TO CLEAN UP SPACE JUNK - Japan's Space Sweepers are taking it upon themselves to do a little spring cleaning in space. One hundred and seventy million pieces of space debris currently orbit the Earth, according to estimates from the European Space Agency (ESA). Defunct satellites and other man-made objects rocket around the atmosphere at eight kilometers per second -- 10 times faster than a bullet. Some chunks are as big as a truck, others smaller than a dime. But even the tiniest piece of cosmic junk poses an enormous threat to other satellites and spacecraft.    More
(Source: CNN - Jun 14)

NASA IS SENDING A ROBOTIC FUELING STATION TO SPACE - Landsat-7 is in trouble. Some 438 miles above, the minivan-sized craft zips around Earth every 16 days. And for over 18 years, the satellite has captured pictures of our ever-changing planet. But Landsat-7 is running out of fuel. If it were an Earth-bound craft, this wouldn’t be an issue. We refuel everything—planes, trains and automobiles. But up in space, it’s a different story.    More
(Source: Smithsonian - Jun 14)

FORGET BREXIT, HALF A MILLION PEOPLE HAVE APPLIED TO GO AND LIVE ON A SPACE STATION - The idea might sound like something from Star Trek – but people are clearly keen (and frankly, looking at how things are down here, who can blame them?) In fact, 500,000 people tried to sign up to become citizens of the first off-world ‘space nation’ – Asgardia – when it launched last October The group, the brainchild of billionaire Russian computer scientist Dr Igor Ashurbeyli, now has almost 200,000 verified citizens from around 200 countries, who have each received a Certificate of Asgardia.    More
(Source: Metro - Jun 14)

ACKNOWLEDGING SOME OVERLOOKED SATELLITES - Since the first launches into space, rockets and parts of rockets have been crashing back to Earth. Fortunately much of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, or inhospitable mountains, or deserts, or other places that are sparsely populated. Still, there is at least one documented case of a person being struck by a piece of a reentering object from space. Reentries have been interesting to me ever since very early in my career, when I helped predict the impact zone for the Skylab space station, very large pieces of which fell onto Australia in 1979.   More
(Source: The Space Review - Jun 13)

SOYUZ BOOSTER ROLLS OUT FOR LAUNCH WITH SPACE STATION CARGO FREIGHTER - Russian launch crews stood up a Soyuz rocket Sunday on its launch mount in Kazakhstan for a scheduled liftoff Wednesday with approximately 5,500 pounds (2,500 kilograms) of supplies, experiments, fuel and several small satellites to be released by spacewalking cosmonauts at the International Space Station later this year. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket emerged from an assembly building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome around sunrise Sunday, then trekked on a specialized train car to Launch Pad No. 31 at the historic space base, where technicians hydraulically hoisted the booster vertical. Access platforms raised into position around the Soyuz rocket for final launch preparations.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 12)

HOW TO WATCH NASA BROADCAST RUSSIA’S PROGRESS 67 SPACECRAFT LAUNCHING AND DOCKING ON THE ISS - The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will provide live video coverage of the launch and docking of a large Russian cargo spacecraft at the International Space Station next week, the agency announced on its website. The spacecraft will carry a delivery of almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the station during what NASA says is "one of the busiest times of vehicle traffic in history." The broadcast will begin early in the morning on Wednesday, June 14.   More
(Source: Newsweek - Jun 11)

WATCH LIVE SUNDAY @ 9:04 PM ET: NASA LAUNCHING ROCKET TO CREATE ARTIFICIAL CLOUDS - A small NASA rocket will launch to create colorful artificial clouds Sunday night (June 11) at 9:04 p.m. EDT (0104 GMT on Monday), and you can watch all the action live here at Space.com. Coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT Monday). You can also watch the liftoff, which will take place from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, at the Wallops Ustream site: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-tv-wallops. "The window for a NASA Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket launch to test a new ampoule ejection system designed to support studies of the ionosphere and aurora opens June 11 and runs through June 18.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 11)

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