NOAA’S NEWEST GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE WILL BE POSITIONED AS GOES-EAST THIS FALL - GOES-16, the most advanced weather satellite NOAA has ever developed, will be moved to the GOES-East position at 75 degrees west longitude, once it is declared operational in November. Top officials from NOAA announced the long-awaited decision at today’s 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook news conference in College Park, Maryland. “As a Florida resident, I am particularly proud of the important work NOAA does in weather forecasting and hurricane prediction,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “GOES-16’s unmatched detail in observations and other data will improve forecasts, provide considerable benefits to the economy, and help improve public safety. More (Source: whnt.com - May 26)
LILACSAT-1 CUBESAT DEPLOYED FROM ISS - The student built LilacSat-1 carries an amateur radio 145/436 MHz FM to Codec2-BPSK digital voice transponder, APRS Digipeater and camera. The satellite was developed at the Harbin Institute of Technology and is part of the QB50 mission which aims to study the lower thermosphere. It was deployed from the International Space Station at 0845 GMT on Thursday, May 25, 2017. More (Source: AMSAT-UK - May 25)
ISRAEL’S FIRST ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH SATELLITE TO SOON LAUNCH - Venus, the first Israeli-built satellite meant for environmental research and monitoring, is being sent to French Guiana, from where it will soon be launched. Workers at Israel Aircraft Industries, together with those from Elbit and Rafael -- who built it -- will bid farewell on Thursday to the satellite before transferring it to the Israel Space Agency in the Science and Technology Ministry. Its partner in the project is the French Space Agency CNES. Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis will be on hand at the ceremony in Yahud. More (Source: The Jerusalem Post - May 25)
THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST SLOVAK SATELLITE SET - The first Slovak satellite skCUBE is expected to be sent into orbit in early June, said representatives of the Slovak Organisation for Space Activities (SOSA), which is in charge of the project. The launch has been repeatedly postponed due to problems with the American Falcon 9 rocket. This time it is planned to take place at India’s Sriharikota spaceport. More (Source: The Slovak Spectator - May 24)
FIRST IRISH SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED IN SPACE - Ireland is boldly going where it has never gone before by preparing to launch its very first satellite in space, writes Pádraig Hoare. Led by University College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast, in partnership with five Irish companies, the EIRSAT-1 satellite will be launched from the International Space Station and will orbit for 12 months if it passes the stringent testing of the European Space Agency (ESA). EIRSAT-1 will gather data on Gamma Ray Bursts and will test innovative Irish space technologies. More (Source: Irish Examiner - May 24)
SHORT SPACEWALK COMPLETE AFTER SUCCESSFUL INSTALLATION WORK - Expedition 51 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA concluded their spacewalk at 10:06 p.m. EDT. During the spacewalk, which lasted two hours and 46 minutes, the two astronauts successfully replaced a computer relay box, and installed a pair of antennas on station to enhance wireless communication for future spacewalks. More (Source: NASA - May 24)
HOW MUCH EACH COMPANY WILL CHARGE TO TAKE YOU TO SPACE - The first issue of Airbnbmag, which hits newsstands today, will help you find a place to stay off-planet, too. Here are the companies competing to take us to the heavens, and how much we'll have to pay (and how long we'll have to wait) for the ride of a lifetime. Worldview Express: $75,000 Float 100,000 feet to the edge of the atmosphere via a helium-balloon-powered space capsule. There's no training required for the four- to six-hour World View Voyager trip. More (Source: Popular Mechanics - May 24)
PT TELKOM COLLOCATES SATELLITE WITH INTELSAT WHILE PLANNING TWO HTS SATELLITES - In the midst of a continuing fleet expansion, Indonesia’s state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom is collocating one of its satellites with an Intelsat satellite over the Asia-Pacific region. Speaking at the APSAT 2017 conference in Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta on May 17, PT Telkom’s Chief Strategy Officer David Bangun said the company is in the early stages of developing two high throughput satellites (HTS) for its constellation, which currently consists of three satellites: Telkom-1, Telkom-2 and Telkom-3S. More (Source: SpaceNews - May 23)
NASA TV LIVE BROADCASTS TUESDAY SPACEWALK - Expedition 51 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA will venture outside the International Space Station for a 2.5-hour contingency spacewalk Tuesday, May 23. The spacewalk will begin about 8 a.m. EDT, with complete coverage on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 6:30 a.m. Whitson and Fischer will replace a critical computer relay box that failed on Saturday, May 20. The relay box, known as a multiplexer-demultiplexer (MDM), is one of two units that regulate the operation of radiators, solar arrays and cooling loops. They also will route commands to other vital station systems and install a pair of antennas to enhance wireless communication. More (Source: NASA - May 23)
Previous Next
