INDIAN TEEN BUILDS WORLD'S 'LIGHTEST SATELLITE' - An Indian teenager has built what is thought could be the world's lightest satellite, which will be launched at a Nasa facility in the US in June. Rifath Shaarook's 64-gram (0.14 lb) device was selected as the winner in a youth design competition. The 18-year-old says its main purpose was to demonstrate the performance of 3-D printed carbon fibre. Rifath told local media his invention will go on a four-hour mission for a sub-orbital flight.    More
(Source: BBC News - May 18)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION’S ORBIT RAISED BY 350 METERS - The Mission Control Center has carried out a maneuver to increase the average altitude of the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS), the center’s press service told TASS. "The maneuver has been completed," the press service said. The correction maneuver began at 00.35 Moscow Time and lasted for 13 seconds. It was carried out with the help of engines of the Zvezda service module.    More
(Source: TASS - May 18)

RUSSIA PLANS TO END DEPENDENCE ON U.S. SATELLITES FOR COMMUNICATION WITH ISS - - Russia plans to end its dependence on U.S. satellites for communications with the International Space Station. Currently, the Russian segment of the station is in direct contact with Russian controllers only when the station is passing over Russian ground stations, relying the rest of the time on NASA satellite links. The head of the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems company said that Ku-band links between the Russian segment and the Luch family of relay satellites should be in place by the end of this year.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - May 17)

JAPAN MULLS SEVEN-SATELLITE QZSS SYSTEM AS A GPS BACKUP - SEE MORE AT: - The Japanese government is considering adding an additional three satellites to the country’s domestic navigation system in order to ensure that it would work with or without the U.S.’s GPS system. Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, or QZSS, currently calls for four satellites, of which only one is in orbit. Colonel Shinichiro Tsui, a counsellor in Japan’s Cabinet Office, said here that the next three QZSS satellites are all scheduled to launch this year, followed by service activation in 2018. Those satellites, provided by manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric, would augment GPS signals, Tsui said, honing their positioning accuracy from sub-meter to centimeters.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - May 16)

SPACEX LAUNCHES SATELLITE ATOP FALCON 9 ROCKET - Story from Rapid City CVB The historic Midwest metropolis you can’t miss “We’ve had good orbits, good separation, all you can ask for today,” SpaceX engineer John Insprucker said on the company’s launch webcast. The mission completed Inmarsat’s $1.6 billion, four-satellite Global Xpress constellation, designed to provide high-speed, global broadband service to mobile users from airplanes and ships to the U.S. military. SpaceX did not try to land the rocket's first stage, reserving all its performance to deliver the heavy satellite on its way to an orbit more than 22,300 miles over the equator.   More
(Source: USA Today - May 16)

NASA LAUNCHED SPY SATELLITES ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE, BUT THAT SHOULDN'T BE A SHOCK - NASA and the U.S. military weave a tangled web. Ostensibly, NASA is run by civilians. Its astronauts aren't active duty service members and NASA officials aren't military either. However, if you examine the history of the space agency, it becomes clear that the reality is more complicated.   More
(Source: Mashable - May 15)

SSL SATELLITE BUILT FOR BULGARIA SAT ARRIVES AT CAPE CANAVERAL FOR FOR FALCON 9 LAUNCH - Space Systems Loral (SSL),a leading provider of innovative satellites and spacecraft systems, has announced that the BulgariaSat-1 satellite, designed and built for Bulgaria Sat, an affiliate of Bulsatcom, which is a leading telecommunications company and the largest provider of pay-TV services in Bulgaria, has arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be launched aboard a space-proven Falcon 9 vehicle provided by SpaceX. BulgariaSat-1 will be Bulgaria's first satellite. SSL is a subsidiary of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, Ltd., a global communications and information company.   More
(Source: Space Daily - May 15)

HOW RUSSIA AND CHINA WOULD WAGE WAR AGAINST AMERICA: KILL THE SATELLITES - Russia and China are actively pursuing new weapons and capabilities to counter America’s dominance of space according a U.S. Intelligence Community assessment. Indeed, both nations are considering the development of weapons that could attack U.S. satellites and other space-based assets in orbit. “We assess that Russia and China perceive a need to offset any U.S. military advantage derived from military, civil, or commercial space systems and are increasingly considering attacks against satellite systems as part of their future warfare doctrine,”...   More
(Source: The National Interest Online - May 15)

NASA RULES OUT CREW ON FIRST SLS FLIGHT - NASA managers have ruled out putting a crew on board an Orion capsule atop the agency’s huge Space Launch System rocket for the gargantuan booster’s maiden flight in 2019, citing technical risks and higher costs, up to as much as $900 million, agency officials said Friday. Earlier this year, the Trump administration asked NASA to look into the possibility of either adding a crew to Exploration Mission 1, EM-1 for short, or moving up the launch of EM-2, the flight NASA already earmarked for the SLS booster’s first piloted mission. That flight is targeted for launch in the 2021 timeframe.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 15)

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