WHAT IS AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE SHUTTLE FOR? - Top-secret military spaceplanes certainly know how to make an entrance. The U.S. military’s X-37B, an uncrewed spacecraft that looks like a miniature version of the retired space shuttles, returned to Earth over the weekend after spending nearly two years in low-Earth orbit. It sent shockwaves rippling through the air as it entered the atmosphere over Florida, producing a sonic boom loud enough to jolt people awake across the state. The Air Force, which operates the X-37B, tweeted about its return minutes later, and soon posted a flurry of images and videos of the spaceplane online. “Our team has been preparing for this event for several years, and I am extremely proud to see our hard work and dedication culminate in today’s safe and successful landing of the X-37B,” said Brigadier General Wayne Monteith, the commander of the Air Force’s Space Wing.   More
(Source: The Atlantic - May 10)

KAIST NANOSATELLITE LAUNCHED ON TRIP TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Aerospace researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have successfully launched a nanosatellite destined for the International Space Station (ISS). Called LINK (Little Intelligent Nanosatellite of KAIST), the nanosatellite was launched on an Atlas V booster aboard the NASA CRS-7 Mission on April 18 at Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. LINK was developed by a research team led by Professor Bang Hyochoong of the Department of Aerospace Engineering.    More
(Source: Asian Scientist Magazine - May 10)

NOAA CUTS TARGET FUTURE POLAR WEATHER SATELLITES - While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration received full funding for its ongoing weather satellite programs, the agency is looking at options after a cut to a program for future polar-orbiting weather satellites. The omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2017, signed into law May 5, provides NOAA weather satellite programs with $1.979 billion, $84 million less than requested. The bill fully funds the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R (GOES-R) and Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) programs for a combined total of $1.54 billion.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - May 9)

4TH X-37B CONDUCTS FIRST LANDING AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER - After 718 days on orbit, the U.S. Air Force’s fourth X-37B mission concluded and returned to Earth for an automated landing at Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility – the first time that the secretive spaceplane has touched down on the historic runway. The spaceplane heralded its arrival in Florida with twin sonic booms. These were the first in the area by a returning spaceplane since the end of the Shuttle Program in 2011.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Insider - May 8)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TO GO DOWN IN A BLAZE OF GLORY - Nasa scientists are drawing up plans to dismantle the International Space Station and send it hurtling into the Pacific in the world’s most spectacular demolition job. Tim Peake, the British astronaut, could be among the team that prepares the ISS for its fiery demise — he is due to return to the station between 2021 and 2024 — when its funding runs out. The massive modules, fuel tanks and other components would generate a series of fireballs as they burn up in the atmosphere. The plans were revealed by Ellen Stofan, Nasa’s chief scien   More
(Source: The Times - May 8)

BULGARIA’S FIRST COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE TO RIDE SPACEX’S SECOND REUSED ROCKET - A U.S.-built, Bulgarian-owned broadcast satellite will launch in mid-June from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a previously-used SpaceX Falcon 9 booster that first flew in January, the spacecraft’s owner said Friday. The BulgariaSat 1 satellite will be the second mission to launch on one of SpaceX’s recovered first stage boosters, after the SES 10 communications craft became the first payload to fly on a reused commercial rocket March 30.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 7)

SPACEX PLANS TO LAUNCH FIRST SATELLITE PROTOTYPE FOR ITS INTERNET CONSTELLATION THIS YEAR - SpaceX intends to launch its first satellite prototype later this year as the company moves forward with plans for a network of thousands of small satellites to provide high-speed broadband Internet access. The Hawthorne company, whose full name is Space Exploration Technologies Corp., then will launch a second satellite prototype in early 2018. If those demonstrations are successful, SpaceX plans to launch its first operational satellites a year later. Patricia Cooper, the company’s vice president of satellite government affairs, laid out some details of the plan Wednesday in testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.   More
(Source: Orlando Sentinel - May 6)

INDIA LAUNCHES SOUTH ASIA 'DIPLOMACY' SATELLITE FOR COMMUNICATION SERVICES - India launched a "South Asia" satellite on Friday to provide communication services to neighboring countries in a new initiative hailed by leaders of seven South Asian countries as a boost to regional cooperation. The "space diplomacy" by India, which has an advanced space program, aims at building stronger ties in the region where China has been gaining influence. But underlining the tensions between the two most populous countries in the region, India's arch-rival, Pakistan has opted out of the project.   More
(Source: Voice of America - May 6)

ARIANESPACE LAUNCHES FOR FIRST TIME SINCE FRENCH GUIANA PROTESTS ENDED - European launch provider Arianespace on May 4 completed its first launch since the end of French Guiana’s five-week protest during which demonstrators seeking France’s attention blocked access to the company’s spaceport. The mission, dubbed VA236, orbited two telecommunications satellites, one for Brazil and one for South Korea, on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Brazil’s 5,700-kilogram Geostationary Defense and Strategic Communications satellite, or SGDC, separated first from the rocket, followed by the 3,700-kilogram Koreasat-7 for KTSat, the satellite arm of Korean telecom company KT Corp. Thales Alenia Space of France built both satellites.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - May 5)

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