SIX CUBESATS TO DEPLOY FROM ISS - Masahiro Arai JN1GKZ reports that six CubeSats delivered to the International Space Station by the HTV-6 will deploy from the ISS using the new JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) on Monday, January 16. The new J-SSOD has four satellite install cases. One satellite install case has 3U space, so the new J-SSOD could deploy twelve 1U CubeSats at a time.   More
(Source: AMSAT UK - Jan 15)

JAXA FAILS IN BID TO LAUNCH WORLD’S SMALLEST SATELLITE-CARRYING ROCKET - JAXA terminated a satellite launch in mid-flight Sunday after a communications malfunction forced the space agency to abort ignition of the host rocket’s second stage. The No. 4 vehicle of the SS-520 rocket series lifted off at 8:33 a.m. from Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture carrying a miniature Earth observation satellite, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The rocket was touted as the smallest one capable of launching a satellite. But the agency aborted ignition of the second stage three minutes into the launch after discovering a glitch in the communications system. The rocket and its tiny payload then tumbled into the sea.   More
(Source: The Japan Times - Jan 15)

SPACEX LAUNCHES ROCKET, ITS FIRST SINCE EXPLOSION ON LAUNCHPAD - A Falcon 9 rocket roared into the sky on Saturday carrying 10 communications satellites — a return by SpaceX and its billionaire leader, Elon Musk, to the business of launching satellites to orbit. But financial details disclosed this past week about the company overshadowed the successful liftoff, raising questions about the viability of Mr. Musk’s long-range plans for SpaceX and his vision of sending people to Mars. SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, Calif., has been set back since September, when a different Falcon 9 caught fire and exploded on a launchpad in Florida, destroying the rocket and its payload, a $200 million Israeli satellite that Facebook had planned to lease to expand global internet services.   More
(Source: New York Times - Jan 14)

SAFETY PANEL CITES CONCERNS OVER SPACEX FUELING PROCESS FOR COMMERCIAL CREW - A NASA safety board recommended in its annual report that the agency closely study the safety issues associated with SpaceX’s fueling plans for Falcon 9 commercial crew missions. The annual report by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), released Jan. 11, raised the issue of what it calls the “load and go” approach planned by SpaceX to fuel the Falcon 9 rocket with liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants only after astronauts have boarded the Dragon spacecraft. Traditionally, launch vehicles are fueled hours before launch, and only afterwards do crews board the spacecraft.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jan 14)

IRIDIUM SATELLITE LOADED ON FALCON 9 ROCKET AHEAD OF PLANNED JANUARY 14 LAUNCH - SpaceX’s first return to active launch status could be only a few days away, as the payload from Iridium has been loaded on to the Falcon 9 rocket that’s set to take it to space on January 14 if all goes well. The launch was postponed from a planned January 9 date on Sunday this week, due to prevailing weather conditions at the Vandenberg Air Force base launchpad. The new window will provide an opportunity for SpaceX to perform its first launch since a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on a launchpad during preflight fueling on September 1, 2016.    More
(Source: TechCrunch - Jan 13)

MINOTAUR ROCKET LAUNCH FOR NRO EXPECTED AT WALLOPS BY END OF 2018 - A classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite mission assigned last month to launch on an Orbital ATK Minotaur 1 rocket will take off from Wallops Island in Virginia by the end of 2018, a U.S. Air Force spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. No information about the mission’s purpose or its launch site were disclosed in an Air Force press release announcing the $29.2 million contract award last month. The mission is known as NROL-111. The Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center responded Wednesday to questions about the contract submitted by Spaceflight Now on Dec. 8, the same day as the center’s announcement.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 13)

U.S. AIR FORCE PREPARES SBIRS SATELLITE FOR LAUNCH - The U.S. Air Force has encapsulated its Space Based Infrared System satellite in preparation for the craft's planned launch. The satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, is scheduled to be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on Jan. 19. The system will be sealed in a protective cone, the last step satellites must undergo before launch. The Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit Satellite, known as SBIRS GEO, will be used to transmit surveillance information, detect missile launches, support ballistic missile defense and intelligence-gathering operations.   More
(Source: Space Daily - Jan 13)

MISSILE WARNING SATELLITE PLACED ON ATLAS V ROCKET - A week before its planned launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a U.S. missile warning satellite on Thursday was hoisted atop an Atlas V rocket at Launch Complex 41. The roughly 10,000-pound spacecraft worth $1.2 billion is equipped with infrared sensors to provide early detection and tracking of ballistic missiles. The Lockheed Martin-built Space Based Infrared System satellite, known as SBIRS GEO-3, will be the third placed in a geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator, where it will appear to hold a fixed position in the sky. A fourth satellite is expected to launch late this year to complete the operational constellation.   More
(Source: Florida Today - Jan 13)

ASTRONAUT'S VIEW OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS FROM SPACE IS JUST AMAZING - 9 16 0 2 0 MORE Partner Series Astronaut's View of the Rocky Mountains from Space Is Just Amazing European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet captured this photo of the Rocky Mountains from the International Space Station on Dec. 25, 2016. Credit: ESA/NASA French astronaut Thomas Pesquet just took "Rocky Mountain High" to a whole new level. The European Space Agency astronaut took this incredible photo of the Rocky Mountains from 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth at his post aboard the International Space Station. With snow-capped peaks as tall as 2.7 miles (4.4 km), the massive North American mountain range slices straight through a blanket of clouds. "The Rocky Mountains are a step too high – even for the clouds to cross," Pesquet tweeted about the photo.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 13)

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