GOES-R, OUR NEXT-GEN WEATHER SATELLITE, IS DELAYED BY A HURRICANE. OF COURSE. - The weather satellite we’ve been anticipating for years has been delayed by a hurricane. This is why we can’t have nice things. GOES-R is NOAA’s next satellite. It really needs to get into space. The satellites that currently look down at our hurricanes and severe weather are at the end of their life spans. Plus, GOES-R has a lot of fancy new features that meteorologists are pretty excited about. The launch of GOES-R, which had been scheduled for Nov. 4, has been delayed. No new date was announced in NOAA’s statement, except to say it won’t happen before Nov. 16. United Launch Alliance says that the new date is Nov. 16, pending Air Force approval.   More
(Source: Washington Post - Oct 19)

SHENZHOU 11 GLIDES TO ORBITAL LINK-UP WITH CHINESE SPACE LAB - Two days after blasting off on a Long March rocket, a Shenzhou spaceship carrying two Chinese astronauts linked up with China’s Tiangong 2 space lab nearly 250 miles above Earth Tuesday to begin a one-month stay inside the mini-station. Astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong were strapped into their seats for the automated docking Tuesday, and the crew open hatches leading into the Tiangong 2 module within a few hours of arriving. Following cues from a suite of rendezvous sensors mounted on the forward end of the craft, Shenzhou 11’s guidance computer steered the capsule toward the docking port on Tiangong 2 and made contact around 1924 GMT (3:24 p.m. EDT) during a nighttime orbital pass.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 19)

EUROPE’S METOP A SATELLITE OUTLIVES LIFE EXPECTANCY BY FIVE YEARS - Europe´s first polar orbiting weather satellite, MetOp A, has survived double its specified lifetime of five years, manufacturer Airbus Defence and Space announced today. Launched Oct. 19, 2006, the satellite will soon accomplish 10 years in space for the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). MetOp A has orbited Earth almost 52,000 times and delivered more than 100 terabytes of weather and climate data. Orbiting at approximately 830 kilometers the spacecraft was Europe’s first Low Earth Orbit (LEO) meteorological satellite.   More
(Source: Satellite Today - Oct 18)

CHINA LAUNCHES ITS LONGEST CREWED SPACE MISSION YET - wo Chinese astronauts began the country's longest crewed space mission yet on Monday, blasting off on a spacecraft for a 30-day stay on an experimental space station as China steadfastly navigates its way to becoming a space superpower. Ahead of the launch, one astronaut shouted: "We are ready! Please give instructions!" in front of dozens of people dressed in colorful dress representing China's ethnic minorities, in footage shown prominently on Chinese TV. The commander-in-chief of the manned space program, Gen. Zhang Youxia, replied: "Proceed!" followed by blaring marching music as the astronauts boarded a bus to take them to the launch pad.   More
(Source: Fox News - Oct 18)

ANTARES 230 SUCCESSFULLY RETURNS WITH LAUNCH OF OA-5 CYGNUS - Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket returned to flight in a new configuration on Monday, two years after its previous mission ended in an explosion seconds after liftoff. Monday’s launch took place from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia – at the end of a five-minute window at 19:45 EDT (23:45 UTC). The launch was the sixth flight of the Antares, but it was first to use the Antares-230 configuration, differing from previous rockets by the use of RD-181 first stage engines in place of the AJ-26-62 motors used in the 110, 120 and 130 configurations.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Oct 18)

IN SPACE, THE LOOMING THREAT OF A NEW ARMS RACE - Killer satellites, blinding lasers, sophisticated jammers: the world's military powers are quietly readying for a war in outer space -- at the risk of fueling a dangerous new arms race. US military officials have in recent years sounded growing alarm about the potential vulnerabilities of their satellites, which underpin US military power. Initially, the reserve of the United States and the Soviet Union, space has now become accessible to an ever-expanding multitude of nations and private firms. And Moscow and Beijing are keen to show off their space-attack capabilities, a deep worry for US strategists. "We are changing the culture in our space enterprise because we need to get our heads around... what happens if a conflict on Earth extends to space. How will we defend our assets?" Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said at an event last month.   More
(Source: Yahoo News - Oct 17)

CHINA'S LONGEST SPACE MISSION LAUNCHES - China's Shenzhou 11 "heavenly vessel" launched Monday (7:30 p.m. Sunday ET) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. The launch was shown on state broadcaster CCTV. This is China'a longest-ever crewed space mission. On board are two astronauts -- Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong. They will dock with the Tiangong-2 space lab, which was launched last month. Jing and Chen will remain in space for a total of 33 days, with 30 of those spent conducting experiments related to medicine, physics and biology in the space lab. Since October 2003, China has completed five manned space flight missions -- the last one took place in 2013 and lasted 15 days.   More
(Source: CNN - Oct 17)

FAULTY CABLE DELAYS ANTARES LAUNCH 24 HOURS - Orbital ATK launch managers have pushed back liftoff of an Antares rocket until Monday to replace a faulty cable on the booster’s launch pad in Virginia. The delay means the International Space Station crew will not receive the Cygnus supply ship mounted atop the Antares rocket until Sunday, after three new residents dock with the orbiting laboratory Friday aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spaceship. Orbital ATK announced the one-day delay Sunday just before the Antares launch team was scheduled to formally start the six-hour countdown. “Today’s launch of Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket is postponed 24 hours due to a ground support equipment (GSE) cable that did not perform as expected during the pre-launch check out,” Orbital ATK said in a statement. “We have spares on hand and rework procedures are in process.”   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 16)

CANON'S EOS 5D MICRO-SATELLITE PREPS FOR MARCH 2017 LAUNCH - It’s not unusual for large companies such as Canon to diversify their business, in fact, last year Canon itself decided it wanted to get into the micro-satellite game, specifically ones armed with Canon’s own photography gear. Those plans have now come to fruition, with the company preparing for a test launch in March. As Nikkei reports, the satellite is quite the technological marvel — not only is the device small and lightweight at 65kg and 85x50x50cm, it’s equipped with a telescope with hardware similar to that of Canon’s 5D DSLR.   More
(Source: Gizmodo Australia - Oct 16)

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