NORTH KOREA PLANS TO CONTINUE SATELLITE LAUNCHES DESPITE UN OBJECTIONS - According to the newspaper Rodong Sinmun, the country will continue to launch satellites when and where its leadership determines. On February 7, 2016, North Korea put a satellite into orbit, violating UN Security Council resolutions. The move is considered threatening since the international community believes the North could use its rocket technology to develop ballistic nuclear missiles.   More
(Source: Sputnik International - Feb 8)

SOCCER BALL RECOVERED FROM SHUTTLE CHALLENGER NOW ON SPACE STATION - A soccer ball that was on the ill-fated launch of the space shuttle Challenger has made it to orbit 30 years later, thanks to a shared connection between one of the fallen astronauts and the current commander on the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, the commander of the station's Expedition 50 crew , posted to Twitter Friday (Feb. 3) a photo of the black and white ball floating in front of the windows in the orbiting laboratory's Cupola. His post came less than a week after the anniversary of the Jan. 28, 1986 Challenger tragedy.   More
(Source: Fox News - Feb 8)

NASA OKAYS COMMERCIAL AIRLOCK FOR SPACE STATION - A commercial airlock built in partnership by NanoRacks and Boeing will be connected to the International Space Station in 2019, the companies announced Monday, after the proposed project won preliminary approval from NASA managers. NanoRacks plans to deploy small commercial satellites and CubeSats from the airlock, reducing the workload currently occupying time on the smaller equipment airlock inside the Japanese Kibo laboratory module. Only half of the Kibo airlock’s capacity is allocated to NASA and commercial clients — the rest goes to Japan.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 8)

RECEIVE PICTURES FROM SPACE – ISS SSTV FEB 13-14 - Slow-scan television (SSTV) transmissions are planned from the International Space Station (ISS) on February 13-14, 2017. The SSTV images will be transmitted as part of the MAI-75 Experiment on 145.800 MHz FM using the Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver located in the Russian ISS Service module. It is thought they may use the PD-180 SSTV format.   More
(Source: AMSAT UK - Feb 8)

JAPANESE CARGO CRAFT FALLS TO EARTH AFTER FAILED SPACE-JUNK EXPERIMENT - A Japanese cargo craft fell back to Earth Sunday, Feb. 5 after delivering supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) and attempting a novel space-junk experiment. The spacecraft, named HTV-6, arrived at the space station in December filled with 5 tons of food, water, clothes, science experiments and other gear. It intentionally burned up in Earth's atmosphere at 10:06 a.m. EST on Sunday (12:06 a.m. Japan StandardTime), according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The HTV-6 spent 45 days docked at the station's Harmony module while Expedition 50 crewmembers unloaded the cargo and filled the empty space with nonrecyclable trash.    More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 7)

IN ISRO’S LAUNCH OF 104 SATELLITES NEXT WEEK, 88 WILL BE FROM U.S. - The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is on the cusp of making history when it sends 104 satellites into orbit on its PSLV-C37 rocket on February 15. Only three of them are Indian satellites. Notably, in ISRO’s first mission of 2017, a single U.S. Earth imaging company, Planet, has made an eye-popping bulk booking for 88 of its small ‘cubesats’. No space agency has launched such a large number of satellites in a single flight so far. (While ISRO’s PSLV launched 20 satellites last year, Russia’s Dnepr launcher holds the record for lifting 37 satellites to orbit in June 2014.)   More
(Source: The Hindu - Feb 6)

ULA’S NAVY DELIVERS ROCKET THAT WILL LAUNCH SUPPLIES TO THE SPACE STATION - The ocean-sailing ship that transports rocket stages from United Launch Alliance’s factory to U.S. launch sites completed its latest voyage overnight, pulling into port to deliver the Atlas 5 that will send a cargo freighter to the International Space Station in March. The Mariner, owned and operated by the Foss Maritime company, made a week-long voyage from the ULA production facility in Decatur, Alabama to Cape Canaveral, Florida. Originally built to carry Delta 4 rockets for Boeing to the Cape and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, the Mariner now also delivers Atlas 5 stages for ULA whenever circumstances permit.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 6)

NASA DEBUNKS BOGUS TRUMP TWEET SENT FROM ‘ISS’ - Houston, it’s not a problem. When Donald Trump tweeted Friday night, “We must keep ‘evil’ out of our country,” an account claiming to be the International Space Station replied, “We have space for you up here. Come join us.” One problem — NASA never wrote it. “That tweet is fake. It’s just someone having fun,” said NASA social media manager John Yembrick. He said space station tweets are managed from the ground in Houston, and that the offending tweet came from a bogus account.   More
(Source: New York Post - Feb 5)

WORLDVIEW-4, DIGITALGLOBE’S NEWEST SATELLITE, ENTERS SERVICE - DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-4 high-resolution-imaging satellite entered service this week, following nearly three months of in-orbit testing and calibration. DigitalGlobe announced Feb. 3 that WordView-4 had begun serving its first so-called direct-access customer. These customers, usually governments, sign long-term contracts with DigitalGlobe in exchange for guaranteed access to the company’s satellites when they are passing over specified territories. WorldView-4, like the WorldView-3 satellite that launched in 2014, was built to collect 30-centimeter-resolution imagery. That’s sharp enough to distinguish between cars, trucks and vans and read street markings.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 4)

Previous Next