ROSCOSMOS CONFIRMS PLANS TO REDUCE SPACE STATION CREW - Officials with the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos said Sept. 26 they planned to reduce the size of their crew on the International Space Station next year from three to two. The comments, by Roscosmos head Igor Komarov during a press conference at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) here, confirmed Russian media reports dating back to August that Russia would reduce its crew to save money. “We checked and found that we can complete all of our programs with two cosmonauts,” Komarov said. “That’s when we decided to optimize our crew to two for the next year.”   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 28)

SATREVOLUTION REVEALS PLANS TO 3D PRINT FIRST PRIVATE POLISH SATELLITE, TO BE IN ORBIT MID-2017 - Over the last few years, Poland has steadily built up a reputation as a 3D printing pioneer. The country is already home to numerous promising startups, with Zortrax decisively leading the way. But the 3D printing nation could be known for a lot more than just desktop 3D printers in the near future, as a new startup is working on a very ambitious 3D printing project that will provide a huge boost to Polish aerospace efforts: the 3D printed Światowid nanosatellite, which would become the first Polish-made commercial and private satellite. According to developers SatRevolution, the satellite could be ready for launch as early as mid-2017.   More
(Source: 3ders.org - Sep 27)

INDIA DECLARES SUCCESS ON PSLV’S MOST COMPLEX MISSION - Eight satellites blasted off Monday on top of an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, including an instrument to track tropical cyclones, a pathfinder for a U.S.-owned commercial Earth observation fleet, and multiple spacecraft for Algeria. The 14-story launcher lifted off at 0342 GMT Monday (11:42 p.m. EDT Sunday) from the First Launch Pad the Satish Dhawan Space Center, India’s spaceport on the country’s eastern coastline. The PSLV’s 37th flight carried up an Indian satellite to measure ocean winds and supply data for forecasters around the world to estimate the intensity and location of tropical cyclones, plus seven other payloads for U.S., Algerian, Canadian and Indian organizations.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 26)

TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE PSLV'S LONGEST-EVER FLIGHT TOMORROW - On Monday, India’s workhorse PSLV will, for the first time, inject eight different satellites, including weather satellite SCATSAT-1, into two different orbits. Here are the details of the launch and payloads: — The PSLV-C35 will be launched from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota at 9.12 a.m. tomorrow. The total weight of all the eight satellites is about 675 kg. — The SCATSAT-1 will be released first into a 730 km Polar Sunsynchronous Orbit (SSO) after about 17 minutes and the rest will be injected into a lower orbit of 689 km after around two hours. The flight is PSLV’s longest ever.    More
(Source: The Hindu - Sep 26)

ARE CUBESATS A NUISANCE TO SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS EFFORTS? - Small satellites and cubesats should not be viewed as a major contributor to congestion or in creating space debris in low earth orbit, at least based on recent history, a panel of experts here said Sept. 23. “We need to change our attitude about cubesats. They are not a nuisance,” Bhavya Lal, a research staff member at the Institute of Defense Analyses’ Science and Technology Policy Institute, said during a panel discussion. “[They are] a very important part of our satellite ecosystem.” Speaking at the AMOS conference, Lal said all but one cubesat has been tracked by the Air Force’s Joint Space Operations Center and 18th Space Control Squadron, which issues collision warning messages. Because of that tracking, the Air Force has been able to ensure cubesats do not crash into other satellites and create unwanted debris.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 25)

WHERE WILL THE OUT-OF-CONTROL CHINESE SPACE STATION LAND? - Scientists have admitted that they have no way of safely guiding Tiangong-1 back to Earth, and say it is moving too fast to accurately predict where debris from the 8.5-tonne module will crash. The nation’s first prototype space station, Tiangong-1, or “Heavenly Palace”, launched into orbit in September 2011. The module reached the end of its service life earlier this year and was due to splashdown – eventually – in the Pacific Ocean. But at a recent press conference, the Chinese space agency admitted it had lost contact with the station. They did not explain what had gone wrong.   More
(Source: The Guardian - Sep 25)

ALIBABA PLANS TO LAUNCH WORLD'S FIRST E-COMMERCE SATELLITE - China's online marketing giant Alibaba plans to launch the world's first e-commerce satellite next year to provide people with the best vegetables after analysing agricultural cultivation and harvesting data. Juhuasuan.com, a group shopping website affiliated with Alibaba Group, has announced plans to launch the world's very first e-commerce satellite, a report in the state-run People's Daily said. The project is in cooperation with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle T ..    More
(Source: Economic Times - Sep 24)

EXPLOSION THAT DESTROYED FALCON ROCKET, FACEBOOK SATELLITE POSSIBLY DUE TO GAS TANK BREACH - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that exploded on the launch pad earlier this month and destroyed a valuable satellite may have resulted from a leak in its cryogenic helium system, the company said Friday. SpaceX attempted to launch the locket at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Sept. 1. AMOS-6 mission controllers said the "catastrophic abort" occurred during a stationary test firing of the rocket's engines. The aerospace company said in an update Friday that it has been working with NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration and industry experts to try and determine the cause for weeks.   More
(Source: UPI - Sep 24)

MORE SATELLITE COLLISION WARNINGS TO COME WITH SPACE FENCE DATA - A senior Pentagon official said the U.S. Air Force will need to rethink how it issues satellite collision warnings when a new space object tracking system goes online or risk overwhelming satellite operators and hardware systems with overly cautious alerts. In 2018, the Air Force’s next-generation space object tracking system, known as the Space Fence, will go online and detect satellites and space debris 5 centimeters and larger. Defense Department officials said they are optimistic that on the best days, the $900 million Space Fence, built by Lockheed Martin on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, may be able to track objects as small as 1 centimeter. That’s a marked improvement over the Defense Department’s current network of radars and sensors, which tracks objects 10 centimeters and larger.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 23)

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