NASA TO LAUNCH 'SWARMS' OF SMALL, EARTH-OBSERVING SATELLITES - NASA plans to launch a suite of tiny, next-generation satellites into Earth's orbit to study weather patterns and climate change. These missions will conduct important scientific research while also advancing the technology needed to launch smaller, cheaper satellites, NASA said. The space agency hosted a teleconference today (Nov. 7) from its headquarters in Washington, D.C., to discuss some of the new small satellites, or "smallsats," that will launch in the coming months. Ellen Stofan, chief scientist at NASA Headquarters, explained that small satellites can reduce the costs of space-based Earth observations.    More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 9)

NEXT JOB FOR X-37B MILITARY SPACE PLANE: ASTRONAUT AMBULANCE? - The United States Air Force's mysterious X-37B space plane would make a nice medical-evacuation vehicle for the International Space Station (ISS), some researchers say. The orbiting lab hasn't had a suitable astronaut ambulance since the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet back in 2011, said former astronaut Stephen Robinson, who flew on four shuttle missions and currently chairs the mechanical and aerospace engineering department at the University of California, Davis.   More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 9)

VOTING IN ORBIT: NASA ASTRONAUT CASTS BALLOT FROM INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Astronaut Shane Kimbrough, the only American off the planet, has voted in the presidential election from the International Space Station. NASA told FoxNews.com Monday that Kimbrough, who arrived at the station in mid-October, has filed his ballot from orbit. “It is through an electronic and secure ballot that is uplinked to the crewmember through our means from the local county clerk’s office,” explained a NASA spokesman, in an email to FoxNews.com. “The crewmember fills out the ballot and returns it electronically. All secure. All private.”   More
(Source: Fox News - Nov 9)

NEXT CYGNUS CARGO LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION SWITCHED TO ULA ATLAS V - In a complete change of plans from less than three weeks ago, NASA has asked Orbital ATK to switch rockets and launch the firms next Cygnus commercial cargo freighter to the space station on the tried and true Atlas V rather than their own Antares rocket – which just successfully delivered another Cygnus to the orbiting outpost with a hefty stash of science and supplies. The altered schedule “provides margin flexibility for the entire Antares workforce” Orbital ATK noted in a statement to Universe Today. However, the change of events comes as something of a surprise following the spectacularly successful nighttime blastoff of Antares on Oct. 17 with the Cygnus OA-5 resupply ship from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s picturesque Eastern shore – as I reported on from onsite.   More
(Source: Universe Today - Nov 8)

ASTRONAUT VOTES FROM INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - The lone American off the planet has cast his vote from space. That's in keeping with NASA's motto of "Vote while you float." NASA said Monday that astronaut Shane Kimbrough filed his ballot from the International Space Station sometime over the past few days. He arrived at the orbiting lab in mid-October. Before launching, Kimbrough said it was going to be special, being able to say "I voted from space." NASA says the previous U.S. space station resident, Kate Rubins, also cast an absentee ballot from up there, before returning to Earth a week ago.   More
(Source: WSET - Nov 8)

3D-PRINTED SATELLITE LAUNCHER HEADS TO ISS WITH BLESSING OF CHRIS HADFIELD AND GRANT IMAHARA - If you could print something out aboard the International Space Station, what would it be? That was the question posed to engineers and enthusiasts in the ISS Design Competition, and the winner — a clever and powerful device for launching palm-size satellites — will actually be getting beamed up. Nearly 250 ideas were submitted, everything from tools to toys to scientific instruments. The proposals were vetted and submitted for judgment by tech-savvy astronaut and former ISS resident Col. Chris Hadfield, and Grant Imahara, of Mythbusters fame. The whole thing was organized by Mouser, a major component distributor.   More
(Source: TechCrunch - Nov 8)

CHINA UNVEILS NEW SATELLITE SMARTPHONE THAT CAN COVER SOUTH CHINA SEA - China has unveiled its first satellite smartphone capable of covering the whole country and the disputed South China Sea. The satellite phone is designed for use with the country's a first mobile communications satellite, Tiantong-1 (TT-1), at the six-day Air show China in Zhuhai, Guangdong, which ended on Sunday. The new smartphone, developed by state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), is scheduled to go on sale in two to three months, where it will compete in a global market dominated by the British Inmarsat system, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.    More
(Source: NDTV - Nov 7)

NASA SATELLITE MISSION EARNS GUINNESS WORLD RECORD - Earlier this year, NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) achieved the closest flying separation of a multi-spacecraft formation with only four-and-a-half miles between the four satellites. Now, the team of four satellites is breaking records again, this time earning a Guinness World Record for the highest altitude fix of a GPS signal. When the satellites are closest to Earth, they move at up to 22,000 miles per hour, making them the fastest known operational use of a GPS receiver.    More
(Source: Raw Story - Nov 7)

ELON MUSK SAYS SPACEX ROCKET LAUNCHES MIGHT RESUME NEXT MONTH - Engineers investigating the explosion of one of SpaceX’s rockets in September have figured out what went wrong, and launches could resume in mid-December, Elon Musk, the company’s chief executive, said on Friday. “I think we’ve gotten to the bottom of the problem,” Mr. Musk said during an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box program. “Really surprising problem that’s never been encountered before in the history of rocketry.” Mr. Musk described it as the toughest puzzle solved that the company has ever had to solve.   More
(Source: New York Times - Nov 7)

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