NAVY LOOKS FOR PLAN B TO SALVAGE ITS NEWEST COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE - The U.S. Navy has declared the primary orbit-raising system aboard its new MUOS No. 5 communications satellite failed, leaving controllers scrambling to design a rescue plan. The final Mobile User Objective System satellite was launched into a geosynchronous transfer orbit on June 24 by a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral. The Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft was supposed to perform 7 burns of its main engine to raise and circularize the orbit to geosynchronous altitude 22,300 miles over the equator in view of Hawaii. After completing an unspecified number of maneuvers, an “anomaly” struck June 29 that has rendered the main propulsion system failed. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 3)
CHINESE RESEARCHERS PLAN SPACE TRAVEL AT LOWER COST FOR COMMON PEOPLE - Chinese scientists are researching a new type of aerospace vehicle that will take even those who have never had training to space in about 10 years' time at a much lower cost compared to the current price. China Central Television (CCTV) reported Monday that scientists from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation have started work on a new vehicle integrating different kinds of engine technologies. The vehicle will integrate air-breathing engines, such as turbine and ramjet engines, and rocket engine, which would allow it to operate as a normal plane in the atmosphere and as a rocket in space. More (Source: Jakarta Post - Aug 3)
RUSSIA TESTS SUCCESSFULLY ITS FIRST ATMOSPHERIC SATELLITE - Russia has successfully tested its first high-altitude unmanned vehicle, or atmospheric satellite, Izvestia daily says in an article published in its Tuesday's edition. Atomospheric satellites are commonly known as atmosats and are sometimes called pseudo-satellites. The testing has been done by the Foundation for Advanced Research Projects (FPI), which is an agency for research in prospective defense technologies, and the Research and Production Enterprise Taiber. The vehicle stayed in the air without landing for 50 hours at the altitudes of up to 9,000 meters. The FPI does not reveal details on the technological characteristics of the atmosat but it known that the vehicle that was made of materials on the basis of carbonic fibers had the wingspan of 9 meters and weighed some 12 kg. More (Source: TASS - Aug 2)
SPACEX NABS SECOND CREW MISSION TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - The days of U.S. astronauts riding solely Russian vehicles to the International Space Station is drawing to an end. On Friday, NASA announced a second crew mission with the private space company after they completed several developmental milestones. NASA also reviewed the Crew Dragon spacecraft, Falcon 9 rocket and the ground systems supporting the inevitable launch. The days of U.S. astronauts riding solely Russian vehicles to the International Space Station is drawing to an end. On Friday, NASA announced a second crew mission with the private space company after they completed several developmental milestones. NASA also reviewed the Crew Dragon spacecraft, Falcon 9 rocket and the ground systems supporting the inevitable launch. More (Source: News Ledge - Aug 2)
INTELSAT CONFIDENT IN ARIANE 5 TO LAUNCH TWO CRITICAL SATELLITES - Two Intelsat communications craft are in French Guiana getting configured for a dual-launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket Aug. 24, the first time the global satellite operator has put two of its payloads on the same booster. The Intelsat 33e and Intelsat 36 satellites are set for launch Aug. 24 at 2155 GMT (5:55 p.m. EDT) at the opening of a 45-minute window. Two Russian Antonov An-124 cargo planes delivered the spacecraft to French Guiana earlier this month, with Intelsat 33e arriving July 21 from its Boeing factory in El Segundo, California, and Intelsat 36 landing July 25 after a trip from Space Systems/Loral’s Palo Alto, California, manufacturing plant. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 1)
NASA TURNS TO SPACEX ONCE AGAIN FOR ITS LATEST CREW MISSION TO ISS - NASA is slowly but surely declaring its independence from Russia when it comes to shuttling astronauts to the International Space Station. On Friday, the agency noted that it had taken “another important step Friday in returning U.S. astronaut launches from U.S. soil” by ordering a second SpaceX crew mission to the ISS. “Commercial crew flights from Florida’s Space Coast to the International Space Station will restore America’s human spaceflight launch capability and increase the time U.S. crews can dedicate to scientific research, which is helping prepare astronauts for deep space missions, including the Journey to Mars,” NASA said in a press release. More (Source: Yahoo News - Aug 1)
RUSSIA'S ADVANCED NEW SURVEILLANCE SATELLITES TO KEEP AN EYE ON US CARRIERS - The Russian Defense Ministry has plans to launch a new orbital surveillance system aimed to bolster the reconnaissance capabilities of the Aerospace Defense Forces. What kinds of capabilities will the new system have? One of Russia's leading online news and analysis portals spoke to military experts to try and find out. On Thursday, Kommersant newspaper provided a few details about a new orbital surveillance system being developed for the Russian Ministry of Defense. The new system, consisting of three brand new Razdan-class satellites, is set to be lifted into orbit between 2019 and 2024 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The system will complement and eventually replace the Persona-class optical-electronic satellites presently used by the military. More (Source: Sputnik International - Jul 31)
NROL-61 SATELLITE LAUNCHED THURSDAY SPOTTED IN SPACE BY SKY-WATCHERS - Sky-watchers with a passion for looking up and tracking satellites with remarkable precision have made quick work of locating the spacecraft launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket on Thursday. The NROL-61 satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office was successfully deployed into space by the United Launch Alliance rocket following an 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT) liftoff from Cape Canaveral. The vehicle headed eastward on 1.5 million pounds of thrust toward a geosynchronous transfer orbit to release the satellite about a half-hour later. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 31)
CHINA TO LAUNCH THE WORLD'S FIRST QUANTUM SATELLITE - China is planning to bring quantum physics to space. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Academy of Sciences are collaborating to build a satellite that will perform the first ever quantum experiments in orbit. The experiments could have applications in future telescopes and communication technology. The Chinese satellite will be launched sometime in August, where it will test the limits of quantum communication. Onboard the satellite will be a special crystal that generates pairs of entangled photons, which will be fired at two laboratories in Beijing and Vienna. These photons will be used to test the range of quantum entanglement and the feasibility of quantum communications. More (Source: Yahoo News - Jul 31)
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