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)

WHY IS THE US AIR FORCE'S SECRET SPACE PLANE ORBITING THE EARTH IN 500 DAYS? - he mysterious U.S. Air Force space plane known as X-37B is on its fourth secretive mission. It has spent 500 days in space orbiting the planet Earth for unknown reasons. Advertisement Space reports that the robotic X-37B space plane was launched on May 20, 2015, wherein the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket-propelled the spacecraft from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It is on the secretive mission known as OTV-4 mission or Orbital Test Vehicle-4. In its third mission, it orbited the Earth in 674 days and landed on October 17, 2014. It was constructed with the aid of Boeing. So, what is this strange and enigmatic space plane doing up there?   More
(Source: Science World Report - Oct 16)

HOW TO WATCH SUNDAY'S ANTARES ROCKET LAUNCH IN THE NIGHT SKY - Cygnus, NASA’s cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station, will finally be lifting off on an Antares rocket on Sunday evening, and if you live anywhere on the northeastern coast of the U.S., you should be able to see it blaze its way into space. Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket is set to launch at 8:03 p.m. ET from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Virginia coast, provided that Hurricane Nicole doesn’t interfere any more. You don’t have to be in Virginia for a decent view, though. The skies are expected to be clear, so if you’re on the East Coast between South Carolina and New Hampshire, you can see the rocket’s launch.   More
(Source: Inverse - Oct 16)

HEAVENLY VESSEL: CHINA’S SHENZHOU-11 READY FOR LIFTOFF - At approximately 07:50 Beijing time Sunday, China’s Shenzhou-11 spacecraft will liftoff from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert. A Long March 2F rocket will send the vessel and its two astronauts into orbit where it will dock with the Tiangong-2 space lab, launched last month. This will be the sixth manned mission for China’s rapidly expanding space program. If all goes according to plan, the 30 day stay aboard the Tiangong-2 will more than double the national record for longest time in space for its astronauts. While the previous two Shenzhou missions in 2012 and 2013 carried three astronauts, the crew size for this mission was reduced to extend duration upon the Tiangong-2. The identities of the two astronauts will most likely be revealed just before launch.   More
(Source: CCTV-America - Oct 16)

METEOR SIGHTING WAS LIKELY SPACE STATION TRASH, SAYS MUN INSTRUCTOR - Stargazers in eastern Newfoundland got a treat Thursday night: clear skies, the faint glow of the Aurora Borealis, and what one instructor suspects was a load of space garbage. The American Meteor Society recorded four reports of a suspected "fireball" — a bright meteor — in the sky at around 7 p.m. The object was spotted over Gander, Holyrood, St. John's and Conception Bay South. Callers to CBC Newfoundland and Labrador also reported they say a bright meteor-like object in the sky — but Chris Stevenson, an Astronomy instructor at Memorial University, said the object was most likely a trash capsule from the International Space Station.   More
(Source: CBC.ca - Oct 15)

'ASGARDIA,' THE FIRST NATION IN SPACE, WANTS YOU! - Plans to create the first "nation in space" were unveiled in Paris on Wednesday. They are nothing if not ambitious. The new nation will launch its own satellite in 2017 and dedicate itself to opening up access to space. The goal is to foster world peace, as well as protect earth from rogue asteroids and space debris. The new space country will be called "Asgardia," named for the city in the skies ruled by Norse god Odin. We aren't talking about an actual orbiting city or space station where humans will live.   More
(Source: CNET - Oct 14)

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