RUSSIA COULD CUT DOWN INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CREW - Russia’s space agency Roscosmos plans to cut down the number of cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS), Head of Piloted Space Programs and cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev said. "We have sent letters to the participants of the ISS program – we want to hear their opinion on how to cut the crew and when," Krikalev said in an interview with the Russian Izvestia newspaper. According to Krikalev, three people, which is the current crew at the Russian segment of the ISS, is too much for the equipment that is now used there. More (Source: Sputnik International - Aug 11)
SPACE STATION CARGO FLIGHTS DELAYED; SPACEWALKS ON TAP - The Japanese space agency has delayed the planned Sept 30 launch of an HTV space station cargo ship to repair a leak in the vehicle, clearing the way for Orbital ATK to slip the launch of its Cygnus supply ship from Aug. 22 to the second half of September to complete tests and analysis of its re-engined Antares rocket, officials said Wednesday. The HTV, carrying a fresh set of batteries for the International Space Station's solar arrays, was scheduled for liftoff from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center on Sept. 30. But in a short press release, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency said the flight was on hold pending repairs of a "slight leak" found during a pressure test. More (Source: CBS News - Aug 11)
WOW! NORTHERN LIGHTS GLOW IN BREATHTAKING IMAGE FROM SPACE STATION - The bright, ethereal lights of the auroras. The surface of Earth, pockmarked with impact craters. A faint glow emanating from the planet's upper atmosphere. All of these amazing sights were captured in a single nighttime photograph taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. The photo was originally taken in February 2012, and included a glimpse of the space station, but NASA's Earth Observatory recently released a cropped, labeled version of the stunning scene. More (Source: Live Science - Aug 10)
SWARM OF SATELLITES TO EXPLORE EARTH'S SHIELD FROM INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - A flotilla of 50 small satellites - known as cubesats and weighing an average of two kilos each - will be launched from the International Space Station in the European-led as QB50 mission to explore the little-understood region above Earth known as the thermosphere. The QB50 cubesats have been built by 48 universities and research institutes from 28 nations, including Canada, China, France, Italy, Korea, UK, USA and Australia (see the full list here). It is led by Belgium's Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, and includes three Australian satellites, two of them built at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. More (Source: EurekAlert - Aug 10)
LOCKHEED DELIVERS NEXT SBIRS SATELLITE TO CAPE CANAVERAL - Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force have delivered the next Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite to Cape Canaveral, the company announced. The satellite, known as SBIRS GEO Flight 3, was delivered to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 2, ahead of its October launch, Lockheed said in a statement. SBIRS includes a combination of satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit, hosted payloads in highly elliptical orbit and ground hardware and software. The data provided by SBIRS enhances the military's ability to detect missile launches and support ballistic missile defense, expands technical intelligence gathering and bolsters situational awareness on the battlefield. More (Source: UPI.com - Aug 9)
THE WORLD'S FIRST VR CAMERA SATELLITE LAUNCHES NEXT SUMMER - SpaceVR has signed a launch agreement to send its virtual reality satellite to the International Space Station using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2017. The small startup has contracted NanoRacks — a company that runs the commercial laboratory aboard the International Space Station — to prepare Overview 1, SpaceVR’s twin-camera cube satellite, for release into low Earth orbit using NanoRacks’ CubeSat Deployer. Overview 1 will head to the ISS inside one of SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsules during the CRS-12 resupply mission, which is expected to launch early next summer. SpaceVR originally took off as a Kickstarter in 2015. Back then the plan was to send a 12-camera rig to the ISS that would be capable of shooting 3D, 360-degree footage. More (Source: The Verge - Aug 9)
USAF SBIRS MISSILE WARNING SATELLITE PREPARES FOR OCTOBER LAUNCH - The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin delivered the next Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 2, ahead of its October launch. SBIRS includes a combination of satellites in GEO orbit, hosted payloads in Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), and ground hardware and software. The data provided by SBIRS enhances the military’s ability to detect missile launches, supports ballistic missile defense, expands technical intelligence gathering, and bolsters situational awareness on the battlefield. More (Source: American Security Today - Aug 7)
CHINA LAUNCHES FIRST MOBILE TELECOM SATELLITE - China on early Saturday successfully launched the first satellite for mobile telecommunication. The Tiantong-01 satellite was launched at 00:22 a.m. Beijing Time, at southwestern China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, with the Long March-3B carrier rocket. It is the first satellite of China's home-made satellite mobile telecom system, and a key part of the country's space information infrastructure. More geostationary satellites will be sent into orbit for the system. More (Source: Xinhua - Aug 6)
FIRST JPSS SATELLITE LAUNCH DELAYED TWO MONTHS - The launch of the first next-generation polar orbiting weather satellite has slipped by two months because of issues with the spacecraft and its ground systems, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed Aug. 5. NOAA spokesman John Leslie said the launch of the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) 1 spacecraft, which had been scheduled for January 2017, is now expected to take place in March. “Based on recent tests of the flight and ground systems and an assessment of the remaining work to bring the system to flight readiness, NOAA has determined it cannot meet the Jan. 20, 2017 launch date for JPSS-1 with reasonable confidence,” Leslie said in a statement provided to SpaceNews. He did not elaborate on the issues causing the delay, although sources say a problem with one of the spacecraft’s instruments may be part of the reason for the delay. More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 6)
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