EUROPEAN SATELLITE HIT BY SPACE PARTICLE - European Space Agency (ESA) engineers reported today (Aug. 31) that a solar panel on the Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite was hit by a millimeter-size particle in orbit on Aug. 23. The strike produced a sudden small power reduction and slight changes in the orientation and the orbit of the satellite. "Following a preliminary investigation, the operations team at ESA's control center in Darmstadt, Germany suspected a possible impact by space debris or micrometeoroid on the solar wing," according to an ESA statement.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 1)

SES AGREES TO LAUNCH SATELLITE ON ‘FLIGHT-PROVEN’ FALCON 9 ROCKET - SpaceX and SES, an international communications satellite operator based in Luxembourg, have agreed to place the SES 10 television relay craft aboard the first launch of a reused “flight-proven” Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral as soon as October, the companies announced Tuesday. The agreement ends SpaceX’s search for a customer to put a satellite aboard a previously-flown booster, and a successful demonstration of the launcher’s ability to fly multiple missions could persuade other companies to sign up for a flight on a reused rocket. “Thanks for the longstanding faith in SpaceX,” SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk tweeted. “We very much look forward to doing this milestone flight with you.”   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 1)

IRAN SATELLITE LAUNCH PROMPTS FEAR OF LONG RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK - Iranian officials announced on Tuesday that the country is preparing to launch three new satellites into space, renewing concerns from defense experts about Iran’s ongoing research into long-range ballistic missile technology that could help it fire a nuclear weapon at Western nations. Mohsen Bahrami, the director of Iran’s space agency— which has long been suspected of providing cover for weapons research—announced that Iran would launch its newest satellite, dubbed “Friendship,” later this year.   More
(Source: Washington Free Beacon - Sep 1)

CHINA READIES NEXT 'HEAVENLY PALACE' FOR MID-SEPTEMBER LAUNCH - China is readying its next piloted space mission, a multifaceted undertaking that will lay the foundation for the country to build a space station in Earth orbit in the 2020s. Both Tiangong-2 (whose name means "Heavenly Palace") and the piloted Shenzhou-11 spacecraft are now undergoing checkout at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. Tiangong-2, which is scheduled to launch in mid-September, is a true "space lab" that will verify key technologies for building China's space station, according to its chief designer, Zhu Zongpeng.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 1)

THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IS GETTING A NEW HD CAMERA - Tomorrow, two American astronauts will boldly go where several people have gone before. In the early hours of September 1 astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins will embark on America's 195th spacewalk, venturing outside of the ISS to make some basic repairs, including retracting a part of the station's cooling system, a task that has been on the to-do list of spacewalker's for a while now. The two will also install a new high-definition camera on the outside of the ISS. The camera will add to a growing collection of cameras mounted on the ISS. The ISS HD Earth Viewing experiment broadcasts live views of Earth from the ISS, while ultra-high definition cameras capture stunning views that are eventually edited to make videos like these.   More
(Source: Popular Science - Sep 1)

INDIA BAGS DEALS TO LAUNCH 68 FOREIGN SATELLITES, 12 OF THEM FROM US - India secured deals to launch 68 overseas satellites, including a dozen from the US, a top official said on Tuesday. “We got fresh orders to launch 68 satellites from various countries, including 12 from PlanetiQ, a US-based weather forecasting satellite firm,” said Rakesh Sasibhushan, Chairman and Managing Director of Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of the Indian space agency. Through Antrix, the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched 74 foreign satellites, including many from advanced countries like Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Israel and the US over the 15 years, using its most reliable workhorse - the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).   More
(Source: Hindustan Times - Aug 31)

SATELLITE OPERATOR SES BUYS USED SPACEX ROCKET TO FLY AGAIN - In a space milestone, Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES will launch its SES-10 communications station atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket later this year using a “flight proven,” or used, first stage that landed on an off-shore droneship earlier this year, company officials said Tuesday. “Having been the first commercial satellite operator to launch with SpaceX back in 2013, we are excited to once again be the first customer to launch on SpaceX’s first ever mission using a flight-proven rocket,” Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer at SES, said in a statement.    More
(Source: CBS News - Aug 31)

A NASA SATELLITE ENDS THE SILENT TREATMENT - NASA has re-established contact with an errant spacecraft. In October 2006, the space agency sent twin satellites into orbit to study the Sun. The satellites follow Earth’s orbit around the sun, one ahead of us and one behind: STEREO-A and STEREO-B. The devices were expected to last two years, but they lasted longer. Scientists realized there would come a time when they would each be in a position where the sun would interfere with their transmissions for almost four months. During this time, the spacecraft would reset every 72 hours — a hard-wired function that could not be changed.   More
(Source: New York Times - Aug 30)

WHO WILL BUY THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION? - As early as 2023, and by 2024 at the latest, Russia intends to abandon the International Space Station. And not only that, they're taking their half of the station when they go. That leaves America and its astronauts in somewhat of a bind because, as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin recently pointed out, "the Russian segment [of the ISS] can exist independently from the American one, but the American segment cannot exist without the Russian." So, what will America do when its most important roommate moves out of the space apartment next decade?   More
(Source: Motley Fool - Aug 29)

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