SCIENTISTS SCRAMBLING TO TRACK ARCTIC SEA ICE AFTER KEY SATELLITE SENSOR DIES - The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on the planet, driving sea ice to record lows and threatening iconic species from polar bears to walruses and harp seals. Demonstrating the increased precariousness of America's Earth observing satellite capabilities, the malfunctioning of a single sensor on a Defense Department spacecraft is forcing scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado, to scramble to put a backup system in place.    More
(Source: Mashable - May 4)

UK WINS SATELLITE CONTRACT TO 'WEIGH' EARTH'S FORESTS - British industry is to lead the construction of a satellite that will weigh all the world's trees. The Biomass mission's novel space radar will make 3D maps of forests, improving our understanding of how carbon is cycled through the Earth system. Its data will be important for climate research, and will create a baseline for treaties that seek to monitor the status of global forest resources. The spacecraft is to be assembled by the UK arm of Airbus Defence and Space. It signed a contract with the European Space Agency (Esa) on Friday last week valued at €229m (£179m).   More
(Source: BBC News - May 4)

THIS SATELLITE USES SPECIAL GLUE TO STICK TO SPACE DEBRIS LIKE FLYPAPER - Space debris—fragments of old satellites and rockets that remain in space—poses an epic threat to satellites and spacecrafts currently in orbit. Proposals to eliminate it have so far included everything from harpoons to lasers. Singapore-based startup Astroscale has a different idea. It reckons it could use a satellite equipped with a specially configured adhesive—whose chemical structure the company is keeping secret—to trap and destroy rogue bits of space waste. The contraption would basically work a bit like flypaper. As well as working on grabbing space debris, the startup is also working on tracking space waste. “In March, after a series of tests, we finally made a glue that manages to trap bits of space debris while withstanding harsh space environments,” said Miki Ito...   More
(Source: Motherboard - May 3)

3 WEATHER OBSTACLES THAT SPACEX FACES WHEN LAUNCHING ROCKETS INTO SPACE - SpaceX is preparing to launch another rocket into space, and as they do so, they will be monitoring the weather carefully to make sure that it does not interfere. The launch is slated for Thursday, May 5. The weather can be one of the most unpredictable factors when it comes to sending rockets into space as launch dates are set weeks in advance, too far out for meteorologists to predict exact conditions at the moment of takeoff accurately. If any aspect of the weather is unfavorable, SpaceX will postpone the launch and wait until the weather improves. In most cases, this means pushing the launch back one or two days.   More
(Source: Accuweather.com - May 3)

PATRIARCH KIRILL CONGRATULATES RUSSIAN COSMONAUTS ON EASTER - Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill has contacted with the International Space Station (ISS) to congratulate Russian cosmonauts Yuri Malenchenko, Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka on Easter. "For me the conversation with cosmonauts is always a joyful and inspiring event. Twice a year I have such a possibility - with the use of technical means to see you in a working atmosphere," the Patriarch said, noting that the work of the cosmonauts is "very important for all people of the Earth." The well-coordinated work of the multi-national team of the International Space Station is an example of cooperation in achieving goals and repelling threats, Patriarch said.    More
(Source: TASS - May 2)

AIST-2D AND SAMSAT-218 SATELLITES - Two Russian satellites AIST-2D and SamSat-218 operating in the Amateur bands were launched on April 28, 2016 at 02:01 UT on a Soyuz 2-1A launch vehicle from the new Vostochny Cosmodrome located in the Amur Oblast. The satellites were placed into a 471 km × 485 km orbit with a 97.3° inclination. AIST-2D weighs 500 kg and is a technology demonstration and scientific research satellite developed at Samara Aerospace University. The 3U CubeSat SamSat-218 was developed by students at the Samara State University and weighs just 4 kg.   More
(Source: AMSAT-UK - May 1)

TOMSK-TPU-120 CUBESAT CELEBRATES UNIVERSITY ANNIVERSARY - The Russian Tomsk-TPU-120 CubeSat is different from other CubeSats – it has a handle! The 3U CubeSat was launched from Baikonur to the ISS on March 31, 2016 in a Progress-MS-2 cargo vessel. It will be deployed by hand during a future Russian spacewalk (EVA), which is why it has a handle. The satellite was developed by students at the Tomsk Polytechnic University to test new space materials technology and will be the world’s first space vehicle with a 3D-printed structure. In May 2016 Tomsk Polytechnic University celebrates its 120th anniversary. As part of the celebrations on May 10-11 Tomsk-TPU-120 will be activated in the ISS and will transmit a greeting to Earth inhabitants, recorded by students of the university in 10 languages.   More
(Source: AMSAT-UK - May 1)

JAPAN ABANDONS COSTLY X-RAY SATELLITE LOST IN SPACE - Japan's space agency has abandoned its efforts to restore the operations of a multimillion-dollar satellite that was to probe the mysteries of black holes using X-ray telescopes. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced Thursday that it would stop trying to fix the satellite after determining that it was "highly likely" that its two solar arrays had broken off at their bases. Contact was lost with the satellite on March 26, more than a month after its launch from southern Japan on Feb. 17.   More
(Source: SFGate - May 1)

SPACEX ROCKET PREPARING FOR LATE-NIGHT SATELLITE LAUNCH - paceX this week is preparing for a late-night launch of a Falcon 9 rocket and Japanese communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. As of late Saturday, liftoff with the JCSAT-14 satellite owned by SKY Perfect JSAT, Asia’s largest satellite operator, was planned around 1 a.m. Thursday, at the opening of a two-hour window at Launch Complex 40. The mission aims to send the spacecraft built by Space Systems Loral to an orbit 22,300 miles above the equator, where it will deliver TV programming, broadband connections and mobile phone service in Japan, Asia, Oceania, Russia and the Pacific region for at least 15 years.   More
(Source: Florida Today - May 1)

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