CHINA TO LAUNCH 'CORE MODULE' FOR SPACE STATION AROUND 2018 - China will launch a "core module" for its first space station some time around 2018, a senior official told the state-run Xinhua news agency on Thursday, part of a plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022. Advancing China's space program is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power, and apart from its civilian ambitions Beijing has tested anti-satellite missiles. China insists its space program is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.   More
(Source: Reuters - Apr 22)

SOME SCIENCE COMING FROM JAPAN'S AILING HITOMI SATELLITE - Japan's troubled Hitomi satellite managed to collect some science data before going silent last month, scientists said. Officials haven't heard from the Hitomi X-ray astronomy satellite since late March, about six weeks after the satellite's launch, and the craft appears to have broken into several pieces. But Hitomi did manage to complete two scientific measurements before the trouble hit, said Ann Hornschemeier, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.   More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 21)

OUFTI-1 TELEMETRY DECODER APP - The OUFTI-1 D-STAR CubeSat team have released the format of the CW telemetry beacon and a Decoder App. The launch, on a Russian Soyuz-STA Fregat-M from Kourou in South America, is expected to take place at 21:02:13 UT on Friday, April 22, 2016. OUFTI-1 is a nano-satellite entirely developed by the students of the University of Liege (ULg), Belgium, along with two other engineering schools. It is the first satellite to carry a dedicated amateur radio D-STAR transponder. OUFTI-1 amateur radio information including Keps http://events.ulg.ac.be/oufti-1/radioamateurs/   More
(Source: AMSAT-UK - Apr 21)

CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN TO ORBIT COSTA RICA’S FIRST SATELLITE SURPASSES GOAL - As of Monday evening, Central America’s first satellite is one step closer to orbit. Less than 48 hours before deadline, just over 800 sponsors made it possible to surpass the crowdfunding campaign’s goal of $75,000 needed to send the region’s first satellite into space. The 10-centimeter (4-inch) satellite, known as a picosatellite, is the key element of the Irazú Project, named after Costa Rica’s highest volcano, located in Cartago province. Instruments on the satellite will take real-time measurements of temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide fixation. Data will be collected in a forest in Los Chiles, a mountainous area near Costa Rica’s border with Nicaragua, and will be used to evaluate the effects of climate change on forests.   More
(Source: The Tico Times - Apr 20)

15 YEARS OF EUROPE ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - On 23 April 2001, Italian ESA Umberto Guidoni made history as the first European astronaut to board the International Space Station. Guidoni had been launched on four days earlier, on 19 April, on Space Shuttle Endeavour as part of its seven-strong STS-100 crew from Kennedy Space Centre, with a liftoff at 20:41 CEST. The 11-day STS-100 mission was the ninth Shuttle visit to the Space Station and would feature two space walks. The Shuttle docked with the International Space Station some 260 km above Earth on 21 April. The hatches between Endeavour and the Space Station were opened another two days later, on 23 April, allowing the Shuttle crew and Station occupants to greet one another for the first time.   More
(Source: Satellite PR News - Apr 20)

DOOR NOW OPEN TO LAUNCH EDUCATIONAL HITCHHIKERS ON ATLAS 5 ROCKETS FOR FREE - United Launch Alliance has begun accepting applications from colleges and universities across the U.S. to compete for free cubesat launch slots aboard upcoming Atlas 5 rockets. The educational opportunity will use excess performance aboard rockets launching to space to carry the tiny student-made craft made of science and technology experiments. “Universities pioneered cubesat development, and there is a growing need for launch access and availability,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “Our goal is to eventually add university cubesat slots to nearly every Atlas and Vulcan Centaur launch – with potential for 100 rides per year.”   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 19)

ANOTHER STEP FORWARD AS SATELLITE RETURNS TO EARTH - The re-entry capsule of China’s first retrievable microgravity satellite, SJ-10, returned safely to Earth yesterday, marking a solid step forward in space science research and application. The capsule, which was launched on April 6, touched down about 4:30pm at the planned landing area in Siziwang Banner in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It was transferred to the China Academy of Space Technology, which will hand over the equipment aboard the capsule to the Chinese Academy of Sciences for analysis.   More
(Source: Shanghai Daily - Apr 19)

LISTEN TO TIM PEAKE ON 2M FM - On Monday, April 18 at 3:56 pm BST (1456 GMT) UK radio amateurs will have the chance to listen to Tim Peake GB1SS transmitting on 145.800 MHz FM from the International Space Station (ISS). All you need to hear Tim is a 144 MHz handheld radio, such as the popular £16 BaoFeng UV-5R VHF/UHF transceiver. If used outdoors you should be able to hear Tim with just the tiny antenna supplied with the handheld. If you have a 1/4 wave whip you will get better results.   More
(Source: AMSAT-UK - Apr 19)

CATCH THE SIGNAL OF E-ST@R-II CUBESAT - The CubeSat Team of Politecnico di Torino invite the amateur radio community to participate in a competition to receive the 437.485 MHz signal from their new satellite e-st@r-II which launches April 22, 2016 on a Russian Soyuz-STA Fregat-M rocket from Kourou in South America. The CubeSat Team is a student team of Politecnico di Torino involved in the design and development of small platforms for scientific missions and for testing new technologies. We are guys enthralled by space activities. Undergraduate and graduate students work together with researchers and professors to create a real hands-on experience.   More
(Source: AMSAT-UK - Apr 18)

Previous Next