NASA: LIVE BROADCAST OF CARGO SPACECRAFT DEPARTING INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ANNOUNCED - NASA is set to broadcast live footage of the Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo spacecraft, which arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) Dec. 9, departing the ISS Friday, Feb. 19. The departure will take place right after the spacecraft delivers 7,000 pounds of cargo intended to help support numerous science experiments around the world. The stream will be accessible via NASA TV video streaming service, according to the agency's press release. During the departure, the spacecraft will detach from the Earth-facing side of the station's Unity module More (Source: Headlines & Global News - Feb 18)
EUROPE LAUNCHES SENTINEL-3A SATELLITE TO HELP TRACK GLOBAL WARMING - Europe has launched a satellite it is hoped will help predict climate change patterns as well as improve everyday weather forecasting. The Sentinel-3A satellite blasted off on board a rocket launcher from Plesetsk in northwestern Russia as part of the Copernicus Earth observation project. Following on from the work of previous models, it could help track global warming in the same way that Europe’s first satellite, launched in the 1970s, helped improve weather forecasts. More (Source: Euronews - Feb 17)
ESA'S SENTINEL SATELLITE TO RIDE CONVERTED ICBM - The European Space Agency's (ESA) Sentinel 3-A satellite will soar heavenwards tomorrow from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, riding a "Rockot" converted ICBM lifter. Sentinel 3-A will form part of the European Commission’s Copernicus Earth-monitoring programme. From an altitude of 814.5km, the satellite will "measure the temperature, colour and height of the sea surface as well as the thickness of sea ice", and monitor land use and the height of rivers and lakes. More (Source: The Register - Feb 16)
KIM JONG-UN WANTS MORE NORTH KOREAN SATELLITES IN SPACE - In the wake of global condemnation of his country’s launch of a satellite earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has now vowed to put additional satellites into space. Speaking at a banquet on Saturday to celebrate the launch of the Kwangmyungsong-4 satellite, Kim said in his speech that the country should focus even more on self-reliance and sustainability, reported NK News, an outlet focusing on North Korea. Scientists, engineers and workers who helped construct the rocket were in attendance at the banquet. More (Source: Newsweek - Feb 16)
LAUNCH OF JAPANESE X-RAY SATELLITE RESCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY, BUT WEATHER MAY REMAIN A CONCERN - The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Sunday they will reattempt the launch of an H-2A rocket carrying X-ray astronomy satellite ASTRO-H on Wednesday afternoon. A planned launch last Friday was scrubbed when bad weather was forecast. The H-2A Launch Vehicle No. 30 will lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center, Kagoshima Prefecture, at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, the bodies said. The launch window will remain open for only 15 minutes. The weather will remain a factor, and the launch could be postponed again, JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy said. More (Source: The Japan Times - Feb 15)
EXPEDITION 46 PREPS CYGNUS FOR UNBERTHING, CONDUCTS LIFE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS - The crew on board the International Space Station (ISS) spent the last week conducting life sciences, repairing equipment on board the orbiting lab and prepping Orbital ATK’s OA-4 Cygnus for departure late next week. Expedition 46 spent much of the past week conducting physics experiments and life science studies while continuing to pack trash inside the Deke Slayton II. The Orbital ATK cargo ship, which has been attached to the station since December, is scheduled for unberthing on Feb. 19. Additionally, Commander Scott Kelly took some time out of the week to talk with ABC and CNN about his year-long mission as well as some of his more memorable moments. More (Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Feb 15)
ASTRONAUT TIM PEAKE UTILIZES HAM VIDEO TRANSMITTER TO BROADCAST WITH STUDENTS - t was only a dream up until now. All of the countries involved in space exploration wanted it to happen, but no one knew if it would. However, over a decade later, it’s finally happened. British astronaut Tim Peake got to make history yesterday when he and the students at Royal Masonic School for Girls in Rickmansworth, United Kingdom made contact with one another via the ARISS radio. It was a fantastic site to see. Major Tim Peake, who has been in space since mid-December, was even able to speak to the students through video. More (Source: BizTek Mojo - Feb 14)
LAUNCH OF JAPANESE X-RAY OBSERVATORY POSTPONED - The Japanese space agency said Thursday the launch of an X-ray astrophysics observatory is postponed from Friday due to a poor weather forecast at the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. The Astro-H mission is awaiting launch aboard a Japanese H-2A rocket to begin a three-year mission observing black holes and measuring the structure of the universe with better precision than ever before. Led by the Japanese space agency - JAXA - with contributions from NASA, Europe and Canada, Astro-H will peer into regions of space near black holes to see how the immense gravitational tug from the massive objects distort spacetime. More (Source: - Feb 13)
JAPAN'S X-RAY SATELLITE ASTRO-H WILL SOON BLAST OFF TO SPACE - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) newest (and sixth!) X-ray observatory is leaving for space on Friday to study black holes and galaxy clusters. It's called Astro-H, and it's blasting off with several scientific instruments in tow. These include ones that can detect X-ray sources 10 times fainter than what its predecessor, the Suzaku, could detect. The star of the show, though, is its Soft X-Ray Spectrometer (SXS), which is fitted with a "microcalorimeter." The Goddard-built spectrometer (designed in cooperation with various Japanese institutions) will use that device to measure and distinguish X-ray colors. More (Source: Engadget - Feb 12)
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