GPS SATELLITE MOVES TO ATLAS 5 FACILITY FOR LAUNCH NEXT FRIDAY - After a quarter-century readying Global Positioning System satellites for launch at a Cape Canaveral Air Force Station processing hub, the final bird rolled out today as the navigation program transitions to a new era. “This GPS 2F-12 satellite represents the end of a legacy as it will be the last of the 61 GPS satellites processed here at CCAFS,” Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, 45th Space Wing commander, said in a press release. "This culminates an incredible 27-year legacy at our Area 59 Satellite Processing Facility. We are the nation’s premier gateway to space and are humbled to be a part of the team that provides GPS and its capabilities to the world."   More
(Source: SpaceFlignt Now - Jan 31)

MESMERIZING SATELLITE VIDEO CAPTURES MAGICAL VIEW OF EARTH - Please direct your attention to the absolutely magical video of planet Earth from space. Like cats with a sparkly toy, we here at Space.com have been unable to pull our gazes away from this stunning website, glittering.blue. The site plays a looping video of a 24-hour period captured by the Himawari-8 Japanese weather satellite, sped up to last just a few seconds. The satellite is in a geostationary orbit, positioned over Japan and Australia.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 30)

LASER-EQUIPPED SATELLITE TO INAUGURATE EUROPEAN DATA RELAY SYSTEM - The first node of a space-based European laser communications network will soar into orbit Friday aboard a commercial Eutelsat broadcasting spacecraft, setting the keystone for a satellite system to relay vast volumes of imagery at lightning fast speeds. A laser communications terminal affixed to the Eutelsat 9B telecom satellite set for launch Friday will collect data from spacecraft circling a few hundred miles above Earth such as Europe’s Sentinel environmental satellites and the International Space Station, officials said.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 30)

RUSSIA TO LAUNCH RESURS-P SATELLITE ON MARCH 12 - The launch of Russia's Resurs-P No. 3 remote sensing satellite has been scheduled for March 12, the Russian Space Systems (RSS) company said Wednesday. "In the current year, another four remote sensing satellites are planned to be launched. Among the spacecraft are Resurs-P No. 3, Kanopus-V-IK, Meteor-M No.1 and 2, and Elektro-L No. 3. The launch of Resurs-P No. 3 is planned for March 12," Russia's space corporation Roscosmos department of automatic space systems deputy head Valeriy Zaichko said, as quoted in the company's statement.   More
(Source: Space Daily - Jan 29)

PROTON-M ROCKET CARRYING EUTELSAT 9B COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE SET FOR LAUNCH FROM BAIKONUR - The International Launch Services (ILS) company is set to launch its Proton-M rocket on Friday, Jan. 29. The booster is being sent aloft to deliver the Eutelsat 9B communications satellite to orbit. Liftoff is scheduled to take place at 5:20 p.m. EST (22:20 GMT) from Launch Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch was initially planned to take place on Jan. 25, but it was delayed due to weather-related logistical issues. Currently, the Proton-M booster is erected on the launch pad and is ready for the final processing before the scheduled liftoff.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Jan 29)

US COMMEMORATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF CHALLENGER SPACE SHUTTLE DISASTER - Tributes flooded in for the seven astronauts who lost their lives on the Challenger Space Shuttle Thursday as the United States commemorated the 30th anniversary of the disaster. The shuttle exploded just 73 seconds after launch from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all crewmembers of mission STS-51L. The disaster claimed the lives of astronauts Francis “Dick” Scobee, Michael Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka and Gregory Jarvis. NASA is holding a day of remembrance to commemorate the crews of Challenger, Apollo 1 and Columbia.   More
(Source: Fox News - Jan 29)

INTELSAT ROLLS OUT EPIC NEXT-GEN SATELLITE SYSTEM - The high-throughput platform should provide customers with superior connections at a lower cost. Designated Intelsat 29e, it will sit at 50 degrees west, and deliver services to the Americas and the North Atlantic aeroplane and shipping routes. At least six more Epic spacecraft will follow, to cover other regions and to provide back-up. Commentators and analysts see the success of the fleet as critical to the fortunes of Intelsat, which is based in McLean, Virginia, and is battling to hold its ground in a fiercely competitive market.   More
(Source: BBC News - Jan 28)

IS NORTH KOREA PLANNING ROCKET LAUNCH? ACTIVITY SPARKS CONCERN, OFFICIALS SAY - It's a site so secretive that an underground railroad line delivers parts into a movable building, hiding activity from view. North Korea describes it as a place where the country launches satellites into space. But U.S. spy satellites are keeping a sharp eye on North Korea's Sohae Satellite Launching Station at Tongchang-ri. And increased movement of equipment and personnel into the facility is raising renewed concerns in the U.S. military and intelligence community that something imminent could be in the offing.   More
(Source: CNN - Jan 28)

RUSSIA’S PROTON-M ROCKET WITH EUROPEAN SATELLITE INSTALLED ON BAIKONUR LAUNCH PAD - Russia’s Proton-M carrier rocket with the Eutelsat-9B satellite of the European Space Agency has been installed on the launch pad of the Baikonur cosmodrome, the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (Proton manufacturer) said in a release received by TASS on Tuesday. On January 26, the Proton-M space rocket with the Eutelsat-9B satellite was moved to the launch pad area No 200 at the Baikonur cosmodrome and lifted to the vertical position, the Khrunichev Centre reported.    More
(Source: TASS - Jan 27)

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