FIRST BRITISH SPACE STATION ASTRONAUT TAKES 'ELECTRIFYING' SPACEWALK TODAY - NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tim Peake will take venture outside the International Space Station on a spacewalk today (Jan. 15) to repair one of the station's eight vital power channels. Peake is the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station, and this will be his first spacewalk. Kopra, who has flown once before, went on a spacewalk with NASA astronaut Scott Kelly in December. This is his third spacewalk. You can watch the spacewalk live here beginning at 6:30 a.m. EST (1130 GMT), courtesy of NASA TV. The two spacewalking Tims are expected to exit the station by about 7:55 a.m. EST (1255 GMT). More (Source: Space.com - Jan 16)
BELARUSIAN COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE LAUNCHED FROM CHINA - A Chinese rocket carried the first communications satellite for Belarus into orbit Friday, recording a success in the first space launch this year. The Belintersat 1 telecom craft lifted off at 1657 GMT (11:57 a.m. EST) aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang space center in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. Owned by the government of Belarus, Belintersat 1’s C-band and Ku-band transponders will broadcast television and radio programming, support corporate networking, and provide broadband Internet connectivity. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 16)
ASTRO-H SATELLITE READY FOR LAUNCH - On 12 January 2016, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) presented their ASTRO-H satellite to the media at the Tanegashima Space Center, situated on a small island in the south of Japan. The satellite, developed with institutions in Japan, the US, Canada and Europe, is now ready to be mounted on an H-IIA rocket for launch on 12 February. More (Source: Phys.org - Jan 15)
SPACEX ROCKET SET TO LAUNCH NOAA SATELLITE SUNDAY - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather satellite is set to lift off Sunday, as part of an ongoing international effort to measure the physical features of the ocean surfaces. The launch of Jason-3, an international mission led by the NOAA to continue U.S.- European satellite measurements, is scheduled for Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:42:18 p.m. ET from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 4 East. If needed, a backup launch opportunity is available on the Western Range on Jan. 18 at 1:31:04 p.m. ET. More (Source: Fox News - Jan 15)
RUSSIA DECREASES NUMBER OF SATELLITES IN ITS 2025 PLAN DUE TO BUDGET CUTS - The number of satellites in the Russian orbital constellation in 2025 will reach 70 instead of previously planned 95 spacecraft, according to the draft federal space program for 2016-2025 prepared by the Russian state space corporation, Roscosmos. According to the document that is being prepared for the government’s approval, in 2025 the number of satellite in the Russian orbital constellation will reach not 95, as it had been planned with the budget of 2 trillion rubles, but 70 spacecraft given the new financing. More: http://tass.ru/en/science/849569 More (Source: TASS - Jan 15)
WINGED "DREAM CHASER" JOINS SPACE STATION CARGO FLEET - SpaceX and Orbital ATK will continue to provide unpiloted cargo delivery missions to the International Space Station under a new round of commercial contracts extending through 2024, NASA managers announced Thursday. But Sierra Nevada's winged "Dream Chaser" spacecraft will join the fleet, launching atop Atlas 5 rockets and robotically gliding to a runway landing like NASA's now-retired space shuttle. The Dream Chaser will allow researchers to gain access to biological samples and other materials returning from space within a few hours of touchdown, a high priority for station researchers. More (Source: CBS News - Jan 15)
TWO ASTRONAUTS TO MAKE FRIDAY TREK TO EDGE OF SPACE STATION - On November 13, 2015 - Friday the thirteenth, for the superstitious - one of the International Space Station's eight power channels went dark. A multitude of systems, including the laboratory's guidance and navigation controls, switched to backup power. Working through the weekend, teams at Mission Control in Houston discovered the culprit was likely a failed Sequential Shunt Unit, which regulates power flowing in from a pair of the station's solar arrays. More (Source: The Planetary Society - Jan 14)
SPACEX SET FOR SUNDAY SEA SATELLITE LAUNCH, BOOSTER RECOVERY ATTEMPT - SpaceX is set to launch a sea level-monitoring satellite from the California coast this Sunday, while attempting to land the rocket's spent first stage on a floating drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. The Jason-3 spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base Sunday, January 17 during a 30-second window that opens at 1:42 p.m. EST (18:42 UTC). After providing an initial boost toward orbit, the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage will separate, drop away and use a series of engine burns to fly back to one of SpaceX's autonomous landing platforms, which use thrusters to position themselves under descending rockets. More (Source: The Planetary Society - Jan 13)
CHINESE LONG MARCH 3B ROCKET TO LAUNCH BELINTERSAT-1 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE - hina is looking to carry out its first launch of the year on Friday, Jan. 15, as it plans to send a Belarusian telecommunications satellite into space. The Belintersat-1 spacecraft will be lofted into orbit by a Chinese workhorse Long March 3B booster from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province. The 47-minute launch window for this mission opens at 12:57 EDT (16:57 GMT). More (Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Jan 13)
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