SPACEFLIGHT OFFERS A CYBER MONDAY DEAL: SATELLITE LAUNCHES FOR $200,000 – THAT’S 33 PERCENT OFF! - Here’s a Cyber Monday deal from Seattle-based Spaceflight for the space geek on your list: Purchase a satellite launch for one-third off, at the low, low price of $200,000. The only catch is that you’ll have to wait until 2018 for the satellite to be delivered. But that’s the way it is with travel plans, whether you’re heading to a vacation resort or putting a 3U CubeSat in a sun-synchronous orbit 310 miles (500 kilometers) above the planet. “Booking early is the best for both parties,” said Phil Brzytwa, Spaceflight’s business development manager.   More
(Source: GeekWire - Dec 1)

LASER POWER: RUSSIA DEVELOPS ENERGY BEAM FOR SATELLITE REFUELING - The Federal Space Agency Roscosmos plans to perform a unique experiment where it hopes to transmit energy wirelessly in space, RIA Novosti quoted the Russian newspaper Izvestia as saying. The new technology, which will use a space laser, may be of use to sophisticated satellites and military space vehicles, the newspaper said, adding that the experiment is being prepared by experts from the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, according to Izvestia.   More
(Source: Sputnik International - Dec 1)

FIRST PURELY EGYPTIAN-MADE SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2017 - The first purely Egyptian-made pilot satellite will be launched in the beginning of 2017 within the framework of experimental satellites' program meant to serve scientific research, said the head of the National Authority for Remote Sensing & Space Sciences (NARSS). Under the program due to wrap up work in 2022, four or five satellites will be launched, Medhat Mokhtar said in statements to MENA on Saturday. The pilot satellite will be fit out with top-notch equipment and its space exploration age is six months, he said.   More
(Source: Egypt Independent - Nov 30)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION AND CREW AWAITING ATLAS 5 LAUNCH OF CYGNUS - Lending a helping hand to resume the stalled U.S. supply chain to the International Space Station, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will send a commercial Cygnus cargo craft in pursuit of the outpost Thursday. With Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket and the SpaceX Falcon 9 both grounded by failures, a pair of Atlas 5 boosters stand ready as gap-fillers to launch Cygnus vessels over the next 100 days from Cape Canaveral, Florida.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 30)

ATLAS V TARGETING THURSDAY LAUNCH OF ISS CARGO - United Launch Alliance plans to roll its 12th and final rocket of the year to a Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch pad this week. The Atlas V rocket is targeting a 5:55 p.m. Thursday liftoff from Launch Complex 41 with a Cygnus cargo module carrying International Space Station supplies. The exact time could change slightly and will be confirmed early in the week after the space station adjusts its orbit to put itself in the proper position for Soyuz crew vehicles coming and going next month.   More
(Source: Florida Today - Nov 30)

NOAA WEATHER SATELLITE BREAKS UP IN ORBIT - A U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite retired in 2014 has suffered an apparent breakup, the second time in less than a year that a polar-orbiting weather satellite has generated orbital debris. The Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) announced Nov. 25 that it had identified a possible breakup of the NOAA 16 satellite. The center, which tracks objects in orbit and warns of potential collisions, said it first detected the breakup at 3:41 a.m. Eastern time and was tracking an unspecified number of “associated objects” in the orbit of NOAA 16.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Nov 30)

US SPACE ROCKET DEBRIS FOUND IN SEA OFF SCILLY - A large chunk of an American space rocket has been found in the sea off the Isles of Scilly. The section of the spacecraft, measuring about 10m (32ft) by 4m (13ft), was spotted on the surface between Bryher and Tresco. Coastguards believe it is from the unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 which exploded after take-off in Florida in June. However many astronomers believe it is from a different mission due to the size and markings. Local boatmen towed the section to Tresco where it has now been removed from the beach.   More
(Source: BBC News - Nov 30)

CHINA LAUNCHES LATEST YAOGAN WEIXING SATELLITE VIA LONG MARCH 4C - China launched another satellite in the military’s Yaogan Weixing series via the use of a Long March-4C (Chang Zheng-4C) rocket. The "YG-29" mission began with liftoff at 21:24 UTC on Thursday, from the LC9 launch complex at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC). The Chinese media reference satellites in this range as “new remote sensing birds that will mainly be used for scientific experiments, land survey, crop yield assessment, and disaster monitoring”.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Nov 27)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, FROM SPACE! - Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 45 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS send Thanksgiving wishes to all on Earth The pair also shared their plans for the holiday – including an early sampling of their Thanksgiving Day meal. Kelly is heading into the ninth month of his year-long mission aboard the complex, while Lindgren is wrapping up his flight and preparing for a landing in Kazakhstan in a Soyuz spacecraft Dec. 11.   More
(Source: Southgate - Nov 26)

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