LAOSAT-1: CHINA LAUNCHES FIRST SATELLITE FOR LAOS ON LONG MARCH 3B - China has launched the first satellite for the Southeast Asian country of Laos on a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. Laosat-1, which was designed, developed and delivered on-orbit by China, blasted off from Xichang in Sichuan Province at 16:07 UTC Friday (00:07 Beijing time on Saturday, November 21). 29 minutes after lifttoff the satellite had separated from the rocket upper stage and deployed its solar panels. The launch was declared successful at 16:44.    More
(Source: gbtimes‎ - Nov 20)

OA-4 CYGNUS ENCAPSULATED IN PLF IN PREPARATION FOR FLIGHT - Orbital ATK’s Cygnus advanced maneuvering spacecraft has been encapsulated into its Payload Fairing (PLF) and is scheduled to launch Dec. 3 on an International Space Station (ISS) resupply run. The mission, called OA-4, will launch from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-41 and will be boosted into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket. The cargo freighter is scheduled to rendezvous with the space station two days later.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Nov 20)

30 SATELLITE LANDMAPPER CONSTELLATION PREPS FOR NEAR TERM LAUNCH - Two Silicon Valley companies, Aquila Space and Astro Digital, are readying for the launch of a two-part, 30-satellite Earth observation constellation next year. The companies are designing a constellation known as Landmapper, comprised of 10 Broad Coverage (BC) satellites and 20 High Definition (HD) satellites to increase the supply of imagery available to customers that are currently users of Landsat data. The Aquila Space-Astro Digital project is based on the exact spectral properties of Landsat, the joint NASA-United States Geological Survey (USGS) satellite program.   More
(Source: Satellite Today - Nov 20)

FLEX SATELLITE WILL MAP EARTH'S PLANT GLOW - The European Space Agency is going to build a spacecraft to map the red glow emitted by Earth's plants. Known as Flex, the mission was approved by member states on Thursday and will likely launch by 2022. The satellite will carry a spectrometer to catch the subtle but telltale fluorescence that organisms produce when they engage in photosynthesis. Scientists say this signal can be used to monitor the condition of croplands and forests. Changes in the light emission, which is detected in the red and far-red part of the electromagnetic spectrum, will reveal, for example, if vegetation is being stressed, perhaps because of overheating, drought or disease.   More
(Source: BBC News - Nov 20)

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT MAY NEED TO USE SPACEX FOR ITS NEXT SATELLITE LAUNCH - The key to private space delivery may be terrible geopolitics. SpaceX, the rocket startup from Elon Musk, might soon get to carry its first military payload to space thanks in part to poor relations between the United States and Russia. SpaceX’s main competitor, the United Launch Alliance of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, repurposes old Russian rockets to carry cargo into space.   More
(Source: Popular Science - Nov 20)

EXPLAINED: WHY ATLAS 5 WILL HAVE LONGER WINDOWS FOR STATION FLIGHTS - Expanding a single instant in time to 30 minutes, the upcoming United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets with Cygnus cargo-delivery freighters bound for the International Space Station will have an unprecedented opportunity available to launch each day. The first of two such launches in a 100-day span from Cape Canaveral, known as the OA-4 mission for Orbital ATK, is scheduled for Dec. 3. The pair of flights will deliver over 15,000 pounds of supplies to the outpost. The timing for a launch to the station, flying 250 miles above the Earth, is dictated by getting into the orbital plane of the complex for a rendezvous.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 19)

AO-85 COMMISSIONED - AO-85 has been formally commissioned and turned over to AMSAT-NA Operations, who are now responsible for the scheduling and modes. The following guidelines are provided for users: Uplink power should be on the order of minimum 200 W EIRP for full quieting at lower antenna elevation angles. Your mileage may vary. With an Arrow, 5 W has been used successfully to make contacts. Polarity is important. The satellite antennas are linear. So, if you are using linearly polarized antennas, you will need to adjust throughout the pass. Full duplex operation facilitates these adjustments while transmitting and is highly recommended.   More
(Source: AMSAT UK - Nov 19)

FIRST SATELLITE LAUNCHED FOR RUSSIA’S NEW MISSILE WARNING NETWORK - Russia launched an early warning satellite Tuesday, deploying the first in a new fleet of military satellites to detect missile launches heading for Russian territory. The secretive payload blasted off at 0634 GMT (1:34 a.m. EST) aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, a military facility in northern Russia’s Arkhangelsk region, according to a statement issued by the Russian Defense Ministry. The launcher flew in the modernized Soyuz-2.1b configuration with an upgraded third stage engine and a digital flight control system. A Fregat upper stage was programmed to fire multiple times to guide the mission’s satellite payload, believed to be the first EKS-class missile warning platform, into an elliptical Tundra-type orbit positioned over high latitudes.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 18)

SPACEX WILL LAUNCH THE NEXT GPS SATELLITE, THANKS IN PART TO VLADIMIR PUTIN - It took SpaceX several years of rigorous inspections and a lawsuit to earn the right to bid for US military satellite launches. Now the company looks set to win its first competitive bid—but only after the sole opposing bidder bowed out, citing a US ban on business with Russia. Bidding closed yesterday on a contract to launch a next generation GPS satellite for the Air Force, which will be used for both government and private purposes.   More
(Source: Quartz - Nov 18)

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