ASTEROID OR SPACE JUNK HEADED FOR EARTH? SCIENTISTS RELEASE STATEMENT ON WTF - Space junk. It's out there in the great vacuum of space. Leftover bits of spacecrafts, satellites and other technologies destroyed in space by humans are orbiting Earth and will eventually fall into our atmosphere. Can scientists predict when Earth's atmosphere will be breached by these falling objects? Where will they land? And is this expected object an asteroid or just space junk? WTF? Researchers have spotted an object that they expect to enter Earth's atmosphere. It could just be space junk or it could be a natural body. Scientists now believe they can predict when and where it will make contact with the atmosphere - and if poses a danger for humans.   More
(Source: Headlines & Global News - Oct 28)

HOW FILTHY IS THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION? AN ASTROBIOLOGIST WEIGHS IN - Let’s face it: Floating 220 miles above Earth in a sealed space station for months doesn’t sound like the most sanitary venture. After all, even inhabitants of the junkiest dwellings on land have the benefit of occasional fresh air. Earlier this year, astronaut Scott Kelly described the International Space Station’s singular aroma as something akin to a mixture of antiseptic and garbage. There's no positive way to spin that one. But how clean (or dirty) is the International Space Station? New research on the spacecraft’s unique bacterial population contains some reassuring news — and a few icky insights. In their quest to characterize the cleanliness of the ISS, scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory got the literal dirt on the station. Astrobiologist Kasthuri Venkateswaran and his colleagues studied a HEPA filter that had been on the craft for 40 months (there are 21 total on the craft at any given time).    More
(Source: Washington Post - Oct 28)

LOW EARTH ORBIT CONSTELLATIONS COULD POSE INTERFERENCE RISK TO GEO SATELLITES - A proposed wave of low Earth orbit communications satellite constellations could become an interference hazard for satellites in geostationary orbit even if those new systems comply with existing rules, some satellite operators fear. Rules enacted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2000, during the previous wave of proposed nongeostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite systems, gives frequency priority to satellites in geostationary orbit. NGSO systems must take measures, such as reducing their power output, to avoid interfering with geostationary satellites.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Oct 27)

RUSSIA PREPARES TO LAUNCH GLONASS-M NAVIGATION SATELLITE IN DECEMBER - Russia's Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems company has begun preparations for the regular operation of a new Glonass-M navigation satellite scheduled to be launched in December from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia, the company’s press service said in a statement Monday. "Glonass-M navigation satellite №51 will be launched at the end of December 2015 from the Plesetsk space center," the statement reads. The company added that the satellite would serve as a scheduled replacement for another spacecraft, put into orbit in 2005.    More
(Source: Sputnik International - Oct 27)

CHINESE ROCKET DEPLOYS THIRD TIANHUI MAPPING SATELLITE - China’s third Tianhui mapping satellite, built for land resource surveys and scientific research, rocketed into space Monday aboard a Long March 2D rocket, Chinese state media reported. The spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan space center in northwest China’s Inner Mongolia province at 0710 GMT (3:10 a.m. EDT) Monday. The launch, which was not officially announced ahead of time except for a notice to pilots, occurred at 3:10 p.m. Beijing time. The 13-story Long March 2D booster, fueled by a mix of liquid hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, deployed the Tianhui 1C satellite into orbit a few minutes later. Tracking data released by the U.S. military showed an object attributed to Monday’s launch, presumably Tianhui 1C, in a near-circular orbit about 300 miles (500 kilometers) above Earth at an inclination of 97 degrees.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 27)

AZERBAIJAN’S SECOND SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED INTO ORBIT BY FRENCH COMPANY - Azerbaijan’s second telecommunications satellite Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 will be launched into the orbit by a French company, Azerbaijani Minister of Communications and High Technologies Ali Abbasov told reporters. Azerspace/Africasat-1a was launched into the orbit from the ELA-3 launch complex of the Guiana Space Centre on February 8, 2013 on the Ariane 5 ECA carrier rocket of the French company, Arianespace. The minister said that the second satellite will be a part of a new satellite constellation, which includes radar satellites as well. This advantage will allow Azerbaijan to use not only the telecommunications capabilities of the spacecraft, but also enhance the ability to monitor the Earth's surface.   More
(Source: Trend News Agency - Oct 26)

EARTH OBSERVATION CHINA PLANS TO LAUNCH CO2 MONITORING SATELLITE IN 2016 - China is reported to be planning to launch the global carbon dioxide observatory satellite into space in 2016. Recently, all satellite payloads have finished the samples development. CO2-observatory satellite aims to establish ground-based data processing and verification system, make monitoring precision be better than 4ppm, and become feasible to monitoring carbon dioxide of world, China and other major regions.   More
(Source: Space Daily - Oct 26)

EXPEDITION 45 PREPARES FOR SPACEWALK, CONDUCTS SCIENCE - The crew of Expedition 45 of the International Space Station spent the week of Oct. 19 to Oct. 23 preparing for two upcoming spacewalks while conducting cutting-edge science. Expedition 45 has been ongoing since Sept. 11. As of Friday, Oct 23, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Volkov has spent 51 days in space. Astronaut Kjell Lindgren, Kimiya Yui, and cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko have been in space for 93 days. The two-year-long crew members, astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, have been in space for 210 days.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Oct 26)

WANT TO TEST STUFF OUT IN SPACE? WITH SWISS-ISRAELI SPACEPHARMA, YOU CAN - Backed by years of experience in Israel’s intelligence and satellite corps, the company hopes to broaden the market for space research when it launches its first satellite-based laboratory this December. One seldom-considered option for learning new things about biology, chemistry and other subjects is to do experiments in space. Removing gravity removes obstacles to bacteria growth, stem cell research and growing new tissue among other things, letting space agencies and pharmaceutical companies develop new treatments. Still, getting reliable results from reliable lab environments is a massive chore.   More
(Source: Geektime - Oct 26)

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