ASTRONAUTS ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION WATCHED 'THE MARTIAN' - There may not be the freshest food up there, but living in space does have some perks. Astronaut Scott Kelly, who is currently spending a full year in space at the International Space Station, tweeted on Sunday that the crew was able to get in a Saturday night movie — except you can't even watch this movie on Earth yet. According to Kelly, the movie of choice on Saturday was The Martian, a film based on the best-selling book by Andy Weir about an astronaut who is stranded on Mars, which sounds absolutely terrifying to watch in space.   More
(Source: Marhable - Sep 20)

CHINA LAUNCHES NEW TYPE OF CARRIER ROCKET - China on Sunday launched a new type of rocket which will be primarily used for carrying satellites aloft, state media reported, as the country races ahead with an ambitious space programme. The Long March-6, a newly developed carrier rocket which uses liquid propellant, took off from a launch base in the northern province of Shanxi on Sunday morning carrying 20 "micro" satellites, the official Xinhua news agency said. The white rocket, imprinted with the Chinese flag at the to ..    More
(Source: Economic Times - Sep 20)

U.S. KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON NORTH KOREAN SATELLITE LAUNCH SITE - U.S. intelligence analysts are scrutinizing a newly modified North Korean satellite launch facility but see no imminent threat despite the reclusive government's latest threats of nuclear attack against the United States. U.S. officials say North Korean crews have upgraded the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in recent months by building new rail tunnels to move equipment and new buildings where a long-range ballistic missile could be assembled. "The goal is to prevent us from seeing what they're doing," said a U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the intelligence assessments. "Stealth has been central to each facet of the new design."   More
(Source: Los Angeles Times - Sep 20)

SERPENS CUBESAT DEPLOYED FROM ISS - On September 17, 2015 the Brazilian SERPENS CubeSat carrying an amateur radio payload, call sign PY0ESA, was deployed from the International Space Station (ISS). SERPENS LogoSERPENS is a 3U CubeSat which was developed by students at the University of Brasilia and focuses on meteorological data collection. The SERPENS Amateur Radio Page shows these downlink frequencies: 145.980 MHz using GFSK modulation at 9600 bps and AX.25 protocol transmiting two different beacons. The first occurs every 10 seconds with the message “SERPENS A”. This is implemented for easy identification of the satellite when searching for it.   More
(Source: AMSAT-UK - Sep 18)

CHINESE AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE LAUNCH NOW SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 18 - Nine Amateur Radio satellites will be among 20 satellites set to launch on September 18 from China. China Amateur Satellite Group CAMSAT CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, told ARRL that the satellites will head into space at 2300 UTC and separate from the rocket 15:14 after launch. Four of the microsatellites and two of the CubeSats included in the launch have been designated as XW-2A through XW-2F. The other three satellites — a CubeSat, a nanosatellite, and a picosatellite, carry the designations CAS-3G through CAS-3I, respectively. The nine satellites carrying Amateur Radio payloads were delivered to the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Central China in August. The launch has been postponed twice. Initially CAMSAT had planned to launch the satellites in mid-July. Then the launch was put off until “September 7 or 8.”   More
(Source: ARRL - Sep 18)

ORBITAL SCIENCES FACES RISKS IN RESUMING SPACE STATION SHIPMENTS AFTER 2014 EXPLOSION - One of NASA's two commercial suppliers, Virginia-based Orbital, faces an uphill struggle in resuming deliveries to the International Space Station, according to a government report issued Thursday. The space agency's inspector general office said the company's upcoming flight plan contains significant risks, as its attempts to recover from last October's launch explosion. Orbital's Antares rocket failed seconds after liftoff from Virginia, destroying the space station goods and damaging the launch complex. It was Orbital's fourth supply mission, including a 2013 test flight. Orbital remains grounded, as does SpaceX, NASA's other commercial shipper, following a failed launch from Cape Canaveral in June. It was the California-based SpaceX's eighth shipment for NASA. Russia and Japan also send up supplies.   More
(Source: U.S. News & World Report - Sep 18)

MAGNIFICENT SPACE STATION VIDEO SHOWS WHAT THE EARTH LOOKS LIKE DURING ONE ORBIT - Astronaut Scott Kelly has kept stargazers up to date with frequent photos of life in space and images of Earth alone. Kelly, who’s spending a year in space, has shared gorgeous shots of landmarks on Earth, leisure time on the International Space Station and long-distance snapshots of his hometown of Houston. His latest handiwork might be his best one yet. The astronaut released a clip that shows one full orbit around Earth to celebrate the start of the second half of his yearlong mission. The Blue Planet looks stunning as the space station moves around the globe.   More
(Source: Chron.com - Sep 17)

CHINA CONDUCTS TWO SPACE LAUNCHES IN SHORT SPAN - Two space launches from China in a 37-hour span have placed an experimental communications satellite and a sharp-eyed Earth-viewing craft into orbit, according to Chinese state media reports. Neither launch was officially announced ahead of time by Chinese authorities. The first mission blasted off from the Xichang space center in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, where a Long March 3B rocket streaked into orbit with an experimental satellite to test communications technologies, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Fitted with four strap-on liquid-fueled boosters, the Long March 3B lifted off at 1542 GMT (11:42 a.m. EDT) Saturday, or 11:42 p.m. Beijing time.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 16)

NORTH KOREA SAYS IT IS IN ‘FINAL PHASE’ OF DEVELOPING NEW SATELLITE - North Korea said it was in the final phase of developing a new satellite, fueling speculation it would launch a long-range rocket as early as a major political anniversary in October. Such a move would ratchet up tensions on the peninsula because the United Nations Security Council bans the country from testing ballistic-rocket technology. While Pyongyang says its long-range rocket launches are for peaceful purposes, the U.S. and other countries see them as part of an effort to develop an intercontinental missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.   More
(Source: Wall Street Journal - Sep 15)

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