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)

JEFF BEZOS' ROCKET LANDS SAFELY AFTER SPACE FLIGHT - Jeff Bezos' rocket ship achieved a breakthrough Monday by traveling 329,839 feet into outer space and then landing upright upon its return to earth. In the past, rockets were disposed of after launching space craft into outer space. Reusable rockets would substantially reduce the cost of space flight. Amazon founder Bezos started his space company, Blue Origin, in the hopes of using his New Shepard rocket to carry tourists into space.   More
(Source: CNN Money - Nov 26)

CYGNUS PREPARED FOR ATLAS LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION - Preparations for the first launch of a Cygnus cargo spacecraft in more than a year, and the first on an Atlas 5 rocket, have gone smoothly despite some changes in timing of loading cargo on the spacecraft, an Orbital ATK executive said. An Atlas 5 is scheduled to launch the Cygnus craft from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Dec. 3. The launch will be the first for the Cygnus since the October 2014 failure of Orbital’s Antares rocket shortly after liftoff from Wallops Island, Virginia.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Nov 26)

US, CHINA SET UP SPACE HOTLINE TO AVOID SATELLITE WARFARE - The United States and China have set up a space hotline between them. This connection will be used to facilitate the exchange of information between the two countries and prevent satellite-related conflicts and misunderstandings. There have been fears of the possibility of warfare in space after China blew up a satellite during one of its test runs of its anti-satellite technology back in 2007. Military operations and intelligence-gathering efforts that are dependent on satellites could be severely derailed by such weapons.   More
(Source: Tech Times - Nov 25)

DEORBITSAIL SATELLITE UNSUCCESSFUL IN DEPLOYING SAIL - Following its July 10, 2015, launch, the DeorbitSail satellite has achieved some, but not all, of its mission objectives, including contact with the satellite, solar panel deployment, and taking pictures of Earth. The satellite, a University of Surrey research project, carries a 1200 bps BPSK beacon transmitting on 145.975 MHz. DeorbitSail is a 3U CubeSat with a deployable sail to demonstrate rapid deorbiting. “[W]e have struggled to accurately determine the satellite tumble rate and get it under control,” said an update from DeorbitSail Project Manager Chiara Massimiani, and Surrey Space Center (SSC) Director and DeorbitSail Principal Investigator Guglielmo Aglietti.    More
(Source: ARRL - Nov 25)

JAPANESE-BUILT H-2A ROCKET LIFTS OFF CARRYING FIRST COMMERCIAL SATELLITE - An H-2A rocket carrying a Canadian communications satellite lifted off from Tanegashima Island in southwestern Japan on Tuesday, marking the first time a commercial satellite has been launched into space by the Japanese-built platform. The rocket, launched at 3.50 pm. from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima Prefecture, has an improved second-stage engine aimed at carrying satellites farther in distance and closer to the Earth's geostationary orbit during its four-and-a-half-hour flight. The payload on Tuesday's launch is Telesat Holdings’ broadcast and communications satellite named Telstar 12 Vantage, which is expected to provide coverage to Europe, Africa and South America.   More
(Source: South China Morning Post - Nov 24)

IMPROVED H2A TO LAUNCH SATELLITE - Japan’s H2A rocket No. 29 carrying a Canadian communications satellite will be launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Tuesday afternoon. The plan is for the improved H2A to send a satellite into stationary orbit. If the operation is successful, it will be the first time for a Japanese rocket to put a commercial satellite into orbit. For the No. 29 rocket, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the first time made major changes to the H2A’s engineering design in the hopes of attracting more orders for commercial satellite launches.   More
(Source: The Japan News - Nov 23)

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