CONTACT LOST WITH ISRAELI COMMUNICATION SATELLITE AMOS 5 - Contact has been lost with communications satellite Amos 5, starting at 6: 45 AM Saturday, its operator, Spacecom, announced in a statement Saturday evening. “The Company wishes to clarify, based on the preliminary examinations it carried out, that even if there will be a ‘total loss’ (complete failure) of the satellite, this would have a negligible effect on the equity of the company,” Spacecom stated. The Amos 5 satellite was built by Russian manufacturer NPO PM. The four earlier satellites in the Amos series were built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).   More
(Source: The Jewish Press - Nov 22)

RUSSIA’S GLONASS-M NAVIGATION SATELLITE PLANNED FOR LAUNCH IN LATE DECEMBER - The Russian navigation satellite Glonass-M is planned for launch from the Plesetsk space center in north Russia in late December, the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems, the satellite developer, told TASS on Friday. The satellite will be orbited by a Soyuz-2 carrier rocket with the Fregat booster. The Glonass-M satellite, which has No. 51, will replace the satellite that has operated for three years above the warranty term in the Russian navigational orbital grouping, the company said.   More
(Source: TASS - Nov 21)

EUROPE TO DEVELOP SATELLITE TO MAP PLANT FLUORESCENCE - The European Space Agency has selected a satellite mission to monitor the health of global vegetation over an atmospheric research project to track carbon in Earth’s atmosphere, officials announced Thursday. The competition pitted the Fluorescence Explorer, or FLEX, against CarbonSat to be the eighth satellite in ESA’s Explorer mission line for a launch in 2022. Scientists recommended ESA proceed with the FLEX mission in September, and the space agency’s Earth observation management board approved the selection this month, according to a press release Thursday.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 21)

ASTRONAUTS IN SPACE HONOR PARIS ATTACK VICTIMS - The crew of the International Space Station and flight controllers worldwide held a moment of silence this week for the victims of the Nov. 13 Paris terrorist attacks, and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly shared some remarks in a new video. The space station personnel joined a stunned and grieving world in the wake of Friday's attacks in Paris, which killed 129 people and injured 352. The space station's six-man crew took part in the tribute on Monday (Nov. 16), NASA officials said. A NASA video chronicling the moment shows American astronaut Kjell Lindgren floating in weightlessness as he paused his science work to observe the moment of silence.    More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 21)

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)

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