RESERVE A LAUNCH FOR YOUR SATELLITE ONLINE? ROCKET LAB CAN MAKE IT SO - The CubeSat revolution has come to this: Now you can make an online reservation for a nanosatellite launch almost as easily as booking a flight from Seattle to Los Angeles. L.A.-based Rocket Lab unveiled its launch booking system today at the annual SmallSat conference in Logan, Utah. “It’s really about trying to break down the barriers and make space more accessible,” Peter Beck, the company’s CEO, explained during a GeekWire interview. It’s one more small step toward turning the satellite business into a turnkey operation for researchers, entrepreneurs, students and Kickstarter-savvy enthusiasts. More (Source: GeekWire - Aug 11)
PERSEID METEOR SHOWER: MOON AND ISS LINE UP TO MAKE YEARLY SHOW EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL - The moon and the International Space Station are lining up to make this year’s Perseids meteor shower even more stunning than usual. The moon is planning to get out of the way, since it will be in its new phase and at its darkest. That will let people see yet more of the lights as they rain across the sky. The moon and the International Space Station are lining up to make this year’s Perseids meteor shower even more stunning than usual. The moon is planning to get out of the way, since it will be in its new phase and at its darkest. That will let people see yet more of the lights as they rain across the sky. More (Source: The Independent - Aug 11)
ATLAS 5 ROCKET AWARDED COMMERCIAL LAUNCH FOR ECHOSTAR - A powerhouse Internet-from-space communications satellite will be launched from the Cape next year atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, officials announced Wednesday. The commercial EchoStar 19 spacecraft is targeting a late 2016 launch aboard an Atlas 5 rocket flying in its 431 configuration with a 14-foot-diameter nose cone and three strap-on solid-fuel boosters. The deal was made with Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services, which markets the Atlas 5 rocket. ULA will build the vehicle and perform the mission. “The Atlas program brings unmatched performance, reliability and schedule assurance for EchoStar and Hughes,” said Steve Skladanek, president of Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 10)
INMARSAT RESCHEDULES GLOBAL XPRESS SATELLITE LAUNCH FOR END-AUGUST - Britain's Inmarsat plc said on Thursday the satellite needed to complete its new Global Xpress network would launch at the end of this month after its rocket partner quickly recovered from a failure in May which upset schedules. The provider of communications for shipping and aircraft had to delay the start of the service, which its says will deliver $500 million in annual revenue within five years, when a rocket carrying a Mexican satellite malfunctioned and burnt up over Siberia minutes after launch in May. Inmarsat's third Global Xpress satellite was already at the Proton launch site in Kazakhstan when the failure occurred. More (Source: Economic Times - Aug 9)
PENTAGON GIVES BOEING $6.6M TO BUILD SATELLITE-LAUNCHING SPACE DRONE - The Pentagon has awarded a $6.6 million contract to Boeing to design a mini space shuttle that can launch military satellites and space weapons. The craft, called the XS-1 program (eXperimental Spaceplane 1) is meant to defend against the growing threat of Russian and Chinese space weapons and could launch as early as 2019 for its first test mission, Defense Systems reported. The Pentagon has been looking to reduce the cost of satellite launches for some time and hopes the new shuttle-like, reusable unmanned vehicle will achieve that goal. More (Source: Washington Times - Aug 9)
NASA TO KEEP PAYING RUSSIA TO SEND ASTRONAUTS TO SPACE STATION - “Congress, while incrementally increasing annual funding, has not adequately funded the Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight launches to American soil this year, as planned,” Bolden wrote in a letter to lawmakers. “This has resulted in continued sole reliance on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft as our crew transport vehicle for American and international partner crews to the ISS.” Now, Bolden said 2017 appears to be at best a long shot given that lawmakers are expected to provide no more than $1 billion for the program in the 2016 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 — about $250 million less than Obama is seeking. The Commercial Crew program is funding ventures by two private companies — Boeing and SpaceX — to develop a fleet of domestic rockets to resume ferrying astronauts to the space station. The last space shuttle flight to the orbiting lab was in July 2011. More (Source: USA Today - Aug 7)
NASA CAMERA SHOWS MOON CROSSING EARTH - You can't call it "the dark side of the moon" based on a new NASA picture. A camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite shot an arresting view of the moon crossing in front of the Earth. The image clearly shows the moon's far side lit up by the sun -- though even in full sunlight, the Earth is far brighter. "It is surprising how much brighter Earth is than the moon," DSCOVR project scientist Adam Szabo said in a news release. "Our planet is a truly brilliant object in dark space compared to the lunar surface." DSCOVR, which is a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Air Force, is equipped with NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera, a 4-megapixel CCD camera and telescope. It's orbiting between the Earth and the sun at a distance of 1 million miles. More (Source: CNN - Aug 7)
INMARSAT RESCHEDULES GLOBAL XPRESS SATELLITE LAUNCH FOR END-AUGUST - Britain's Inmarsat plc said on Thursday the satellite needed to complete its new Global Xpress network would launch at the end of this month after its rocket partner quickly recovered from a failure in May which upset schedules. The provider of communications for shipping and aircraft had to delay the start of the service, which its says will deliver $500 million in annual revenue within five years, when a rocket carrying a Mexican satellite malfunctioned and burnt up over Siberia minutes after launch in May. Inmarsat's third Global Xpress satellite was already at the Proton launch site in Kazakhstan when the failure occurred. More (Source: Reuters UK - Aug 7)
RADIO HAM CHATS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FROM HIS GARDEN SHED - An amateur radio enthusiast has made contact with the International Space Centre from his garden shed. Adrian Lane realised it would be passing 200 miles above his home, travelling at 18,500mph. This offered a brief window during which might be able to make contact. Until now the father of two has only communicated with other radio hams from his shed. Adrian, 52, plotted the space station's route and as it came into his frequency he sent out a call with his unique sign. To his delight an American astronaut responded to "welcome him aboard". They chatted for nearly a minute before the space station shot out of range. Adrian asked what it was like in space and got the answer: "Very dark". More (Source: Express.co.uk - Aug 6)
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