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)

FOX-1C AND FOX-1D FM TRANSPONDER CUBESATS WILL FLY ON SHERPA - In response to a breaking opportunity, AMSAT and Spaceflight, Inc. have arranged for Fox-1D to accompany Fox-1C on the maiden flight of the SHERPA system on a SpaceX Falcon 9. AMSAT FOXAs a Fox-1 series, Fox-1D is identical to Fox-1C, but with different frequencies and carrying the University of Iowa HERCI (High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument) radiation mapping experiment as a hosted payload. Fox-1D will provide additional selectable U/V or L/V repeater capabilities once in orbit, and will be capable of downlinking Earth images from the Virginia Tech camera experiment.   More
(Source: AMSAT UK - Sep 15)

MICROSOFT HOLOLENS TO LAUNCH AGAIN ON DECEMBER MISSION TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - In June, Microsoft and NASA announced a partnership to send the HoloLens to space. However, the unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying the initial units to the International Space Station disintegrated on launch. Now, Microsoft and NASA are ready to try again. On Dec. 3, Orbital Sciences will launch another resupply rocket to the ISS, and two more augmented reality headsets from Microsoft will be on board. According to an interview with Jeff Norris at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in MIT Technology Review, the devices have already been cleared to fly.   More
(Source: GeekWire - Sep 15)

NASA TO LAUNCH 4K TV CHANNEL WITH ULTRA-HD SPACE FOOTAGE AND ONLINE STREAMING ON 1 NOVEMBER - Space enthusiasts, rejoice! Nasa has announced that it will soon be launching its very own TV network that will feature ultra-HD footage of what it is like to work and live on the International Space Station (ISS). The US space agency is joining with worldwide video delivery firm Harmonic to create the first ever non-commercial consumer ultra-HD channel in north America with 2160p resolution video that will work on both conventional TVs as well as streaming over the internet to PCs and mobile devices that have internet connectivity speeds of at least 13 Mbps.   More
(Source: IBTimes - Sep 15)

RUSSIA LAUNCHES PROTON-M ROCKET CARRYING TELECOMS SATELLITE - Russia has successfully launched a Proton rocket, carrying a Russian telecoms satellite, from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in the second successful launch since the disastrous loss of a Mexican satellite in May. The Proton-M took off at 10.10 pm local time (19.10 GMT) from the desert launch site. “The launch of the rocket was normal,” the Russian space agency Roscosmos said in a statement. Russia had also successfully launched a Proton rocket, carrying a British satellite, in late August.    More
(Source: The Guradian - Sep 14)

LONG MARCH 3B CONDUCTS ANOTHER SECRETIVE LAUNCH - A super-secretive satellite was launched by China from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Saturday. Launch of the unknown spacecraft – unofficially claimed to be the Communications Engineering Test Satellite -1 (TXJSSY-1) – took place at 15:40 UTC using a Long March-3B (Chang Zheng-3B) rocket, as the Chinese continue their build up in space. There is very little information regarding the satellite, with an announcement only provided to the Chinese media – heavily controlled by the Chinese government – the following morning.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 14)

NEW RUSSIAN TELECOM SATELLITE AWAITS LAUNCH MONDAY - A new multipurpose Russian communications satellite to be parked over the Atlantic Ocean is awaiting launch Monday aboard a Proton rocket. Owned by the Russian Satellite Communications Co., Russia’s state-owned civilian telecom satellite operator, the Express AM8 spacecraft is heading for a perch 22,300 miles over the equator. The satellite’s Proton launcher rolled out to its launch facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Friday and rotated vertical for Monday’s liftoff, which is set for 1900 GMT (3 p.m. EDT). After flying east from Baikonur, the three-stage core of the Proton rocket will give way to a Block DM upper stage for a series of delicate maneuvers to propel Express AM8 into its intended orbit thousands of miles above Earth.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 14)

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