SEE ALL THE SATELLITES AND SPACE JUNK CIRCLING EARTH IN REAL-TIME - From down here on the ground, space looks like a pristine void. But Earth's orbit is actually crowded with a ton of stuff, from human-made satellites to many smaller pieces of debris whirling around at dangerously high speeds, as the film Gravity so memorably dramatized. In fact, there are an estimated 500,000 or so smaller orbital debris (between one and 10 centimeters in diameter) and about 21,000 larger bits (larger than 10 centimeters) spinning around Earth right now, according to NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office. And now you can see all but the smallest bits moving around us right now thanks to "Stuff In Space," a mesmerizing new website designed by young programmer James Yoder, which tracks the paths of hundreds of thousands of orbital objects in realtime.    More
(Source: Pupular Science - Jul 9)

COUNTDOWN BEGINS FOR ISRO PSLV SATELLITE LAUNCH ON FRIDAY - The Indian space agency on Wednesday morning began the countdown for the July 10 rocket launch that would carry five British satellites. According to Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), the 62 hours and 30 minutes countdown for the July 10th night launch of rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) XL variant began at 7:28am IST on Wednesday. The rocket is scheduled to blast off at 9:58pm Friday from the first launch pad with five satellites together weighing around 1,440kg, for an undisclosed fee. Since 1999 India till date has launched 40 satellites of other countries and the successful launch of the five British satellites would take the tally to 45.   More
(Source: NDTV - Jul 9)

THIS PAC-MAN SPACECRAFT WILL DEVOUR A SATELLITE - here’s a lot of trash in space. Rather than add more to the space garbage dump, Swiss researchers hope to build a spacecraft that eats small, non-functioning satellites, Michael Rundle reports for Wired UK. Scientists at Switzerland’s EPFL Center for Space Engineering announced their plans this week. However, the mission, dubbed CleanSpace One, has been in the works for a long time. Switzerland launched its first satellite in 2009—a tiny cubesat called SwissCube. But researchers knew that like all satellites, the SwissCube wouldn't last forever. After three years of brainstorming, researchers are now in the process of designing and building a spacecraft equipped with a camera to find the satellite and a net to snag and eat it in orbit.    More
(Source: Smithsonian - Jul 9)

AIR FORCE COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE JOINED TO DELTA 4 FOR JULY 22 LAUNCH - For the second time this week, United Launch Alliance has delivered an Air Force payload to one of its Cape Canaveral pads for liftoff in July. On Monday, crews mounted the next Global Positioning System satellite atop an Atlas 5 rocket for blastoff July 15. On Wednesday, it was the Wideband Global SATCOM satellite No. 7 being transported to Complex 37 and attached to a Delta 4 rocket for launch July 22. Liftoff is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. EDT. They will be ULA’s 97th and 98th launches, respectively. WGS 7 will be boosted into a super-synchronous transfer orbit more than 36,000 nautical miles high during the launch of the Delta 4 Medium+ (5,4) configured rocket with four strap-on solids.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 9)

JAPAN SHOWS OFF ITS SPACE AMBITIONS WITH UPCOMING HTV FLIGHT - It has been a busy week for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as the country once again demonstrated its growing space prowess. The agency presented its core advancements in fields of cargo transportation and rocketry, and also showed off its persisting lunar aspirations via a rocket and its payload of the next HTV cargo craft bound for the International Space Station.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Jul 8)

SEE AN EXTRAORDINARY PHOTO OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION PASSING OVER THE MOON - Amateur photographer Dylan O’Donnell has captured a stunning image of the International Space Station (ISS) flying by the Moon. The photo, shared on Tuesday by the European Space Agency (ESA), was taken on June 30 with a Canon 70D camera placed behind a 2300 mm / f10 telescope, O’Donnell wrote on his website. The shutter speed was set at 1/1650th of a second, allowing him to capture the one-third second long moment during which the ISS — which orbits Earth at 28,000 km per hour (17,400 mph) — transits across the Moon.   More
(Source: Time - Jul 8)

REAL LIFE 'PAC-MAN' SATELLITE WILL CLEAN UP SPACE JUNK - The Swiss aren't big on littering, and that philosophy apparently applies to space, too. After the nation's EPFL Center for Space Engineering launched its first satellites (the tiny SwissCubes) into orbit, the very next mission planned was "CleanSpace One" to get them out of orbit. For one, the researchers didn't want to add to the reams of existing space garbage threatening other satellites and astronauts at speeds of up to 15,000mph. But mainly, they want to test a practical system for cleaning space junk with relatively small targets. After considering various systems, the EPFL has settled on a "Pac-Man" solution that will trap the satellites with a conical net. The operation will be tricky, because just finding the 4x4-inch satellites is going to be difficult. As such, the researchers are developing a high dynamic-range camera and image processing system that can spot bright reflections coming off the SwissCubes as they spin in space. Meanwhile, if the net doesn't deploy just so, the cubes could bounce off the cleanup satellite and end up in a worse spot than before.   More
(Source: Engadget - Jul 7)

PROGRESS RESUPPLY MISSION ARRIVES AT ISS - A Russian Progress cargo ship glided to a smooth docking with the International Space Station early Sunday, bringing more than 3 tons of supplies and equipment to the lab complex. The unpiloted spacecraft’s docking mechanism engaged its counterpart in the station’s Earth-facing Pirs compartment at 3:11 a.m. EDT (GMT-4), two days after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. “Guys, congratulations. your cargo vehicle has arrived,” Russian flight director Vladimir Solovyev radioed from the Russian mission control center near Moscow.   More
(Source: SoaceFlignt Now - Jul 6)

IN BIGGEST COMMERCIAL LAUNCH, ISRO TO PUT 5 UK SATELLITES IN ORBIT ON JULY 10 - India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will lift off on its 30th flight from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, on July 10 with the heaviest ever payload (1,440kg) ever for a commercial launch. PSLV-C28 will launch the UK's three identical optical earth observation satellites (DMC3) built by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), each weighing 447kg. It will also carry a micro and a nano satellite, both for the UK. Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will be using the high-end XL version of PSLV for the ninth time.   More
(Source: Times of India - Jul 4)

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