CHINA TO LAUNCH TIANZHOU-1 CARGO SHIP IN 2016 TO RENDEZVOUS WITH SPACE LAB - China will send a cargo ship into the space in 2016 to dock with a future space module scheduled to be launched earlier the same year, a leading Chinese space scientist said Friday. The Tianzhou-1, which literally means "heavenly vessel", will carry propellants, living necessities for astronauts, research facilities and repair equipment to China's second orbiting space lab Tiangong-2, said Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China's manned space program.   More
(Source: Xinhua - Mar 8)

ISRO RACES TO FIX GLITCH IN NAVIGATIONAL SATELLITE SO THAT IT CAN BE LAUNCHED IN TIME - The Indian space agency is deliberating the ways and means of setting right a glitch in its fourth regional navigation satellite with minimum effort so that it can be launched early, said an official. The 1,425kg satellite - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-IRNSS-1D - was supposed to be launched on the evening of 9 March by an Indian rocket called Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL). The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on 4 March, however, deferred the launch after it discovered that one of the telemetry transmitters in the IRNSS-1D was not working properly.   More
(Source: Firstpost - Mar 7)

NASA’S CHIEF CONFIRMS IT: WITHOUT RUSSIA, SPACE STATION LOST - NASA's Administrator Charles Bolden acknowledged Wednesday there is no back-up plan to fly the International Space Station if Russia cuts off U.S. access to space. "We would make an orderly evacuation," Bolden said during a U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee hearing. Because both countries are dependent upon one another, the $140 billion station would be lost. It was a frank admission from Bolden who, during the last year as U.S. and Russia diplomatic relations have deteriorated, has sought to sidestep the question.    More
(Source: Chron.com - Mar 6)

NASA DEPLOYS SATELLITE DESIGNED TO RE-ENTER ATMOSPHERE USING REVAMPED DRAG DEVICE - NASA mission controllers confirmed that a small satellite launched from the International Space Station at 5:30 p.m. PST on Tuesday, March 3, has successfully entered its orbit, setting the stage to test technology that could enable rapid return of payloads from space. Over the next four weeks, the TechEdSat-4 satellite will deploy a second-generation exo-brake, an aerodynamic drag device, to perform a maneuver that will cause the satellite to de-orbit and re-enter Earth's atmosphere.   More
(Source: Space Ref - Mar 6)

GLITCH PUTS OFF LAUNCH OF FOURTH INDIAN NAVIGATION SATELLITE - A telemetry glitch has forced the Indian space agency to defer the launch of the fourth regional navigation satellite scheduled for March 9 onboard a lower-orbital rocket from its spaceport in Andhra Pradesh. "Launch of the fourth Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS-1D) onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C27) scheduled for March 9 has been postponed due to an anomaly in one of its telemetry transmitters," the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement here on Wednesday.   More
(Source: Zee News - Mar 5)

POWER SYSTEM FAILURE LIKELY CAUSE OF MILITARY SATELLITE EXPLOSION - The U.S. Air Force says a temperature spike in the power system of a nearly 20-year-old weather satellite may have led to the spacecraft’s explosion in orbit, scattering more than 40 fragments of debris that could be flying around Earth for decades. “The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13 (DMSP 13) reached end of life Feb. 3, 2015, at 2:39 p.m. MST (2139 GMT),” Air Force Space Command said in a statement. “The decision was made to render the vehicle safe after DMSP operators discovered a sudden spike in temperature in the power subsystem of the nearly 20-year-old weather satellite followed by an unrecoverable loss of attitude control.”   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 5)

CAN YOU SPOT THE ASTRONAUT ON BOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION? - Can you spot the astronaut on board the International Space Station? The space tourist looks tiny in comparison to the giant satellite orbiting Earth. This picture was posted on Twitter by Nasa flight engineer Terry Virts earlier today, of station commander Butch Wilmore performing maintenance during a space walk. The two US astronauts whipped through a third spacewalk on Sunday to rig parking spots for new US space taxis. They spent five hours installing antennas, cables and navigation aides on the station's exterior truss.   More
(Source: Mirror.co.uk - Mar 4)

INDIA TO LAUNCH FOURTH NAVIGATION SATELLITE ON MARCH 9 - India will move closer to its own satellite navigation system with the launch of its fourth satellite tentatively slated for March 9, a senior official of the Indian space agency said on Monday. "The launch is tentatively planned for March 9 evening around 6.35pm. However, final green signal for the launch will be given days ahead of the satellite launch," MYS Prasad, director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, part of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).   More
(Source: Times of India - Mar 3)

U.S. WEATHER SATELLITE EXPLODES INTO 43 PIECES - The U.S. Air Force confirmed on Feb. 26 a "catastrophic event" that led to the destruction of a weather satellite on Feb. 3. The satellite, previously used by the U.S. militar,y exploded into 43 pieces. Engineers with the military suggest a temperature spike disrupted the satellites bearings and caused Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13 (DMSP-F13) to lose altitude control. The oldest in the military's fleet of weather satellites, DMSP-F13 was mostly phased out of operation in 2006 -- still collecting data in a backup role but not involved in long-term modeling.    More
(Source: UPI.com - Mar 3)

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