TWO SATELLITES PLACED IN ORBIT BY CHINESE ROCKET - China launched a Long March 2D rocket Thursday with a data relay satellite and a payload to conduct multimedia telecommunications experiments, according to state media reports. The 13-story launcher lifted off from the Jiuquan space center in northwest China at 0015 GMT Thursday (8:15 p.m. EDT Wednesday), the official Xinhua news agency said. The liftoff occurred at 8:15 a.m. Beijing time. The two-stage, hydrazine-fueled Long March 2D was expected to place the Chuangxin 1-04 data relay satellite and its co-passenger into a sun-synchronous orbit. Chinese state media reported the launch was successful. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 4)
TECHNICAL PROBLEM DELAYS SPACE STATION SATELLITE DEPLOYMENTS - A technical problem with a cubesat dispenser on the international space station has halted the deployment of the latest batch of small satellites on the station until as late as early next year. In a Sept. 3 statement, Houston-based NanoRacks said it was continuing to study a problem with a “non-performing” cubesat deployer on the station. The problem was first noted in an Aug. 22 ISS status report from NASA, which stated that multiple attempts to deploy cubesats during the previous day were unsuccessful for “unspecified reasons.” The problem occurred after 10 of 32 satellites delivered to the station in July had been released. More (Source: Space News - Sep 4)
ETHIOPIA AIMS TO LAUNCH SATELLITE - It is disclosed that Ethiopia has planned to launch medium research satellite within the next five years.The Entoto Observatory and Research Center (EORC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Sunday with Finland based Space Technology and Science Group (STSG) to this effect. The main objective of the satellite development agreement is to develop, build and launch 20-25 Kg medium research satellite within the next five years. Signing the agreement, Director of EORC, Dr. Solomon Belay said Ethiopia will benefit a lot by owning Satellite. More (Source: AllAfrica.com - Sep 3)
WORLD'S FIRST 3D PRINTER IN SPACE WILL LAUNCH THIS MONTH - The first 3D printer ever to fly in space will blast off this month, and NASA has high hopes for the innovative device's test runs on the International Space Station. The 3D printer, which is scheduled to launch toward the orbiting lab Sept. 19 aboard SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo capsule, could help lay the foundation for broader in-space manufacturing capabilities, NASA officials said. The end result could be far less reliance on resupply from Earth, leading to cheaper and more efficient missions to faraway destinations such as Mars. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 3)
US SANCTIONS HIT RUSSIAN SATELLITE - Russia’s Gazprom Space Systems is having problems with its Yamal-601 satellite because of US sanctions. Yamal-601 is being built by Thales Alenia Space, and is based on their Spacecom 4000-C4 platform. The satellite was planned to be launched early in 2016. That date will slip because of the US sanctions on certain key components being used in the satellite. More (Source: Advanced Television - Sep 3)
RUSSIAN SPACECRAFT BACK ON EARTH AFTER SIX-WEEK MISSION - An unmanned Russian space capsule returned to Earth on Monday after six weeks in orbit for microgravity research, but officials said five geckos flown for space sex experiments perished on the journey. The Foton M4 spacecraft's pressurized return capsule, derived from the Vostok capsule flown by Yuri Gagarin on the first human spaceflight in 1961, re-entered the atmosphere and parachuted to a landing in the Orenburg region of southern Russia. Landing occurred at 0918 GMT (5:18 a.m. EDT) Monday, according to a statement from Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency. Recovery teams reached the capsule, opened the hatch to access its interior, and began extracting research specimens and other gear. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 2)
RUSSIA’S FOTON-M SATELLITE LANDING SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 1 - The landing of Russia’s Foton-M biosatellite with geckos, fruit flies, silkworm eggs, mushrooms and seeds of higher plants on board is appointed for the Knowledge Day, September 1, in the Orenburg region, Russia’s Federal Space Agency Roscosmos told RIA Novosti. "The program of scientific experiments has been completed. The State Commission decided to land Foton-M at 13.18 (9:18 GMT) on September 1 in the Orenburg region," according to the statement. The biological mission of the Foton-M satellite included eight experiments. More (Source: RIA Novosti - Sep 1)
ARGENTINA COMPLETES ARSAT-1 SATELLITE - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez emphasized the importance of finalizing the project to place the first domestically manufactured satellite, ARSAT-1, into orbit. The satellite will be shipped to French Guiana, from where it will be launched into orbit in October. "What is ARSAT-1? The first geostationary satellite completely designed and tested in (Argentina). After eight years of research and development, ARSAT-1 was sent from Bariloche (in southwestern Argentina) to French Guiana to be launched into space," Fernandez said in a Twitter post. More (Source: Fox News Latino - Sep 1)
STARGAZING: CHINESE SATELLITE MAKES APPEARANCE FRIDAY NIGHT - China’s experimental Tiangong 1 is one of the two brightest satellites visible tonight. At its brightest it is expected to reach magnitude 2.5 which is almost as bright as the two stars at the bottom of the “cup” of the Big Dipper. The name Tiangong means “Heavenly Palace” and is part of China’s project 192 to build a multi-module space station. Two previous manned modules have docked with the Tiangong 1 but it is currently unoccupied. At 8:51 pm. the satellite starts a long path leading from the western horizon to its highest point in the NNW. The highest altitude is 36 degrees, which is between one third and one half of the way up to the zenith. More (Source: Florida Today - Aug 29)
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