YOUR OWN TINY SATELLITE, CHEAP - What if you could take a high-resolution picture of the entire planet, every single day? Would you monitor melting polar ice caps? Fight wildfires? Offer targeted aid in the aftermath of natural disasters? Planet Labs, a San Francisco-based startup that has already launched more than 70 satellites into space, wants to find out. Founded by a team of former NASA scientists, who launched the project in a Silicon Valley garage, Planet Labs is working toward that goal -- one tiny, low-cost satellite at a time. Or, one flock of doves, if you prefer.   More
(Source: CNN - Oct 3)

RUSSIA TO LAUNCH NEW GLONASS NAVIGATION SYSTEM SATELLITE BY YEAR END - A new model of the Russian GLONASS navigation system satellite will be launched at the end of this year, the JSC Information Satellite Systems, a leading Russian satellite manufacturing company, announced Wednesday. “In November–December, 2014 we will launch the new GLONASS-K spacecraft. The launch is planned to be implemented from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome [in northern Russia] using a Soyuz 2.1b carrier rocket,” Yury Vygonsky, deputy general designer for space systems development, general engineering and satellite control at JSC Information Satellite Systems, told journalists.   More
(Source: RIA Novosti - Oct 3)

ISRO SET FOR OCT. 10 LAUNCH OF NAVIGATION SATELLITE - ndian Space Research Organisation, fresh from the success of its Mars mission, has unveiled its next mundane campaign starting with the launch of the third regional navigation satellite on Oct. 10. IRNSS-1C will be the third piece in the Indian navigation fleet dubbed the “Indian GPS”. It will be flown on the indigenous PSLV-C26 rocket from Sriharikota at 1.56 a.m., according to an ISRO update on Wednesday. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System is a seven-satellite fleet. It is being put up to ensure precise information on location and time for civil and military users on land, sea and air.   More
(Source: The Hindu - Oct 3)

INDIAN STUDENT PROJECT PLANS TO LAUNCH EARTHQUAKE PREDICTING SATELLITE BY 2015 - Despite progress on earthquake early-warning systems, it's hard to measure earthquakes before they begin. But a satellite project in Chennai may soon help predict quakes from below the Van Allen belt. It is perhaps the ultimate student project: to build a satellite and launch it, to test a theory, and potentially help predict devastating earthquakes by studying radiation belts. And it is exactly what 30 students from a range of engineering disciplines in Chennai are working towards.   More
(Source: Deutsche Welle - Oct 1)

CONSTRUCTION OF TEXAS LAUNCH SITE TO BEGIN NEXT YEAR - SpaceX broke ground on a new commercial spaceport Sept. 22 on the shores of South Texas, committing to the construction of the world's first privately-owned satellite launch pad scheduled to be operational as soon as late 2016. The ceremonial groundbreaking, attended by more than 100 state and local officials, SpaceX employees, and media representatives, marked the end of a nationwide search for a location to build a new launch base for SpaceX's Falcon rocket family. "This is just the first initial groundbreaking," said Elon Musk, CEO and chief designer at SpaceX. "It's going to take several years to build out the spaceport. This is going to be quite a significant building endeavor."    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 1)

CHINA SUCCESSFULLY ORBITS EXPERIMENTAL SATELLITE - China has launched a new experimental satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gobi desert on Sunday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The Shijian-11-07 was boosted by Long March 2C launch vehicle at 05:13 UTC. This is the seventh in a series of satellites that – according to Chinese media – known as "experimental satellites". They are developed by China Spacesat Co. under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.    More
(Source: RIA Novosti - Sep 29)

PROTON ROCKET LIFTS OFF ON RETURN-TO-FLIGHT MISSION - A Russian Proton rocket blasted off Saturday with a secret military satellite, returning to flight status after a four-month grounding following a launch failure in May. The three-stage booster, topped with a Breeze M upper stage, launched at 2023 GMT (4:23 p.m. EDT) Saturday, or 2:23 a.m. local time at the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, according to Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency. The Proton booster released the launcher's Breeze M upper stage about 10 minutes after liftoff to begin a series of maneuvers to propel the mission's payload into orbit thousands of miles above Earth.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 29)

ISRO TO LAUNCH THIRD NAVIGATIONAL SATELLITE IN OCTOBER - The third satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) will be launched in October, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). The launch window will open in the first week of October, said an Isro spokesperson. This is the window during which conditions are opimal for the satellite to reach the right orbit. The IRNSS, which will be a constellation of seven satellites, is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region, extending up to 1,500km from India’s boundary. It aims to reduce India’s dependence on foreign navigational systems such as the US global positioning system and the Russian global navigation satellite system.   More
(Source: Livemint - Sep 27)

ROMANIA WANTS ITS OWN COMMUNICATIONS SATELLIT - Romania might have its own communications satellite in a few years, which might help diminish the costs of renting out communication lines. Authorities are considering drafting a clear plan in 2015, so that the country can have its first own communications satellite after three or four more years, said Razvan Cotovelea, the Minister for the Information Society. The satellite would support all types of communication, from special communication for the Ministry of National Defense, or Foreign Affairs Ministry, and would also allow renting out communication lines to any private investors. It would also help reduce the state’s cost for renting out communication lines from various suppliers on the market, and make extra money by renting out such lines to others.   More
(Source: Romania-Insider.com - Sep 26)

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