SPACE TRASH IS A BIG PROBLEM. THESE ECONOMISTS HAVE A SOLUTION. - Space is getting messy. The amount of debris in Earth's orbit keeps growing each year, disrupting satellites and occasionally putting astronauts in harm's way. If the problem gets severe enough, it could eventually make low-earth orbit unusable. Scientists have been worrying about space trash since the 1970s.   More
(Source: Washington Post - Oct 25)

CYGNUS SPACECRAFT LEAVES INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, WILL BURN UP IN ATMOSPHERE - The first privately built Cygnus cargo ship to visit the International Space Station detached from the orbiting lab Tuesday (Oct. 22) and is poised to destroy itself in Earth's atmosphere in a fiery finale to its successful test flight. The unmanned Cygnus spacecraft built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., was released by astronauts using the station's robotic arm at 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT) as both space vehicles sailed high above the Atlantic Ocean, east of Argentina. The spacecraft is expected to fire its rocket thrusters Wednesday (Oct. 23) to leave orbit and burn up in Earth's atmosphere.   More
(Source: CBS News - Oct 23)

CYGNUS CARGO CRAFT READIES TO LEAVE SPACE STATION - A private cargo ship built by Orbital Sciences Corporation is preparing to leave the International Space Station early Tuesday and burn up on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, NASA said Monday. The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to detach from the orbiting research outpost at 1000 GMT Tuesday and leave the ISS an hour and a half later. "Orbital engineers then will conduct a series of planned burns and maneuvers to move Cygnus toward a destructive re-entry in Earth's atmosphere," NASA said in a statement.    More
(Source: Phys.Org - Oct 22)

TAKEOFF OF PROTON LV WITH US SATELLITE MAY BE PUT OFF UNTIL OCT 25 - The takeoff of the Russian Proton-M launch vehicle with the US communication satellite Sirius FM-6 may be put off until October at the request of the US side,according to the Interfax citing a source at the cosmodrome on Monday. "There is the motion of the US side on rescheduling the launch to October 25. The State Commission will handle the message on Monday," the source said.    More
(Source: The Voice of Russia - Oct 22)

ESA'S GOCE MISSION COMES TO AN END - After mapping variations in Earth's gravity with unprecedented detail for four years, the GOCE satellite has run out of fuel and the end of mission has been declared. Since March 2009, the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer - GOCE - has been orbiting Earth at the lowest altitude of any research satellite. Its "gradiometer" - the sensitive instrument measuring gravity in 3D - was the first in space and has mapped variations in Earth's gravity with unrivalled precision. The result is a unique model of the "geoid", which is essentially the shape of an ideal global ocean at rest and therefore critical for accurate measurements of ocean circulation and sea-level change.    More
(Source: ESA Press Release - Oct 21)

PROTON LAUNCH OF SIRIUS FM-6 SATELLITE POSTPONED - The launch of a Proton launch vehicle with the Sirius FM-6 satellite was postponed today for at least 24 hours due to issues with the satellite ground station network required for the launch and early orbital operations of the Sirius FM-6 spacecraft. Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (Khrunichev) and International Launch Services (ILS) plan to make another attempt at 12:12 a.m. local time on October 22 in Baikonur (2:12 pm EDT on October 21). The satellite was built for Sirius XM Radio of New York, by SSL of California.   More
(Source: SpaceRef - Oct 21)

SPACECRAFT LAUNCHED FROM WALLOPS TO DEPART SPACE STATION ON TUESDAY - The Cygnus spacecraft launched from Wallops Island on Sept. 18 will complete its supply mission to the International Space Station next week. NASA TV - which can be seen at www.nasa.gov/ntvnews - will air the spacecraft's departure from the space station beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Cygnus is a commercial cargo carrier developed by Orbital Sciences Corp. It launched on an Antares rocket from the Mid- Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.   More
(Source: HispanicBusiness.com - Oct 21)

RUSSIA RUSSIA READIES PROTON ROCKET FOR OCTOBER 20 LAUNCH - A Proton-M carrier rocket with a US telecoms satellite will be transported early Thursday to a launch pad at the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan in preparation for launch on October 20, Russia's space agency Roscosmos said. According to Roscosmos, the Proton rocket with a Briz-M booster and the Sirius FM-6 satellite has been cleared for the launch by a special state commission on Wednesday.   More
(Source: RIA Novosti - Oct 20)

NEXT DELTA 4 ROCKET GROUNDED BY RL10 ENGINE INQUIRY - Next Delta 4 rocket grounded by RL10 engine inquiry BY STEPHEN CLARK SPACEFLIGHT NOW Posted: October 18, 2013 6 United Launch Alliance has postponed the next launch of a Delta 4 rocket from Oct. 23 to sort out the significance of fresh conclusions stemming from an investigation into an RL10 engine anomaly during another Delta 4 launch one year ago, the company said in a statement Friday. The launch company, which operates the Atlas and Delta rocket fleets, said it has not set a new date for the Delta 4 rocket's launch of the GPS 2F-5 spacecraft to replenish the U.S. Air Force's fleet of positioning, navigation and timing satellites.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 20)

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