ISRAELI NANOSATELLITE GIVES STRANDED TRAVELERS HOPE - Good things come in nano-packages: Israeli high-school students launched on Thursday night Israel's first nanosatellite, which will aid stranded travelers worldwide to pinpoint their location, JNS reported. The satellite, an 860-gram cube measuring 10 centimeters in each dimension, was designed and built by teens studying at the Herzliya Science Center, sponsored by the Israel Space Agency and the Herzliya Municipality. Called Duchifat-1, after Israel's petite national bird, the device was launched into space from the Yasny Airbase in Russia. More (Source: Haaretz - Jun 22)
SPACEX PUTS FALCON 9'S SATELLITE LAUNCH ON HOLD AGAIN - SpaceX once more delayed the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket with six Orbcomm telecommunication satellites aboard on Saturday — and stirred up some grumbling in the process. On Friday, a potential problem with tank pressure forced a postponement. On Saturday, SpaceX said it would not webcast the countdown, and precious few updates were provided from the launch site at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Most of the information came from the U.S. Air Force's 45th Space Wing, and not from SpaceX. More (Source: NBCNews.com - Jun 22)
SPACEX FALCON 9 LAUNCH RESCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY; LIFTOFF SET FOR 5:46 P.M. - SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will have another launch attempt on Saturday, according to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch was scrubbed Friday because of a technical issue. Crews worked to determine what caused spurious leak readings in the run-up to launch. We do not, however, know what caused the final scrub. Orbcomm confirmed the Saturday's launch for 5:46 p.m. More (Source: News 13 Orlando - Jun 21)
PSLV C23 TO LIFT-OFF ON JUNE 30 WITH FIVE FOREIGN SATELLITES - The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on June 30 will launch its PSLV C23 carrying five foreign satellites from France, Germany, Canada and Singapore. Isro said the lift-off of PSLV C23 satellite launching vehicle was scheduled at 09:49 hours from the Sriharikota space station near Chennai. The five satellites include 830 kg SPOT-7 earth observation satellite for France. The satellite is similar to the Indian Remote Satellite System (IRSS). More (Source: Business Standard - Jun 21)
SPACEX ABORTS FALCON 9 LAUNCH DUE TO PRESSURE GLITCH - SpaceX aborted Friday's launch of its Falcon 9 rocket with six Orbcomm telecommunication satellites aboard, due to concerns about the rocket's tank pressure. Readings from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida indicated a drop in second-stage pressure, and SpaceX's team couldn't resolve the issue in time for liftoff at 7:01 p.m. ET. The launch was called off with less than eight minutes left in the countdown. It will be rescheduled for Saturday or later. Like the two-stage Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket that blasted off in April, this rocket is designed to relight its first stage after separation to slow its descent. Then it would unfold its landing legs for a "soft splashdown" in the Atlantic. More (Source: ABC News - Jun 21)
RECORD CLUSTER OF SATELLITES LAUNCHED BY DNEPR ROCKET - A cluster of 37 satellites launched out of an underground silo on a remote Russian military base Thursday, rocketing into orbit on top of a Soviet-era ballistic missile modified to haul spacecraft instead of nuclear bombs. The payload package is the most number of individual satellites ever launched on a single rocket, representing nations from 17 countries on four continents. Most of the payloads will turn toward Earth, gathering imagery for environmental and security purposes. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 20)
SPACEX FALCON 9 V1.1 SET FOR ORBCOMM OG2 MISSION - SpaceX will conduct the second mission of its multi-launch contract with Orbcomm Friday, with a Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket orbiting six OG2 satellites for the company’s next-generation constellation. The launch is scheduled to occur from Cape Canaveral during a fifty-seven minute window opening at 18:08 local time (22:08 UTC). SpaceX’s first Orbcomm launch consisted of a single satellite deployed as a secondary payload to the CRS-1 Dragon mission to the ISS in October 2012. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Jun 20)
RUSSIA EYES SOYUZ UPGRADES FOR MISSION AROUND THE MOON - Space tourism firm Space Adventures says two customers have paid deposits for a flight around the moon on a Soyuz spacecraft, but the trip requires major changes to the Russian crew capsule, a vehicle that has seen only incremental upgrades in recent decades. While the Virginia-based company works with Russian engineers to make the venerable Soyuz ferry craft ready for a lunar voyage, Space Adventures president Tom Shelley said last week he expects prices for tourist trips to the International Space Station to fall once U.S.-built capsules begin flying astronauts into low Earth orbit. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 18)
ZOMBIE SATELLITE ISEE-3 SUMMONED BACK AFTER YEARS IN THE GRAVEYARD - Back in May, a group of engineers successfully managed to reestablish contact with NASA's Vintage ISEE-3 Spacecraft satellite, overcoming numerous obstacles in the process. Now, the engineers responsible for taking control of ISEE-3 are hoping to bring the zombie satellite back home. If all goes as planned, engines will be firing up in a couple of weeks. The story of how the engineers reestablished contact with ISEE-3 is a fascinating one. More (Source: Design & Trend - Jun 17)
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