DEFUNCT SOVIET RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITE MAY HIT EARTH - A decommissioned Soviet military satellite will burn up in the atmosphere Sunday in an uncontrolled descent and surviving fragments may hit Earth, according to an aerospace defense official. The military is actively monitoring the satellite using its space tracking network, which has indicated that it will impact the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin said Friday. “As of February 7, 2014 the fragments are expected to fall on February 16. The exact impact time and location of the fragments from the Kosmos-1220 satellite may change due to external factors,” Zolotukhin said.   More
(Source: Ria Novosti - Feb 15)

GLONASS-M SATELLITE SHIPPED TO LAUNCH SITE - On the night of February 12-13, the GLONASS-M #54 spacecraft left ISS-Reshetnev’s facilities in Zheleznogorsk, Russia, and was transported by air to the Plesetsk cosmodrome. A Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat rocket with the navigation satellite GLONASS-M #54 on board is scheduled for launch in mid-March. The exact launch date is due to be set at a meeting of the state commission. As soon as the satellite arrived to the spaceport, the joint team of ISS-Reshetnev specialists and the cosmodrome’s staff members started the launch preparation campaign.   More
(Source: GPS World magazine - Feb 15)

RUSSIAN PROGRESS-M SPACECRAFT BURNS UP OVER PACIFIC - A Russian Progress-M spacecraft burned up over the Pacific Ocean Tuesday evening in a planned descent following a successful mission to the International Space Station. Remnants of the craft that were not destroyed during the controlled re-entry crashed into an isolated area of the Pacific, a spokesman for Russia’s Mission Control said. The Progress M-20M delivered over two metric tons of cargo to the station in July. It undocked early last week to free up a port for another Progress space freighter, which arrived last Wednesday.   More
(Source: RIA Novosti - Feb 12)

SPACE JUNK ENDANGERS MANKIND'S USUAL COURSE OF LIFE - EXPERT - The Russian cargo spacecraft Progress M-20M, which undocked from the International Space Station on February 3, has ended its free flight and is to be sunk in the unnavigated part of the Pacific Ocean on February 11 around 8 pm MSK. On board the spacecraft there is about a ton of garbage and decommissioned equipment taken from the ISS. Scientists have not come up with ways of utilizing other types of space debris. However, space debris poses a great threat to satellites and astronauts.   More
(Source: The Voice of Russia - Feb 12)

FIRST 'CUBESATS' IN RECORD-BREAKING FLEET LAUNCHED FROM SPACE STATION - The world's largest constellation of Earth-imaging satellites began taking shape today, as four tiny spacecraft were ejected from the International Space Station. The four "cubesats," each about the size of a loaf of bread, were deployed from the space station this morning and began zipping freely around Earth. Twenty-four more will join them over the coming days, filling out the "Flock 1" satellite fleet operated by San Francisco-based startup Planet Labs.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 12)

SPACEX ON PACE FOR MID-MARCH LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION - Juggling flight delays and busy skies with the skill of seasoned air traffic controllers, International Space Station managers have approved the launch date for SpaceX's next cargo resupply mission for March 16. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad is set for 4:41 a.m. EDT (0841 GMT), the time when Earth's rotation brings the space station's flight path over the Space Coast, NASA announced last week.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 11)

SINGAPORE TO LAUNCH FIRST COMMERCIAL SATELLITE TELEOS-1 WITH ISRO’S HELP - A Singaporean earth observation satellite will be launched with an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) next year, a senior official said on Sunday. The TeLEOS-1 would be Singapore’s first commercial project on Indian Space Research organisation’s PSLV, making Near Equatorial Orbit, taking images for shipping and maritime security, Mah How Teck, Vice President for Market Development at Singapore Technologies Electronics Ltd told PTI.   More
(Source: Indian Express - Feb 11)

TURKEY'S FIFTH SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED - Turkey's TURKSAT 4A Communication Satellite - Turkey´s fifth satallite - will be launched with a Proton rocket on 15 February 2014 from Baykonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan. The Turksat 4A telecommunication satellite was produced jointly with Turkish and Japanese engineers. Television broadcasts and satellite communication signals will be able to reach all of the African continent with TURKSAT 4A. Turkey´s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on January 8, visited Mitsubishu Electric Company’s satellite production plant in Tokyo where TURKSAT 4A and TURKSAT 4B communication satellites are produced.   More
(Source: www.worldbulletin.net - Feb 11)

UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE PREPARING FOR ITS NEXT ATLAS 5 - Assembly of a Atlas 5 rocket kicked off Friday morning at Cape Canaveral to stack a powerful version of the vehicle launching next month. Liftoff of the Atlas 5-541 configured rocket is planned for March 25. The exact launch time is withheld for security reasons. The mission will launch the NROL-67 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, the secretive government agency responsible for the country's fleet of spy satellites.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 8)

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