IRAN PLANS SATELLITE LAUNCH IN FEBRUARY - An Iranian aerospace official says the country plans to launch an indigenously designed and manufactured satellite into orbit in early February next year. Deputy head of Iran Space Agency (ISA), Hamid Fazeli, said on Tuesday that final tests are being carried out on several indigenous satellites. They include Sharif Sat, developed by Iranian students and academics from Sharif University of Technology, and AUT Sat, developed by Iranian scientists at Amir Kabir University of Technology.    More
(Source: Press TV - Jan 1)

AFTER WEEKS OF DELAY, ORBITAL CARGO LAUNCH ANNOUNCED - After weeks of delay, a resupply mission headed to the International Space Station by the aerospace firm Orbital Sciences Corp. has received the launch date of Jan. 7. Originally planned for Dec. 18, the shipment of nearly 3,000 pounds of cargo was delayed after the pump module on one of the space station's two cooling loops shut down automatically after reaching its preset temperature limit Dec. 11. The malfunction never posed any immediate danger to the crew, but did result in the powering down of several non-critical systems.   More
(Source: Nature World News - Dec 31)

NASA, JAXA ANNOUNCE LAUNCH DATE FOR NEW PRECIPITATION SATELLITE - On Thursday, NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced the date and window — Feb. 27 from 1:07 pm to 3:07 pm EST — for the launch of a new precipitation satellite. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory satellite is slated to be launched from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center. GPM is designed to conduct observations of rain and snowfall several times a day around the world. NASA said it expects data from the satellite to increase the knowledge of the water and energy cycles that affect Earth’s climate. More specifically, the satellite will be used to calibrate precipitation recordings conducted by an international network of affiliated satellites.   More
(Source: RedOrbit - Dec 28)

RUSSIAN COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE LAUNCHED BY PROTON - A Proton rocket fired away from the snow-covered Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, completing a series of maneuvers before deploying a Russian civil communications satellite in orbit nine hours later. Liftoff of the workhorse Russian rocket from the Central Asia launch base was at 1049:56 GMT (5:49:56 a.m. EST; 4:49:56 p.m. local time). The 19-story rocket quickly disappeared into a soupy cloud deck hanging over the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where temperatures hovered near freezing and a coating of snow blanketed the arid terrain.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 28)

RUSSIA SET TO LAUNCH PROTON ROCKET WITH TELECOMS SATELLITE - A Proton-M rocket carrying a high-power telecommunications satellite will lift off Thursday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan to wrap up Russia’s space launch program for this year. “The launch has been scheduled for 2:50 p.m. Moscow time [10:50 GMT]. The separation of the Express-AM5 satellite from the Briz-M booster is expected at 12:12 a.m. Moscow time on December 27,” said a spokesman for the Russian space agency Roscosmos.   More
(Source: RIA Novosti - Dec 26)

WOW! INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION PASSES BY CRESCENT MOON IN AMAZING PHOTO - The International Space Station can be seen cruising in front of a crescent moon in this stunning night sky photo recently sent to SPACE.com. Juan Gonzalez-Alicea of Sociedad de Astronomia del Caribe captured the image from western Puerto Rico on Dec. 6 using a Canon 7D with a 300 mm lens. "I was able to capture the ISS [International Space Station ] passing in front of the moon,” Gonzalez-Alicea wrote SPACE.com. "It was an amazing sight since Venus was at maximum brightness below the crescent moon.”   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 25)

THAICOM 6 LAUNCH TO KICK OFF SPACEX'S BUSY 2014 MANIFEST - With a busy manifest next year stacked with up to 10 launches for NASA and commercial customers, SpaceX is targeting Jan. 3 to launch the Thaicom 6 telecommunications satellite from Cape Canaveral. Built by Orbital Sciences Corp. Thaicom 6 will beam Ku-band and C-band services to clients across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The satellite is designed for a 15-year mission in geostationary orbit over the equator at 78.5 degrees east longitude.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 24)

ISRO TO DECIDE ON GSLV-D5 LAUNCH ON 27 DECEMBER - The flight test of rejuvenated Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) with indigenous cryogenic engine is likely to take place on 5 January from the space port of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, Indian Space Research Organisation said. ISRO's Mission Readiness Review (MRR) team will meet on 27 December to take a final call on the launch of GSLV-D5. Its mission was aborted at the 11th hour on 19 August, this year due to a fuel leak in its second stage.    More
(Source: Firstpost - Dec 23)

SATELLITE OF RUSSIA'S EARLY WARNING CONSTELLATION BURNS DOWN IN ATMOSPHERE - The Kosmos-2393 satellite integrated in the Oko system, the space component of Russia's early warning system ceased to exist Saturday night, Interfax was told at the Vympel interstate joint-stock company, which is part of the Almaz-Antei air defense corporation.    More
(Source: The Voice of Russia - Dec 23)

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