RUSSIAN SATELLITE A 'SUCCESS' DESPITE ANIMAL DEATHS - Russia's Bion-M1 biological research satellite, which recently carried rodents, microorganisms and plants on a month-long space flight, successfully accomplished its mission, an official said on Wednesday, despite the death of most of the animals on board. "The spacecraft did not show any noticeable failures and has accomplished its program in full," said Vladimir Sychev, deputy director of Russia's Institute of Medical and Biological Studies.    More
(Source: Space Daily - May 25)

ECUADOR SATELLITE COLLIDES WITH RUSSIAN SPACE JUNK - A small Ecuadoran satellite collided in orbit with the remains of a Russian rocket, but it is too soon to know how much damage it might have sustained, Quito's space agency said Thursday. Ecuador's space agency EXA had warned on Wednesday that a space fender-bender was likely between its "Pegaso" (Pegasus) nano-satellite and the remains of the Soviet rocket S14 launched into space nearly three decades ago.   More
(Source: Channel News Asia - May 25)

INDIA TO LAUNCH FIRST NAVIGATIONAL SATELLITE ON JUNE 12 - India proposes to launch its first navigational satellite, which will provide terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation services and help in disaster and fleet management, on June 12. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1A is slated to be launched on board home-grown rocket, PSLV-C22 XL at 1.01 am from Sriharikota spaceport on June 12.    More
(Source: Economic Times - May 19)

SPACE STATION’S ORBIT RAISED 2.8 KM - A Russian Progress M-19M resupply spacecraft readjusted the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, a spokesman for the Russian space agency Roscosmos said. The space freighter’s engines were run for 922.4 seconds (just over 15 minutes). As a result of the maneuver, the ISS’s orbit was raised by about 2.8 kilometers [1.6 miles], the spokesman said adding that the station’s orbit is now 430.3 kilometers (259 miles) from Earth.    More
(Source: RIA Novosti - May 18)

CHINA 'LAUNCHES' SATELLITE DESTROYER IN NEW SPACE RACE AS PENTAGON CLAIMS ROCKET WAS HIGHEST FOR FOR - A Chinese high-altitude rocket launch this week was the first test of an interceptor that could destroy orbiting satellites, claims a U.S defense official. The launch, said by the Chinese to be a science mission, reached 6,250 miles (10,000km) above the Earth - the highest suborbital launch since 1976. No objects were placed into orbit, the Pentagon said yesterday. The rocket re-entered Earth's atmosphere above the Indian Ocean.    More
(Source: Daily Mail - May 18)

RUSSIA LAUNCHES ROCKET WITH FRENCH TELECOM SATELLITE - A Proton-M rocket carrying a French telecommunications satellite has blasted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, said a spokesman for Russian space agency Roscosmos. Tuesday's launch was the 386th of a Proton rocket and the third Proton launch this year. The launch took place at 20.02 Moscow time (4.02 p.m. GMT), the Roscosmos spokesman said.    More
(Source: New York Daily News - May 16)

ATLAS 5 NAVIGATES ITS WAY TO SUCCESSFUL GPS LAUNCH - An Atlas 5 rocket successfully powered a replacement Global Positioning System satellite into space Wednesday to bolster the navigation utility for military and civil users around the world. The 737,000-pound, two-stage rocket, loaded with kerosene fuel, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, roared to life at 5:38 p.m. EDT (2138 GMT) to launch the GPS 2F-4 spacecraft, continuing a string of on-time launches of all four Atlas rocket flights so this year.    More
(Source: Spaceflight Now - May 16)

VIETNAM WILL HAVE SECOND REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE - VietNamNet Bridge - VNREDSat-1B is the next remote sensing satellite that Vietnam intends to launch into space with the cooperation of Belgium, after the successful launch of the first earth observation satellite. Belgium and Vietnam have decided that Belgian firms, under the guidance of Spacebel will manufacture the VNREDSat - 1B satellite, according to an announcement of the Belgian Embassy in Vietnam last week.    More
(Source: VietNamNet Bridge - May 15)

SOYUZ CAPSULE BRINGS THREE-MAN CREW TO SAFE LANDING - A Russian cosmonaut, a NASA physician-astronaut and outgoing Canadian space station commander Chris Hadfield, whose deft use of social media turned him into an orbital superstar, undocked and plunged back to Earth Monday to close out a five-month stay in space. Two days after an impromptu spacewalk to fix a coolant leak -- and one day after a YouTube video of Hadfield singing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" went viral with more than 1.5 million views -- Hadfield, Thomas Marshburn and Soyuz TMA-07M commander Roman Romanenko undocked from the station at 7:08 p.m. EDT (GMT-4).    More
(Source: Spaceflight Now - May 14)

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