EUROPE'S GRAVITY-MAPPING GOCE SATELLITE FACES BIG FALL FROM SPACE - A European-built satellite built to map Earth's gravity like never before is about to fall victim to the planet's ever-present gravitational pull. The European Space Agency's Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer, or GOCE for short, is nearly out of fuel and will make a nosedive to Earth this month after more than four successful years studying the planet's gravitational field. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 13)
HISPASAT TO LAUNCH AMAZONAS 4A SATELLITE IN DECEMBER - Spain's Hispasat plans to launch the Amazonas 4A satellite, built in the record time of 18 months, in December to meet existing demand in the Americas, where the company gets 55 percent of its business, Hispasat CEO Carlos Espinos said. The European satellite market has felt the economic recession and is "in contraction" but the overall market is reaching equilibrium thanks to the fact that growth is continuing in the Americas, Espinos said in an interview. More (Source: Latin American Herald Tribune - Oct 8)
SOUTH AFRICA TO LAUNCH THIRD SATELLITE NEXT MONTH - South Africa will launch its third satellite into space next month to observe the earth for research purposes, authorities said on Saturday. The satellite ZA-Cuba will join Sunsat and Sumbandla launched in 2009, according to the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The satellite, designed by students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, will be ready for possible launch in late November, DST Director-General Phil Mjwara said at the World Space Week celebrations in Kimberley, the Free State Province. More (Source: EastDay.com - Oct 8)
40-TON SPACE JUNK SATELLITE TO FALL TO EARTH SOON - The European Space Agency estimates that a 40-metric-ton satellite will run out of fuel in mid-October 2013 and then hurl back to Earth in an uncontrolled descent from an orbital height of about 139 miles (224 kilometers). The ESA cautioned that, while most of the satellite will disintegrate in the atmosphere, several parts might reach Earth's surface. More (Source: Brevard Times - Oct 8)
IRAN TO LAUNCH NEW INDIGENOUS SATELLITE SOON: OFFICIAL - Iran plans to launch a new advanced home-made satellite into the orbit in near future, an Iranian aerospace official says. The satellite dubbed Tadbir (Prudence) is an upgraded version of the Navid-e Elm-o Sanat (Harbinger of Science and Industry) satellite which was earlier put into space, Hossein Bolandi, Head of Satellite Technical Support Department at Tehran's University of Science and Technology, said on Saturday. The satellite has Global Positioning System (GPS) as well as higher precision in taking photos in comparison to Navid-e Elm-o Sanat satellite, Bolandi added. More (Source: HispanicBusiness.com - Oct 6)
SES APPROVES SATELLITE SHIPMENT FOR FALCON 9 LAUNCH DESPITE QUESTIONS - Satellite fleet operator SES has authorized the shipment of its SES-8 satellite to Florida to prepare for launch aboard a Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket despite concerns among insurance industry officials that the Sept. 29 demonstration flight of a new Falcon 9 variant did not meet a key objective. Luxembourg-based SES has said it is awaiting more data from SpaceX about why the Falcon 9 v1.1's upper-stage engine did not complete a second ignition at the end of the vehicle's inaugural mission as planned. More (Source: Space News - Oct 5)
SPACE JUNK CLEANUP SATELLITE LAUNCHING ON SWISS SPACE PLANE IN 2018 - A Switzerland-based spaceflight company is finalizing plans with Canada over a potential launch site for a new private space plane, which is slated to launch a satellite to clean up space junk by 2018. The company, Swiss Space Systems (S3), plans to launch the new Clean Space One satellite using the European Suborbital Reusable Shuttle, a small space plane the firm is developing for low-cost launches off the back of a modified Airbus A300 jumbo jet. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 3)
EUROPEAN SPACE FREIGHTER RAISES ISS ORBIT - Engines of Europe's ATV space freighter, currently docked with the International Space Station (ISS), were switched on Wednesday evening to raise the station's orbit, the Russian mission control said. Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically to compensate for Earth's gravity and to ensure successful dockings. More (Source: RIA Novosti - Oct 3)
ILS PROTON SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES ASTRA 2E FOR SES - International Launch Services (ILS), a leader in providing mission integration and launch services to the global commercial satellite industry, successfully placed the ASTRA 2E satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) today for SES of Luxembourg. SES is a world-leading satellite operator, providing satellite communications solutions to broadcast, telecom, corporate and government customers worldwide. This was the fifth ILS Proton launch of the year. The ASTRA 2E satellite launched onboard an ILS Proton at 3:38 a.m. today local time, from Baikonur Cosmodrome (September 29: 5:38 p.m. EDT and 21:38 GMT). More (Source: The Herald - Oct 1)
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