100 NEW RUSSIAN SATELLITES - One hundred new military satellites will be launched in the nearest decade, to improve reconnaissance and cruise missiles detection, Vladimir Popovkin, the head of the Roscosmos, announces. However, when it comes to spacecraft is not only military satellites that Russia needs. Popovkin’s statement was part of a comment to an extensive article by Vladimir Putin, the prime minister of Russian government, published on February 20, stating the commencement of rearmament with airspace defense, communications, reconnaissance and control system among top priorities. More (Source: The Voice of Russia - Feb 28)
BEIDOU NAVIGATION PAYLOAD LAUNCHED BY CHINESE ROCKET - China launched another satellite Friday for the Beidou space-based navigation network, continuing the system's expansion after it began trial service in December. A Long March 3C rocket lifted off at 1612 GMT (11:12 a.m. EST) Friday from the Xichang space base in southwest China's Sichuan province. It was 12:12 a.m. Saturday at the launch site, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 27)
NAVY LAUNCHES COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - A 20-story Atlas V rocket built by United Launch Alliance lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and carried a 15,000-pound communications satellite into orbit for the Navy. The satellite was initially slated to blast off last week but was pushed back because of bad weather. The spacecraft, part of the Mobile User Objective System, was launched at 2:15 p.m. Pacific time Friday from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape. More (Source: Los Angeles Times - Feb 26)
RUSSIA TO LAUNCH MILITARY SATELLITES TO DETECT MISSILES - Russia plans to launch at least 100 military satellites in the next ten years to boost its reconnaissance and missile detection capabilities, according to Russian Space Agency 'Roscosmos' chief Vladimir Popovkin. "The new 100 satellites will provide us with better quality intelligence, faster and more reliable communications," Popovkin told Russia's Vesti-24 TV channel in an interview on Wednesday. More (Source: RTT News - Feb 24)
CHINA’S NEXT SPACE MISSION TO BE MANNED, WILL ATTEMPT TO DOCK WITH SPACE STATION MODULE - China’s next space mission will carry three astronauts who will dock with and live inside an experimental orbiting module launched last year, state media said Friday. The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft will be launched aboard its Long March 2F rocket sometime between June and August, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing an unidentified spokesman for the manned space program, known as Shenzhou, or “Sacred Vessel.” More (Source: Washington Post - Feb 20)
U.S. NAVY SATELLITE LAUNCH SCRUBBED AGAIN - A second attempt to launch a U.S. Navy communications satellite into space was scrubbed late Friday due to poor weather, a spacecraft-launch service said. The next opportunity for an Atlas V rocket launch will be Wednesday, said United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., created to provide spacecraft-launch services to the U.S. government. Its customers include the Defense Department and NASA. More (Source: UPI.com - Feb 20)
FOR SPACE MESS, SCIENTISTS SEEK CELESTIAL BROOM - The most obvious sign that there is a lot of junk in space is how much of it has been falling out of the sky lately: a defunct NASA satellite last year, a failed Russian space probe this year. While the odds are tiny that anyone on Earth will be hit, the chances that all this orbiting litter will interfere with working satellites or the International Space Station are getting higher, according to a recent report by the National Research Council. More (Source: New York Times - Feb 20)
SES RELOCATES AMC-3 SATELLITE TO 67 DEGREES WEST TO SERVE LATIN AMERICAN GROWTH MARKETS - SES S.A. today announced that the AMC-3 satellite is being relocated from its former location of 87 degrees West to 67 degrees West to optimize coverage of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The 67 degrees West orbital position offers an extensive Ku-band satellite frequency range and excellent viewing angles for coverage of the Americas and the Caribbean. The drift was initiated in January and the satellite is scheduled to arrive at its new orbital location on February 24th. More (Source: MarketWatch - Feb 17)
50TH SES SPACECRAFT IN ORBIT AFTER SUCCESSFUL ILS PROTON LAUNCH - SES S.A. announces that the SES-4 satellite roared into space on board an ILS Proton Breeze M booster today at 1:36 am Baikonur time (20:36 CET and 14)(20:2012). After a 9-hour, 12-minute mission, the Breeze M upper stage of the Proton rocket successfully released the SES-4 satellite directly into geostationary transfer orbit. More (Source: MarketWatch - Feb 16)
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