HOSTED PAYLOAD HOLDING UP LAUNCH OF SES-2 - Satellite fleet operator SES on May 12 said the launch of its SES-2 telecommunications spacecraft, which carries an experimental infrared sensor for the U.S. Air Force, has slipped again and will not occur before August. SES also said another one of its satellites has been delayed by late delivery of a Kazakh satellite sharing the same launch. Luxembourg-based SES said neither satellite’s delay will have an effect on its 2011 revenue. Both delays appear to be examples of the down side to sharing satellite missions.    More
(Source: Space News - May 14)

JAPANESE SATELLITE DECLARED DEAD IN ORBIT - Japan's Earth-observing satellite Daichi is dead in orbit, three weeks after a mysterious anomaly crippled the spacecraft, the nation's space agency announced today (May 12). Daichi, formally known as the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), unexpectedly powered down on April 22 for reasons that remain murky. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) repeatedly tried to re-establish communication with Daichi over several weeks, but finally threw in the towel today. "We decided to complete its operations by sending a command from the ground to halt its onboard transmitter and batteries at 10:50 a.m. on May 12 (Japan Standard Time), as we found it was impossible to recover communication with the satellite," JAXA officials said in a statement.    More
(Source: Space.com - May 14)

U.S. MILITARY LAUNCHES NEW MISSILE WARNING SATELLITE INTO SPACE - A new U.S. military satellite launched into orbit Saturday (May 7) on a mission to enhance the country's missile defense and detection capabilities. The satellite blasted off atop an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket from a seaside pad here at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 2:10 p.m. EDT (1810 GMT). The mission had been delayed one day due to bad weather. The Atlas 5 rocket carried the first satellite in the U.S. military's planned four-satellite Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS). The satellites, the first of which is called GEO-1, will replace the military's Defense Support Program satellites that are currently in orbit.    More
(Source: Space.com - May 8)

SATELLITES MADE OSAMA BIN LADEN RAID POSSIBLE - Intelligence officials and a top secret U.S. military strike team called upon a fleet of navigation, communications and imaging satellites in the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan. With President Barack Obama and his national security team following events from the White House, a group of elite U.S. Navy special forces operators rode helicopters Sunday night to the sprawling compound occupied by Osama bin Laden, killing the wanted terrorist and taking custody of his body. Situated in Abbottabad, a city just outside the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, the compound was surrounded by walls up to 18 feet high and topped with razor wire. Its existence and location were confirmed in August 2010 after years of questioning detainees and tracking couriers U.S. intelligence officials believed were linked to bin Laden.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - May 6)

U.S. TO LAUNCH MISSILE-TRACKING SATELLITE - The United States is due on Friday to fire into orbit the first of four geosynchronous satellites for the planned Space-Based Infrared System from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Innovation News Daily reported. The launch of the $1.3 billion craft would mark a significant milestone in the deployment of the system, which officials said is expected to markedly improve the nation's ability to detect, track and counter potential enemy missiles.    More
(Source: Global Security Newswire - May 6)

ENDEAVOR TO DELIVER STAMP SIZED "SPRITE" MICRO-SATELLITE EXPERIMENT TO ISS - The Space Shuttle Endeavor currently sits on the launch pad awaiting her final launch. On board is a tiny experiment that, if successful, could become a new and inexpensive tool for the exploration of space. Developed by Cornell University's Space Systems Design Studio, these postage stamp sized satellites named "Sprites" are to be mounted on the International Space Station's (ISS) Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE-8) pallet. They will be mounted externally so that they may experience the full affects of space.    More
(Source: Examiner.com - May 3)

NASA SOLAR SAIL PROTOTYPE GETS LONGER LIFE IN ORBIT - Skywatchers who have yet to spot NASA's prototype solar sail in orbit can take heart -- the little satellite will be zipping around Earth for a few more months yet, space agency officials say. NASA's NanoSail-D satellite was originally expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere 70 to 120 days after unfurling its 100-square-foot solar sail, which happened Jan. 20. But the satellite is descending more slowly than anticipated, meaning it should stay aloft at least until July, NASA officials announced today (April 26). "NanoSail-D has lowered its altitude above the Earth by approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) from its original altitude of 400 miles (640 km), and continues to descend," said Dean Alhorn, NanoSail-D principal investigator at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in a statement.    More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 28)

SPACE STATION RESUPPLY SHIP LAUNCHED AHEAD OF ENDEAVOUR - Before the shuttle Endeavour can receive final clearance for takeoff Friday afternoon, a Russian-made cargo freighter must make a smooth flight to the International Space Station. Step number one was accomplished this morning when that unmanned resupply ship successfully launched atop a Soyuz booster from Kazakhstan at 9:05 a.m. EDT (1305 GMT). The preliminary orbit was achieved after a nine-minute ascent provided by the three-stage rocket, and onboard commands were issued to unfurl the craft's communications and navigation antennas and extend two power-generating solar arrays that span 35 feet.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Apr 27)

ROYAL WEDDING VS. SHUTTLE LAUNCH - England's royal wedding and a space shuttle launch are two huge events set for this Friday. The launch taking on a new significance now that we've learned Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will make the trip to Florida to see her husband Mark Kelly lift off into space. This is just three months after she was shot in the head in Tucson on Jan. 8. Royal Wedding coverage will run on ABC15-TV from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. The shuttle will launch at 12:47 p.m. There is a large amount of attention on these huge news stories this week.    More
(Source: ABC15.com - Apr 27)

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