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)
NAVY STARTS COUNTDOWN FOR LAUNCH OF FIRST MUOS SATELLITE - With the launch its first Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite set for the evening of Feb. 16, the Navy is highlighting that ability to provide a tenfold increase in bandwidth and the ability to communicate with warfighters on the move. However, those capabilities won’t begin until the launch of a second MUOS satellite, now set for summer 2013. Touting this weeks’ launch as a “significant milestone for the DOD and warfighters,” Navy Capt. Paul Ghyzel stressed the improvements that will come after the second launch. Communications on the move is a key benefit of what’s planned to be a five-satellite constellation. More (Source: Defense Systems - Feb 15)
PROVING HIGH-TECH ROCKET SYSTEMS, VEGA SOARS TO SPACE - The first Vega rocket climbed away from a tropical spaceport in South America on Monday, successfully injecting nine satellites into orbit and inaugurating a new capability in Europe's growing launcher family. "A new member of the launcher family has been born," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, director-general of the European Space Agency. "Today is the first day of a new operational life, which doubtless will be a long and successful one. Vega is a launcher that's necessary for us at ESA. We've already reserved six launches." More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 14)
CHAVEZ SAYS CHINA TO LAUNCH SECOND VENEZUELAN SATELLITE IN 2012 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said China will launch a second satellite for the South American nation before the end of the year after the two countries signed a $140 million contract in May. The satellite, which is being built in China, should be in orbit in September or October this year, Science and Technology Minister Jorge Arreaza said today in comments broadcast on state television. More (Source: BusinessWeek - Feb 12)
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