AMATEUR SKYWATCHERS SPOT SECRET SPACE PLANE - After an intense search, a crew of amateur satellite sleuths has spotted the U.S. Air Force's second X-37B space plane – a robotic spacecraft that launched into orbit March 5. The mission of the unmanned X-37B space plane, which is known officially as the Orbital Test Vehicle 2 (OTV-2), is shrouded in secrecy. The Boeing-built spacecraft is believed to be involved in reconnaissance — perhaps testing powerful sensors for a new generation of spy satellites. It looks much like a small version of NASA's space shuttles and blasted off from the Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. While its mission is secret, the OTV-2 itself has attracted the eyes of dedicated skywatchers hoping to spot it in orbit just as they saw its predecessor – the first X-37B spacecraft, OTV-1 – during the OTV-1's months-long flight last year.    More
(Source: Fox News - Mar 30)

PAKISTAN TELECOM SET TO LAUNCH NEW SATELLITE - A hallmark of Pak-China joint venture, Pakistan telecommunication satellite Paksat 1R will be launched on August 14, the Independence Day of Pakistan, which also happens to be the date for the 50th anniversary of SUPARCO, an official said on Monday. Paksat-1R is being developed in China to replace the currently in-orbit leased satellite Paksat-1. The timely development and launch of this satellite is important as Paksat-1 is reaching the end of its service life next year.    More
(Source: The News International - Mar 23)

SPACE DEBRIS THREAT NEEDS INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE, MILITARY OFFICIAL SAYS - The United States needs to team up with other countries and the private sector to track the huge volume of potentially dangerous space debris circling the Earth, according to a U.S. military official. More than 22,000 pieces of space junk are being tracked today as they zip around our planet, posing a collision threat to valuable satellites and other spacecraft. But there's far too much of the stuff for the U.S. government to keep track of on its own, so cooperation is required to improve the country's space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities, said Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command's Joint Functional Component Command for Space.    More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 22)

KSC WORKERS POSE FOR UNIQUE PORTRAIT - Thousands of Kennedy Space Center employees stand side-by-side to form a full-scale outline of a space shuttle orbiter outside the Vehicle Assembly Building. The unique photo opportunity was designed to honor the space shuttle program's 30-year legacy and the people who contribute to processing, launching and landing the vehicle.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Mar 19)

HAMS INVITED TO TRACK SATELLITES - In November 2010, five research satellites were carried to orbit aboard a Minotaur V rocket from Kodiak Island, Alaska. Two of these satellites -- FASTRAC 1, known as “Sara Lily” and FASTRAC 2, referred to as “Emma” -- entered orbit as a single nanosatellite, but on March 15, scientists sent the command to have them separate. According to FASTRAC Student Program Manager Sebastian Munoz, KE5FKV, students at the University of Texas will be confirming the separation as the satellites pass: “We started one of the most exciting phases of our project by separating both of our girls so that they can compute on-orbit real-time relative navigation solutions while both of them are freely drifting from one another.”    More
(Source: ARRL - Mar 17)

RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA-01M IN NOMINAL RETURN TO EARTH - Expedition 26 commander Scott Kelly, along with Russian flight engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Kaleri, have returned to Earth, following a nominal re-entry of their Russian Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft. The trio landed in horrendous weather conditions in Kazakhstan, resulting in a speedy evacuation by helicopter. The Soyuz Vehicle consists of three modules: the Orbital Module, the Descent Module (DM), and the Instrumentation/Propulsion Module (IPM). All three modules nominally separate simultaneously, shortly after the deorbit burn is completed – at around 140 km altitude.    More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Mar 17)

SPACEX WINS AN SES SATELLITE LAUNCH - Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) will launch the SES-8 medium-sized communications satellite on a Falcon 9 vehicle in 2013, under the startup launch service provider’s first geostationary communications satellite launch contract. “After extensive due diligence of SpaceX’s technical and operational expertise, we feel comfortable entrusting SpaceX with one of our satellites, thereby encouraging diversity in the launch vehicle sector and fostering entrepreneurial spirit in the space industry,” said Romain Bausch, president and CEO of SES, who has encouraged more launch capability to hold down costs.    More
(Source: Aviation Week - Mar 17)

SOYUZ TMA-01M SPACE SHUTTLE WILL RETURN TO EARTH ON WEDNESDAY - NASA has unveiled that today, Monday, March 14th, Scott J. Kelly will leave the command of the ISS, International Space Station, to the flight engineer Dmitry Kondratyev. The commander of the 26th Expedition will return to Earth the day after tomorrow, Wednesday, March 16th, on the spacecraft Soyuz TMA-01M; with him will fly the flight engineers Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka. With their departure, the Expedition 27 starts.    More
(Source: AVIONEWS - Mar 16)

GOOGLE RELEASES STUNNING BEFORE AND AFTER SATELLITE IMAGERY OF JAPAN - Japan is faced with its worst natural disaster in nearly 100 years following the devastation caused by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake on Friday and the tsunami that inundated hundreds of miles of coastline. Imagery from the ground is heart wrenching and now Google has released satellite imagery showing the hardest hit areas before and after the catastrophe as seen from space.    More
(Source: Examiner.com - Mar 15)

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