JAPAN LAUNCHES NEW SPY SATELLITE - The Japanese H-2A rocket carrying a new information-gathering optical satellite lifted off at 1:36 pm (0436 GMT) from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan. "The rocket was launched successfully and the satellite was separated into an orbit around the earth later," Naoki Takarada, an official of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), said by telephone from Tanegashima. The new satellite, equipped with optical sensors, can distinguish objects on the ground with a resolution of some 60 centimetres (24 inches) from an altitude of around 500 kilometres (310 miles), according to media reports.    More
(Source: PhysOrg.com - Sep 24)

NASA SAYS SATELLITE FELL TO EARTH OVER PACIFIC OCEAN - NASA's dead six-ton satellite fell to Earth early Saturday morning, starting its fiery death plunge somewhere over the vast Pacific Ocean. Details were still sketchy, but the U.S. Air Force's Joint Space Operations Center and NASA say that the bus-sized satellite first penetrated Earth's atmosphere somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. That doesn't necessarily mean it all fell into the sea -- although most of it is believed to have burned up.    More
(Source: Fox News - Sep 24)

MILITARY SATELLITE PREPARED FOR LAUNCH - U.S. military researchers say they are preparing to launch a satellite intended to improve communications for troops on the ground anywhere in the world. The Tactical Satellite IV, developed by the Naval Research Laboratory, will be launched Sept. 27 atop an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur-IV+ launch vehicle from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation's launch complex in Kodiak, an NRL release said Tuesday.    More
(Source: UPI.com - Sep 22)

CHINA TO LAUNCH SPACE STATION TEST MODULE NEXT WEEK - China will launch a test module for its first space station next week between Sept. 27 and Sept. 30, state media reported today (Sept. 20). The unmanned module, called Tiangong-1 (which means "Heavenly Palace") will test autonomous docking procedures and other space operations in preparation for China's plan to build a 60-ton space station by the year 2020. The Chinese Long March 2F rocket set to launch Tiangong-1 has already been rolled out to its launch platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, according to state-run news service Xinhua.    More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 21)

SPACE STATION CAPTURES AMAZING TIME-LAPSE VIEW OF EARTH - Ever wonder how it feels to fly over planet Earth? Unless you're an astronaut, Superman or the Green Lantern, this is as close as you'll get. This time-lapse video was captured by a camera mounted in front of the International Space Station as it orbited Earth at night. According to the YouTube video's description, the clip "begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica."    More
(Source: CBS News - Sep 19)

SES-2 SATELLITE SCHEDULED FOR LAUNCH TOMORROW ON BOARD ARIANE 5 - SES S.A. announces that the launch of its new satellite SES-2 is scheduled for tomorrow night, September 20, 2011. The satellite will be launched into space from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana on board an Ariane 5 ECA rocket between 18:38 and 20:02 pm local time (17:38 -- 19)(23:38 -- 01)(23:2011 Central European Summer Time). The SES-2 spacecraft, manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation, is based on Orbital's space-proven Star 2.4 platform and carries 24 C-Band transponders and 24 Ku-Band transponders (36 MHz equivalents).    More
(Source: MarketWatch - Sep 19)

MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE LAUNCHED BY CHINA - A Chinese communications satellite, potentially designed to relay messages between Chinese military forces, blasted off on a Long March rocket Sunday. The Chinasat 1A spacecraft launched at 1633 GMT (12:33 p.m. EDT) Sunday from the Xichang space base in southwestern China's Sichuan province. It was 12:33 a.m. local time at the launch site. A Long March 3B/E rocket lifted the 11,500-pound satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit with a high point of more than 22,200 miles, a low point of almost 120 miles and an inclination of 27 degrees, according to U.S. military tracking data.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Sep 19)

SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS SAFELY RETURN TO EARTH - Three spacemen made a safe delayed return from the International Space Station on Friday as Russia again pushed back the launch of their replacement crew because of a recent rocket crash. Space officials said the Soyuz capsule landed on its side in the wind-swept steppes of the ex-Soviet republic of Kazakhstan at 0400 GMT. "A bull's-eye landing for the Soyuz TMA-21," a NASA commentator said in a live video feed while Russian mission control flashed a message on its screen reading: "Landing confirmed!"    More
(Source: AFP - Sep 17)

NEXT SPACE STATION CREW WILL LAUNCH NOV. 14, NASA SAYS - NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency have agreed on a Nov. 14 date for the first manned Soyuz rocket launch since the failure of a similar booster carrying a robotic cargo ship last month. The decision follows an investigation by Russian space officials to identify the source of that failure and ensure it won't plague future launches, NASA announced today (Sept. 15). It also clears the way for a new three-man crew to launch on the Soyuz to the International Space Station, sustaining the orbiting lab's 10-year streak for a continuous human presence in space.    More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 16)

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