NASA CONFIRMS RUSSIAN SOYUZ FAILURE FINDINGS - An independent NASA panel reviewing data related to the Aug. 24 failure of the Russian Soyuz rocket transporting cargo to the International Space Station has confirmed that the Russian space agency correctly identified the cause of the problem and is taking appropriate steps to resolve it before the rocket’s next launch scheduled for Oct. 30, said William H. Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.    More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 15)

NASA TO LAUNCH NEW SATELLITE TO TRACK EARTH'S WEATHER, CLIMATE - A new NASA satellite that will be the first geared at observing key aspects of both Earth's climate and its weather is slated for launch on Oct. 27, the space agency announced today. The National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) is the first mission designed to collect critical data to improve weather forecasts in the short-term and increase our understanding of long-term climate change.    More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 14)

FALLING GERMAN SATELLITE GREATER THREAT THAN UARS - Less than a month after NASA's falling UARS satellite grabbed the headlines, the German space agency says one of its abandoned satellites will dive back to Earth later this month, but no one knows where it will land. The ROSAT X-ray astronomy observatory is smaller and less massive than NASA's Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite, or UARS, which fell back to Earth on Sept. 24. But officials predict it will spread three times more debris and pose a greater threat to people than UARS.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Oct 14)

PSLV-C18 PUTS FOUR SATELLITES IN ORBIT - Along with Indo-French satellite Megha-Tropiques, PSLV-C18 rocket on Wednesday successfully placed in orbit three nano satellites —— VesselSat1-1 from Luxembourg, SRMSat from SRM University, Chennai, and Jugnu from IIT, Kanpur India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C18) demonstrated its reliability once again when it put successfully four satellites in orbit on Wednesday.    More
(Source: The Hindu - Oct 12)

SEND YOUR OWN SATELLITE INTO SPACE - Zac Manchester is taking this whole private space exploration idea into his own hands. A Cornell graduate student in aerospace engineering, Manchester hopes to raise enough money to launch 100 chip-size satellites into space. He and some collaborators have created a DIY satellite called Sprite, which Manchester calls the "world's smallest spacecraft." The devices measure the size of a couple of postage stamps, and pack solar cells, a radio transceiver, and a microcontroller onto a single silicon microchip.    More
(Source: CNET - Oct 12)

PSLV ROCKET LAUNCH COUNTDOWN MAKES SMOOTH PROGRESS - The countdown to Wednesday's launch of the Indian PSLV rocket ferrying four satellites is progressing smoothly, with the fourth stage fully fuelled up, said an official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). "The countdown is progressing with butter smoothness. There are no surprises or hitches till now. The fourth stage has been fuelled up. Fuelling of the second stage will begin at 4 p.m. today (Tuesday) and will be completed by midnight," said the official who did not want to be named.   More
(Source: Zee News - Oct 12)

SECRETIVE US X-37B SPACE PLANE COULD EVOLVE TO CARRY ASTRONAUTS - The maker of the X-37B robotic space plane has outlined new plans for the spacecraft and a scaled-up version to support space station cargo deliveries or even carry astronauts into orbit. The Boeing X-37B robotic space plane — also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle or OTV — is being operated by the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, toting top-secret payloads into Earth orbit. An X-37B OTV and derivatives plan was outlined here by Arthur Grantz, chief engineer, Experimental Systems Group at Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems in Seal Beach, Calif. He spoke at Space 2011, a conference organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).    More
(Source: Fox News - Oct 11)

EUROPEAN BROADCASTING SATELLITE LAUNCHED BY CHINA - A French communications satellite destined to serve markets in a swath from Europe to the Indian Ocean launched on top of a Chinese Long March rocket Friday. The spacecraft will be operated by Eutelsat, a leading international communications satellite owner based in Paris. Named W3C, the platform carries Ku-band and Ka-band transponders for television broadcasting and data services, according to Eutelsat.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Oct 10)

CANADIAN SATELLITE MALFUNCTION LEAVES THOUSANDS WITHOUT COMMUNICATIONS - A satellite malfunction left thousands of people across parts of rural northern Canada without communications services and grounded dozens of flights Thursday (Oct. 6), according to Canadian press reports. Officials with the Ottawa-based satellite operator Telesat Canada said the malfunction began at 6:36 a.m. EDT (1036 GMT), when its Anik F2 communications satellite suffered a "technical anomaly." The glitch affected satellite-served communities in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut territory, according to Canadian communications provider Northwestel.    More
(Source: Space.com - Oct 8)

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