CHINA JOINS SATELLITE SPACE RACE: CHINESE COMPANY TO LAUNCH 5G COMMS SATELLITE - The first low-Earth broadband satellite in the part of the spectrum that will be the next frontier of satellite communications, the high-frequency Q/V band, is set for launch by a Chinese company. The Global Times reported Thursday that Chinese commercial aerospace company Galaxy Space plans to launch the low-Earth broadband 5G satellite at the end of the month. Beijing Daily reported that the company announced at a global 5G conference in China that the 10Gbps satellite will be launched from a site in Jiuquan, China. More (Source: Benzinga - Dec 13)
PHOTO OF THE DAY: BRIGHTLY-LIT BUCHAREST PHOTOGRAPHED AT NIGHT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - The US space agency NASA has published a photo of Romania's capital Bucharest taken at night from the International Space Station. The photo shows the brightly-lit city with its boulevards and surroundings. More (Source: Romania-Insider.com - Dec 13)
RUSSIAN LAUNCHES SATELLITE TO REPLENISH ITS GLONASS NAVIGATION SYSTEM - Russia launched a new satellite to replenish its GLONASS navigation system, placed in orbit this Wednesday via a Soyuz-2-1b rocket with a Fregat-M upper stage, from Russian Plitsesk Cosmodrome, the Defense Ministry reoorted. More (Source: Prensa Latina - Dec 12)
ROCKET LAB TO DEBUT VIRGINIA LAUNCH PAD WITH U.S. AIR FORCE MISSION NEXT YEAR - Rocket Lab plans to launch a research and development microsatellite mission for the U.S. Air Force in the first half of 2020 on the the first flight from the company’s new launch facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, officials announced Thursday. Company officials announced the payload and launch schedule Thursday during a media briefing at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility to provide an update on Rocket Lab’s first U.S. launch pad. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 12)
INDIAN PSLV LAUNCHES RISAT-2BR1 MILITARY SATELLITE - ISRO launched the fiftieth PSLV mission Wednesday, with its workhorse rocket flying for the second time in barely a fortnight to deploy a radar imaging spy satellite for India’s military. The RISAT-2BR1 satellite was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 15:25 local time (09:55 UTC), with deployment into low Earth orbit expected sixteen and a half minutes later. RISAT-2BR1 is an all-weather radar reconnaissance satellite, able to image the Earth in both daylight and at night, regardless of any clouds obscuring the surface. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 12)
REFUELING SATELLITES IN SPACE WITH THE HELP OF A ROBOT - Many technologies that are essential for daily life—from communications to GPS navigation to weather forecasting—rely on the thousands of satellites that are orbiting Earth. When those satellites run out of gas and stop working, there's not much that can currently be done to fix them. "When a satellite runs out of fuel, and you don't have a way to refuel it, that satellite stops working," said John Wen, professor and head of the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. More (Source: Phys.org - Dec 12)
ISRO BEGINS COUNTDOWN FOR 50TH PSLV LAUNCH, ROCKET TO CARRY SPY SATELLITE - The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) began the countdown for another satellite launch Tuesday evening. The countdown, which began 4.40 pm Tuesday, is for the launch of the RISAT-2BR1 Earth imaging satellite. The "spy satellite" will be carried onboard Isro's workhorse -- the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket. The PSLV rocket's launch is scheduled to take place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 3.25 pm Wednesday. This will be the rocket's 50th mission. More (Source: India Today - Dec 11)
BOEING AWARDED $21.2 MILLION MODIFICATION TO MAINTAIN SURVEILLANCE SATELLITE - Boeing has been awarded a $21.2 million contract modification for sustainment and development for the Air Force's space based surveillance system , the Department of Defense announced Tuesday. The modification funds systems engineering, operations, operations support and contractor logistics support for the Space Based Space Surveillance Block 10. More (Source: UPI - Dec 11)
SATELLITE SWARMS PUSH UPDATE OF SPACE JUNK GUIDELINES - As SpaceX prepares to launch its next tranche of Starlink satellites in late December, the rise of satellite constellations in general prompted the federal government to update its space junk guidelines. Simply put, space junk can be dangerous. There are numerous instances of satellite pieces colliding with operational satellites, and every so often the International Space Station needs to dodge debris for the safety of its astronauts. More (Source: Forbes - Dec 11)
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