CHINA TESTS GRID FINS WITH LAUNCH OF GAOFEN-7 IMAGING SATELLITE - A Chinese Long March 4B delivered an Earth observation into orbit satellite late Saturday, with grid fins guiding the descent of the rocket’s first stage. The launch took place at 11:22 p.m. at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China. For the first time the Long March 4B first stage carried a grid fin system to constrain the area in which it falls.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Nov 6)

SPACE STATION RECEIVES SPACEWALKING GEAR, NEW BAKING OVEN - NASA astronaut Jessica Meir took control of the International Space Station’s Canadian-built robot arm Monday to capture a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship carrying crew provisions, spacewalking gear to repair an aging particle physics experiment, tech demo satellites for the U.S. military, and an oven to bake the first cookies in space.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 6)

SPACEX PLANNING TO LAUNCH 30,000 ADDITIONAL STARLINK GLOBAL INTERNET SATELLITES - The Space Exploration Technologies Corp. known as SpaceX has recently filed the paperwork to send 30,000 new satellites to the sky. The official paperwork was filed with the International Telecommunication Union and it is expected to be fulfilled soon. Elon Musk’s SpaceX already has the permission to launch 12,000 new satellites into space and they have filed the paperwork for 30,000 more. The company is planning to launch such an such enormous amount of satellites to ensure that the their network can meet the upcoming demand.   More
(Source: Forbes - Nov 3)

REPAIR EQUIPMENT FOR PARTICLE PHYSICS EXPERIMENT ABOARD NEXT STATION CARGO LAUNCH - Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus supply ship set for liftoff Saturday will deliver to the International Space Station the final hardware for a series of ambitious spacewalks later this month to install a new coolant system on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a $2 billion particle physics experiment seeking the cosmic signatures of dark matter and antimatter. The new coolant system, along with specially-built spacewalking tools, are stowed inside the automated Cygnus cargo craft awaiting liftoff Saturday at 9:59 a.m. EDT (1359 GMT) from Wallops Island, Virginia.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 3)

A FRENCH SPACE STARTUP IS LAUNCHING WINE INTO ORBIT - If the space industry these days really is an opportunity on par with the dawn of the internet, Nicolas Gaume is a businessman built to take advantage. Gaume believes in the future. He founded his first technology company, which made video games, as a 19-year old in 1990. “I’ve built nine different companies in very different areas,” he told Quartz last year. “I was a millionaire, I was a billionaire, I was bankrupt, I was a millionaire again.”   More
(Source: Quartz - Nov 3)

ANTARES LAUNCHES CYGNUS CARGO SPACECRAFT ON FIRST CRS-2 MISSION - A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket successfully launched a Cygnus cargo spacecraft on a mission to the International Space Station Nov. 2, kicking off a new era in cargo delivery for the station. The Antares 230+ rocket lifted off from Pad 0-A at the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport here at 9:59 a.m. Eastern. The Cygnus spacecraft, named by Northrop Grumman the S.S. Alan Bean after the late Apollo-era astronaut, separated from the rocket’s upper stage about eight and a half minutes later. The Cygnus is scheduled to arrive at the ISS Nov. 4, grappled by the station’s robotic arm at around 4:10 a.m. Eastern and berthed to the station later that morning. It will remain on the station until January.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Nov 2)

SMALL SATELLITE STARTUP KEPLER OPENS SIGN-UPS FOR ITS IOT DEVELOPER KITS - Kepler Communications, the Toronto-based startup that’s focused on developing and deploying shoebox-sized satellites to provide telecommunications services, is opening up registration for those interested in getting their first developer kits. These developer kits, designed to help potential commercial customers take advantage of its Internet of Things (IoT) narrowband connectivity deploying next year, will then be made available to purchase for elect partners next year.   More
(Source: TechCrunch - Nov 1)

WASHINGTON STUDENTS TO MAKE SATELLITE HISTORY WITH HUSKYSAT-1 - Students are often told words of encouragement, such as "the sky is the limit." These University of Washington students opted to shoot for the stars instead. “It will be exciting once it’s in orbit,” Paige Northway said in a press statement. “To me, the completion will be when we can get data from the satellite and send instructions back.”   More
(Source: KOMO News - Nov 1)

INDIA’S SPACE STATION LIKELY TO HAVE SPACE FOR THREE - The Indian Space Station, which the Indian Space Research Organisation plans to put in place in five to seven years, will have space for three astronauts, sources told TOI. The space station will be an extension of the human spaceflight programme Gaganyaan. TOI has learned that the initial designs for the space station - still in a nascent stage - suggest a 20-tonne modular abode in the low earth orbit (LEO), at an altitude of 120km to 140km.    More
(Source: Times of India - Oct 31)

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