IN ISRO'S YEAR-ENDER, "ANGRY BIRD" SATELLITE SET FOR LIFT-OFF: 10 POINTS - A communications satellite that will help connect all assets of the Indian Air Force and work as a force multiplier, will be the 17th mission and last launch of Indian space agency ISRO for the year 2018. The long-awaited GSAT-7A, which would take-off from Sriharikota this evening, will connect all IAF assets like planes, air-borne early warning control platforms, drones and ground stations, building a centralised network. Along with GSAT-7 and GSAT-6, this new satellite, dubbed the "Indian Angry Bird", will form the band of communications satellite for use of Indian military.    More
(Source: NDTV - Dec 19)

SPACEX AND BLUE ORIGIN SCRUB ROCKET LAUNCHES, DASHING HOPES OF A 4-LAUNCH DAY - Weather and other delays marred what had been anticipated as a banner day for space launches Tuesday, as both SpaceX and Blue Origin were forced to postpone launches that had been scheduled to take place within minutes of each other. Both companies say they will look at moving their launches to Wednesday morning. Blue Origin says its launch was scrubbed due to what the company calls a "ground infrastructure issue." Blue Origin says the rocket remains ready. SpaceX says an abort order was triggered by the flight computer onboard the Falcon 9 rocket. Paired with an earlier delay due to unfavorable upper-level winds, the slowdown pushed the rocket past its launch window.   More
(Source: NPR - Dec 19)

AIR FORCE REQUIREMENTS WILL KEEP SPACEX FROM LANDING FALCON 9 BOOSTER AFTER GPS LAUNCH - The demands of launching the first in an upgraded line of U.S. Air Force GPS navigation satellites, including a late load of extra fuel for the spacecraft and a military policy of reserving fuel to eliminate space junk, will keep SpaceX from recovering the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket following liftoff Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, according to mission managers. The mission set for launch during a 26-minute window opening at 9:11 a.m. EST (1411 GMT) Tuesday will mark the first time SpaceX has launched one of its new Falcon 9 “Block 5” boosters in an expendable configuration since the latest Falcon 9 variant debuted in May, with modifications aimed at making the first stage easier to recover and reuse.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 18)

HERE ARE THE ODDS THAT ONE OF SPACEX’S INTERNET SATELLITES WILL HIT SOMEONE - The chance that SpaceX’s planned Starlink satellite constellation will cause an injury or death is 45 percent every six years, according to an IEEE Spectrum analysis of figures submitted by the company to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Elon Musk hopes the nearly 12,000 satellites in the constellation will eventually carry half of all Internet traffic. The satellites will use laser and radio links to provide fast, cheap Internet access to people all over the world—and the associated service fees could help Musk fund his dream of colonizing Mars.   More
(Source: IEEE Spectrum - Dec 18)

DESPITE CONCERNS, SPACE JUNK CONTINUES TO CLUTTER EARTH ORBIT - Humans have a tendency to litter wherever we go. Whether it’s the local park, a music festival, or Mt. Everest, we’re just not good at cleaning up after ourselves. And space is no exception. Space is pretty big. Infinite, in fact. But the same can’t be said of low-Earth orbit (LEO) and, in particular, the most popular orbital lanes used by Earth-sensing and communications satellites. We’re launching more objects skyward every year and not, in many cases, cleaning up when we’re done with them. So the space around us is starting to fill up.    More
(Source: Astronomy Magazine - Dec 18)

LASER-POINTING SYSTEM COULD HELP TINY SATELLITES TRANSMIT DATA TO EARTH - A new laser-pointing platform developed at MIT may help launch miniature satellites into the high-rate data game. Since 1998, almost 2,000 shoebox-sized satellites known as CubeSats have been launched into space. Due to their petite frame and the fact that they can be made from off-the-shelf parts, CubeSats are significantly more affordable to build and launch than traditional behemoths that cost hundreds of millions of dollars.    More
(Source: Phys.org - Dec 17)

US AIR FORCE SET TO LAUNCH 1ST NEXT-GENERATION GPS SATELLITE - After months of delays, the U.S. Air Force is about to launch the first of a new generation of GPS satellites, designed to be more accurate, secure and versatile. But some of their most highly touted features will not be fully available until 2022 or later because of problems in a companion program to develop a new ground control system for the satellites, government auditors said. The satellite is scheduled to lift off Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It’s the first of 32 planned GPS III satellites that will replace older ones now in orbit. Lockheed Martin is building the new satellites outside Denver.    More
(Source: AirForceTimes.com - Dec 17)

ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES 13 CUBESATS ON 1ST MISSION FOR NASA - A Rocket Lab Electron booster lifted off from the company's launch site on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula at 1:33 a.m. EST today (0633 GMT and 7:33 p.m. local New Zealand time), kicking off the ELaNa-19 mission for NASA. [In Photos: Rocket Lab and Its Electron Booster] Fifty-three minutes later, all of the payloads had separated from the Electron's "kick stage" and settled successfully into a circular orbit about 310 miles (500 kilometers) above Earth. The little satellites will do a variety of work up there. For example, one will measure radiation levels in the Van Allen belts, to help researchers better understand possible effects on spacecraft. Another aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of compact, 3D-printed robotic arms; and yet another will help prove out technology for a new solar-sailing system that could allow small spacecraft to explore deep space, Rocket Lab representatives said.    More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 16)

SOYUZ RAISED ON LAUNCH PAD IN FRENCH GUIANA FOR ARIANESPACE’S LAST FLIGHT OF 2018 - A Russian-made Soyuz booster rolled out to its launch pad in French Guiana on Friday, and hydraulic lifts rotated the launcher vertical in preparation for liftoff Tuesday with the first in a new series of French military spy satellites. The three-stage rocket emerged from its assembly hangar Friday morning for the 2,300-foot (700-meter) rollout to the launch zone. Russian ground crews deployed on temporary duty in the jungle of French Guiana oversaw the rocket’s transfer on rail car along dual tracks leading from the hangar to the launch pad.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 16)

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