ISRO TO LAUNCH 30 SATELLITES IN A SINGLE MISSION - On Monday the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that it will launch 30 satellites in a single mission on board its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in December. The mission, whose main payload would be Cartosat-2 series earth observation satellite, will be the first PSLV mission after the unsuccessful launch of navigation satellite IRNSS-1H in August. While talking to the reporters ISRO Chairman Kiran Kumar said, “We are planning our next launch in the second half of December; all things are in place. It will be a satellite of Cartosat-2 series along with other co-passengers.” More (Source: Easterneye - Oct 31)
NORTH KOREA SEEKS TO DEVELOP SPACE PROGRAM, VOWS TO LAUNCH MORE SATELLITES - As North Korea forges ahead with its nuke and missile programs, Kim Jong Un is also trying to boost Pyongyang's power in space, vowing to launch more satellites and saying efforts to kneecap the Hermit Kingdom's space program are "not tolerable." North Korea announced the five-year space plan in its main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, on Monday, citing the regime’s goals of improving the economy and “livelihood” of North Korean residents, according to Yonhap News Agency. More (Source: Fox News - Oct 31)
SPACEX LAUNCHES — AND LANDS — THIRD ROCKET IN THREE WEEKS - Heading into the home stretch of a banner year, SpaceX launched its third Falcon 9 rocket flight of the month Monday with a Korean-owned commercial communications satellite built to connect customers across a swath from the Middle East to East Asia. The Falcon 9 rocket took off with the Koreasat 5A communications satellite at 3:34 p.m. EDT (1934 GMT) Monday from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, turning east as it surpassed the speed of sound and climbed into a clear autumn sky with 1.7 million pounds of thrust from its nine Merlin 1D main engines. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 31)
KOREAN COMMUNICATIONS CRAFT INSTALLED ON SPACEX’S FALCON 9 ROCKET - A multipurpose communications satellite owned by a South Korean telecom company is set for liftoff Monday from Florida’s Space Coast aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster, and forecasters predict near-ideal conditions for a rocket launch. The Koreasat 5A spacecraft, manufactured in Cannes, France, by Thales Alenia Space, was being attached this weekend to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket inside the company’s hangar near launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 30)
NASA’S GRACE-1 AND GRACE-2 SATELLITES END OPERATIONS - After more than 15 productive years in orbit, the U.S./German GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite mission has ended science operations. During their mission, the twin GRACE satellites have provided unprecedented insights into how our planet is changing by tracking the continuous movement of liquid water, ice and the solid Earth. GRACE made science measurements by precisely measuring the distance between its twin satellites, GRACE-1 and GRACE-2, which required that both spacecraft and their instruments be fully functional. More (Source: Clarksville Online - Oct 30)
U.S. ARMY’S KESTREL EYE IIM MICROSATELLITE DEPLOYED FROM SPACE STATION - NanoRacks LLC successfully deployed the Kestrel Eye IIM microsatellite on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017, using its Kaber Microsatellite Deployer (Kaber). The 110-pound (50-kilogram) Earth-imaging spacecraft, which is operated by the U.S. Army, is so far the largest satellite deployed by NanoRacks from the International Space Station (ISS). The satellite was released from the space station on Tuesday morning via the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) airlock. Kaber allows NanoRacks to deploy payloads via JEM with a mass of up to 220 pounds (100 kilograms). Kestrel Eye IIM is the first satellite ejected into space by this deployer. More (Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Oct 29)
SPACEX WILL LAUNCH ANOTHER USED DRAGON CAPSULE TO SPACE STATION SOON - SpaceX's march toward full reusability continues. The company's next cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which is scheduled to launch no earlier than December, will employ a preflown Dragon capsule, NASA officials said. The liftoff will also mark the return to service of Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The pad has been out of commission since September 2016, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded there during a routine prelaunch test. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 28)
JAPAN TO LAUNCH CLIMATE RESEARCH SATELLITE IN DECEMBER - Japan will launch a climate research satellite in December to analyze and forecast global warming-linked environmental changes, the science ministry said Friday. The satellite, named Shikisai, will be placed in orbit 800 kilometers above the ground from where it will conduct long-term monitoring of cloud cover, levels of dust and aerosols in the atmosphere as well as ocean color, vegetation, snow and ice cover on the earth's surface. More (Source: Kyodo News Plus - Oct 28)
AGEING SATELLITES PUT CRUCIAL SEA-ICE CLIMATE RECORD AT RISK - One of the most important continuous records of climate change — nearly four decades of satellite measurements of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice — might soon be interrupted. Scientists all over the world rely on the sea-ice record compiled by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado. But the US military satellites that collect the data, by measuring ice extent using microwave sensors, are approaching the end of their lives. Three are still working but ageing, and their intended successor started experiencing glitches in 2016, before conking out for good this month. More (Source: Nature - Oct 28)
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