US GOVERNMENT SATELLITE IMAGE SHOWS PUERTO RICO BLACKOUT - Millions of people in Puerto Rico remain without electricity in the wake of Hurricane Maria, a new image taken by a US government satellite shows. Outside the capital city San Juan, residents are still isolated without power or communications, which could take weeks to restore. Clean water and medicine are also scarce, locals report. The island's governor warned on Monday of a "humanitarian crisis occurring in America", and called for more aid. More (Source: BBC News - Sep 26)
RUSSIA MULLS SENDING COSMONAUTS TO CHINA’S PLANNED ORBIT STATION - Russia’s space agency is considering plans of sending cosmonauts to China’s orbit station currently under construction, Roscosmos chief Igor Komarov told reporters at the International Astronautical Congress on Monday. "There have been certain talks on this issue," Komarov said, commenting on whether Russia has received any offers for its cosmonauts to visit China’s orbit station in the future. The Roscosmos chief said he expects that the parliament will ratify a fundamental law regulating the exchange of technologies in rocket industry within one or two months. "I hope that after this a possibility will open for full-fledged and full-scale cooperation." More (Source: TASS - Sep 26)
SECRET SPY SATELLITE LAUNCHES ATOP ATLAS V ROCKET - The NROL-42 spy satellite lifted off from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base this morning (Sept. 24) at 1:49 a.m. EDT (0549 GMT; 10:49 p.m. Sept. 23 local California time), streaking skyward atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. NROL-42 is the latest addition to the fleet of spacecraft built and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). NRO satellite missions are classified, so it's unclear what orbit NROL-42 will occupy, or what exactly the craft will be doing as it zooms around Earth. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 25)
ASTRONAUTS CELEBRATE AUTUMN EQUINOX 2017 WITH ONE LAST ALOHA FRIDAY - Today (Sept. 22) is the first day of autumn in the northern hemisphere, but the astronauts on the International Space Station squeezed in one last "Aloha Friday." Randy Bresnik, NASA astronaut and Expedition 53 commander, posted two photographs to Twitter of he and his crewmates wearing space-themed Hawaiian shirts (or Aloha shirts). The brightly colored short-sleeved shirts feature red and yellow planets, blue stars and purple gas clouds. "Our Earth is but an island in the cosmos," Bresnik wrote. "Exp 53 crew is embracing the island lifestyle with our @Space_StationHawaiians on #AlohaFriday!" More (Source: Space.com - Sep 24)
CHINA’S TIANZHOU 1 SUPPLY VEHICLE RE-ENTERS ATMOSPHERE - The Chinese Tianzhou 1 resupply and refueling freighter re-entered Earth’s atmosphere Friday, burning up as designed after a five-month mission demonstrating servicing techniques for China’s future space station. The nearly 35-foot-long (10.6-meter) robotic cargo carrier fired its thrusters two times to slow down and drop out of orbit, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. The ground-commanded deorbit burns guided the Tianzhou 1 spacecraft into the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean at around 1000 GMT (6 a.m. EDT; 6 p.m. Beijing time) Friday, Chinese space officials said. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 24)
REPLACEMENT SATELLITE LAUNCHED INTO RUSSIA’S GLONASS NAVIGATION FLEET - A Soyuz rocket added a new satellite to Russia’s Glonass navigation network Friday with an on-target delivery nearly 12,000 miles above Earth. The fresh Glonass M spacecraft replaces a defunct satellite launched nearly 11 years ago, sustaining the Glonass system’s near-global reach for the Russian military. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off at 0002:32 GMT Friday (8:02:32 p.m. EDT Thursday) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, military spaceport in the Arkhangelsk region about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Moscow. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 23)
SPACE JUNK: WHAT IS IT, HOW MUCH IS OUT THERE, AND WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH IT? - Australian scientists believe there are millions of artificial objects in orbit around the Earth, and that has huge implications for the safety of our satellites and spacecraft. With a war on galactic waste to be declared at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, we take a look at this enormous mess. What is space junk? It's essentially the debris left behind by human exploration and activity in the Earth's orbit — old satellites, pieces of spent rockets, waste from astronaut suits and other items left behind during space walks. More (Source: ABC Online - Sep 23)
OSIRIS-REX ASTEROID MISSION HEADS FOR EARTH FLYBY - NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, en route to asteroid Bennu to retrieve samples and return them to scientists, will slingshot past Earth on Friday, using gravity to change its trajectory for a rendezvous with its target late next year. One year since it launched from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas 5 rocket, OSIRIS-REx will return to Earth on Friday with a high-speed encounter taking the probe about 11,000 miles (17,000 kilometers) above Earth. The solar-powered spacecraft will make its closest approach to Earth at 1652 GMT (12:52 p.m. EDT) Friday, passing over Antarctica, just south of Cape Horn, Chile. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 22)
ATLAS V ROCKET LAUNCH FROM VANDENBERG AFB DELAYED - A glitch has delayed Thursday night’s departure of an Atlas V rocket and its top-secret spacecraft at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Liftoff of the United Launch Alliance rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 on South Base will not occur before Saturday, officials said Thursday afternoon. "The delay allows the team time to replace a faulty battery on the Atlas V booster," ULA officials said in a written statement. "The vehicle and spacecraft remain stable." More (Source: Noozhawk - Sep 22)
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