TWO U.S. MILITARY SATELLITE LAUNCHES DELAYED INTO NEXT YEAR - Two U.S. military satellite launches planned for this fall from Cape Canaveral are being delayed to 2018 due to separate factors, the Air Force says. The fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency protected communications spacecraft and fourth Space Based Infrared Systems-Geosynchronous missile tracking observatory had been slated for liftoff on Oct. 11 and Nov. 9, respectively, atop United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets. But both will slide to the next calendar year, according to the Pentagon. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Aug 3)
NEXT SPACEX FLIGHT TO RESUPPLY SPACE STATION TARGETED FOR AUG. 13 - The next flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver cargo to the International Space Station now is targeted for Aug. 13 at approximately 12:56 p.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. More (Source: NASA - Aug 3)
ISRO TO LAUNCH A 'BACK-UP' NAVIGATION SATELLITE BY MONTH END - Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its navigation satellite IRNSS-1H by the end of this month to augment the existing seven satellites of NavIC constellation, a senior ISRO official said. To be launched on board PSLV-C39, IRNSS-1H will be a "back up" navigation satellite for IRNSS-1A, one among the seven satellites in the constellation, as its three rubidium atomic clocks on board had stopped functioning. More (Source: Economic Times - Aug 2)
HARRIS CORP. TO LAUNCH SMALL SATELLITE 'PROOF OF CONCEPT' THIS YEAR - Harris Corporation in Melbourne plans to send a small satellite, about the size of a laptop, into space later this year in a “proof of concept” test that would take the company into a new market. The launch would mark the first time Harris designs what is known as a “smallsat” satellite, sends it into space on another company’s rocket, controls its operations from Florida and captures and processes the data it receives. More (Source: Orlando Sentinel - Aug 2)
THE SPACE JUNK PROBLEM IS ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT GNARLIER - For a few months in the fall of 1957, citizens of Earth could look up and see the first artificial star. It shone as bright as Spica, but moved across the sky at a much faster clip. Lots of people thought they were seeing Sputnik—Russia’s antennaed, spherical satellite, and the first thing humans had flung into orbit. But it wasn’t: It was the body of the rocket that bore Sputnik to space—and Earth’s first piece of space junk. Space junk is the colloquial name for orbital bits that do nothing useful: spent rockets, fragments splayed by collisions and degradation, old satellites no one cares about anymore. More (Source: Wired - Aug 2)
SES LOSES 12 TRANSPONDERS ON NSS-806 SATELLITE, SAYS IMPACT IS TEMPORARY - A 19-year old SES satellite lost nearly a third of its transponders in an anomaly this month, marking the second major satellite malfunction in the SES fleet this year. NSS-806, a C- and Ku-band telecommunications satellite from Lockheed Martin, is still serving customers despite being seven years past its intended design life. However, 12 transponders ceased functioning this month, SES said July 28, without specifying which frequencies. In the company’s half year earnings results for 2017, SES estimated the impact on revenue would be between 7 and 9 million euros ($8.3 and $10.4 million). More (Source: SpaceNews - Aug 1)
ISRAEL TO LAUNCH TWO SATELLITES INTO SPACE THIS WEEK - For the very first time, two Israeli satellites will be launched into space together, including the first governmental research satellite; Director General of the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science, Avi Blasberger: 'Several countries are interested in our observation satellites.' In 1984, Avi Blasberger was one of the first engineers at the Elop company, now owned by Elbit Systems, transferred to working on a top secret project: developing the camera for Israel's forthcoming spy satellite, a capability only possessed by the US and the USSR at the time. More (Source: Ynetnews - Jul 31)
ELON MUSK SAYS SPACEX'S FIRST FALCON HEAVY LAUNCH WILL LIFT OFF IN NOVEMBER - SpaceX's new megarocket, the massive Falcon Heavy, will make its launch debut in November, according to the company's founder and CEO Elon Musk. n Twitter and Instagram statements late Thursday (July 27), Musk announced the fall target for the Falcon Heavy's maiden flight. "Falcon Heavy maiden launch this November," Musk wrote on Twitter. He did not reveal a specific target date for the launch, though it is expected to fly from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. More (Source: Space.com - Jul 31)
ANTICIPATING UPGRADED SPACESHIPS, SPACEX BUILDS FINAL FIRST-GENERATION DRAGON CARGO CRAFT - The Dragon supply ship set for liftoff from Florida next month was the last of SpaceX’s first-generation cargo capsules off the production line, meaning future logistics deliveries to the International Space Station will fly on recycled spacecraft until a new Dragon variant is ready. SpaceX launched a reused Dragon cargo craft on its last commercial supply shipment to the space station in June, and officials said then that the next Dragon mission — now scheduled for launch next month — will use a newly-manufactured capsule. Plans for subsequent resupply missions were still under review, NASA and SpaceX officials said at the time. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 31)
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