SONY’S A7S II STUNS WITH 4K FOOTAGE FROM OUTSIDE THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Sony’s lineup of full-frame mirrorless cameras is impressive, and have become a staple for videographers and photographers worldwide. But now, the a7S II has gone beyond just our world, capturing amazing 4K footage from outside the International Space Station. The a7S II was mounted on the ISS on the KIBO Japanese Experiment Module created by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan’s space agency, after the organization determined that it was durable and reliable enough to survive outer space conditions, including vacuum, radiation and extreme temperature swings of up to almost 400 degrees Fahrenheit depending on whether the camera is oriented towards the sun or not.    More
(Source: TechCrunch - Jul 29)

ASTRONAUTS ON THE SPACE STATION WILL SEE THE SOLAR ECLIPSE 3 TIMES - When the Great American Solar Eclipse sweeps across the continental U.S. on Aug. 21, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will have a chance to see it from a unique vantage point. "We're going to have a front-row seat to that [the solar eclipse] — 250 miles [400 kilometers] closer than you will there down on Earth," NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik told Space.com in a preflight interview on NASA TV.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 29)

LAUNCH OF SENTINEL-5P SATELLITES SCHEDULED FOR FALL - Preliminary plans indicate a Russian booster vehicle Rokot will take the European research satellite into orbit from the Plesetsk Space Center on October 9, Rene Pischel, the representative of the European Space Agency in Russia told TASS. "The latest information we have suggests the launch has been scheduled for October 9 but we’re still awaiting official confirmation of the date," Pischel said. He recalled that, in line with earlier plans, the booster vehicle was to lift off from Plesetsk but more time was needed to eliminate the faults tracked down during the testing of the vehicle.    More
(Source: TASS - Jul 29)

SOYUZ ROCKET TAKES OFF CARRYING 3-MAN CREW TO SPACE STATION - A Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off from Kazakhstan Friday, boosting a three-man crew into orbit for a six-hour flight to the International Space Station. The workhorse Soyuz rocket thundered to life at 11:41 a.m. EDT (GMT-4; 9:41 p.m. local time) and streaked away from the same pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome that was used to launch Sputnik 60 years ago and Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, in 1961. Trailing a brilliant plume of exhaust visible for miles around in the clear early evening sky, the Soyuz booster climbed away directly into the plane of the space station's orbit, kicking off a six-hour rendezvous.    More
(Source: CBS News - Jul 28)

SENATE RESTORES FUNDING FOR NASA EARTH SCIENCE AND SATELLITE SERVICING PROGRAMS - An appropriations bill approved by a Senate committee July 27 would restore funding for several NASA Earth science missions slated for termination by the administration as well as a satellite servicing program. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a commerce, justice and science (CJS) appropriations bill, along with two other spending bills, during a markup session. The CJS bill, offering $19.529 billion for NASA overall, had cleared its subcommittee July 25.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jul 28)

IRAN CLAIMS LAUNCH OF SATELLITE-CARRYING ROCKET INTO SPACE - Iran successfully launched its most advanced satellite-carrying rocket into space, the country’s state media reported Thursday, in what is likely the most significant step yet for the launch vehicle. A confirmed launch of the “Simorgh” rocket would mark another step forward for the Islamic Republic’s young space program, but is likely to raise alarm among its adversaries, who fear the same technology could be used to produce long-range missiles. The U.S. State Department called the launch “provocative.”   More
(Source: Washington Post - Jul 27)

SMALLEST SATELLITE EVER PAVES WAY FOR PLANNED INTERSTELLAR FLEET - Breakthrough Starshot has taken the first step towards their grand plans to one day send spacecraft to Alpha Centauri. On June 23, the $100 million initiative to send light-propelled spacecraft to our nearest star sent the tiniest-ever satellites into orbit. An Indian rocket carried six of these miniature satellites, called Sprites, into space. Two of them are attached to the sides of other, larger satellites: the Latvian Venta satellite and the Italian Max Valier satellite. Once communications are established, the Max Valier satellite will release the other four Sprites to orbit on their own.   More
(Source: New Scientist - Jul 27)

MUSK SETS EXPECTATIONS LOW FOR MAIDEN FALCON HEAVY LAUNCH - When SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket finally takes off for the first time, a debut now scheduled this fall, there’s a good chance the commercial heavy-lifter will falter short of reaching orbit, company founder and chief designer Elon Musk said last week. The oft-delayed test flight of SpaceX’s largest rocket to date, and the most powerful present-day launcher, will take off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a storied seaside facility that served as the departure point for Apollo moon landing missions and most of the space shuttle’s trips into orbit.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jul 27)

CHINA’S QUEST TO BECOME A SPACE SCIENCE SUPERPOWER - Time seems to move faster at the National Space Science Center on the outskirts of Beijing. Researchers are rushing around this brand-new compound of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in anticipation of the launch of the nation's first X-ray telescope. At mission control, a gigantic screen plays a looping video showcasing the country's major space milestones. Engineers focus intently on their computer screens while a state television crew orbits the room with cameras, collecting footage for a documentary about China's meteoric rise as a space power.    More
(Source: Nature - Jul 27)

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