RUSSIAN SATELLITE TO BE ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST OBJECTS IN THE NIGHT SKY - The future is incredibly bright for a Russian satellite that is expected to outshine everything but the moon, starting next month. The tiny Mayak satellite will be be launched on a Soyuz 2.1v vehicle July 14 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, IFLScience reported. Once in orbit, about 370 miles high, the satellite will unfurl a giant pyramid-shaped solar reflector to shine brighter than any other star in the night sky.   More
(Source: Bew York Post - Jul 1)

RUSSIAN SATELLITES TANUSHA 1 AND 2 SET FOR ACTIVATION - Two Russian satellites are planned to be activated inside the International Space Station (ISS) Russian Segment as part of a verification test from July 4-8. The satellites will eventually be deployed by hand from the ISS during a Russian space walk tentatively scheduled for August 17, 2017.   More
(Source: AMSAT-UK - Jul 1)

THIS GECKO-INSPIRED ROBOT COULD HELP SOLVE OUR SPACE DEBRIS DILEMMA - It’s no secret that in our decades of space travel, we haven’t always cleaned up after ourselves. Space debris—like dead satellites, empty rocket fuel containers, and shrapnel from past collisions like the 2009 Russian satellite crash—is gradually building up in the Earth's orbit. The off-world litter is causing current astronauts real problems, as new missions require careful calculations to keep track of and avoid obstacles. The International Space Station makes adjustments several times a year to avoid disastrous collisions with such space junk.   More
(Source: Popular Science - Jun 30)

CSUN’S CUBESAT LAUNCHES FROM INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION AND CONTRIBUTES TO NASA RESEARCH - Many CubeSats are like prodigal children when launched from the International Space Station into Earth’s orbit: The miniature satellites leave home and are never heard from again. Not CSUNSat1. This mini satellite has performed like a dutiful child this summer, calling home at least twice a day to California State University, Northridge and doing all of its homework. After months of preparation and waiting, on April 18, electrical and computer engineering professors Sharlene Katz and James Flynn and their students cheered with relief as NASA launched CSUNSat1, the university’s first stellar explorer, to the International Space Station (ISS).    More
(Source: CSUN Today - Jun 30)

ASGARDIA’S 1ST SATELLITE DUE TO LAUNCH - Within just a few months, Asgardia – named for the city in the sky of Norse mythology, whose stated goal is to become the first space nation – will have its first satellite catapulted into orbit by NASA. Aboard will be personal data of Asgardia “citizens.” The Asgardia-1 satellite is due to launch aboard a NASA mission to the International Space Station later this summer. This week (June 26, 2017) Asgardia said that NASA-mandated tests have now been successfully conducted with its satellite. Its satellite’s batteries and power systems were tested, and the satellite passed both a vibration test, simulating vibration during launch, and a vacuum chamber test, designed to ensure that the satellite will survive in the vacuum of space.   More
(Source: EarthSky - Jun 29)

COMMUNICATION SATELLITE GSAT-17 LAUNCHED FROM FRENCH GUIANA - GSAT-17, the country's newly launched communication satellite, will soon join the fleet of 17 working Indian communication satellites in space and augment their overall capacity to some extent. The 3,477-kg spacecraft was released into a temporary orbit in space as planned at 2.45 a.m. [a.m.] IST on Thursday about 39 minutes after launch from the European space port of Kourou in French Guiana. It was dusk at the South American near-equatorial space port. GSAT-17 was sent up as the second passenger on the European booster, Ariane-5 ECA VA-238, according to ISRO and the European launch company Arianespace.   More
(Source: The Hindu - Jun 29)

SATELLITE MEGA-CONSTELLATION PRODUCTION BEGINS - European aerospace giant Airbus and its partner, OneWeb, have begun the production of a satellite mega-constellation. The network will comprise at least 600 spacecraft in the first instance, but could eventually encompass more than 2,000. The aim is to deliver broadband links from orbit to every corner of the globe. In particular, the project wants every school to have a connection. Building so large a constellation requires a step-change in the manufacture of satellites - especially for Airbus. It can take Europe’s biggest space company many months and hundreds of millions of dollars to build some of today’s specialist platforms. But for the OneWeb venture, it is all about high volume and low cost.    More
(Source: BBC News - Jun 28)

SPACEX WILL TRY FOR THIRD FALCON 9 LAUNCH IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS - After back-to-back launches last weekend, SpaceX could launch its next Falcon 9 mission as soon as Sunday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a high-power Intelsat communications satellite. Liftoff Sunday will hinge on the ability of SpaceX’s launch team to prepare KSC’s launch pad 39A for another flight after the successful June 23 blastoff of a Falcon 9 booster with the first Bulgarian-owned communications satellite. A customary hold-down hotfire test of the Falcon 9’s nine Merlin 1D engines is scheduled as soon as Thursday.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 28)

SATELLITE CARRYING LASER-OPTICAL DATA RELAY SERVICE AND HYLAS-3 KA- PAYLOAD FACES NEW DELAY - A long-delayed satellite carrying a laser-optical payload for intersatellite links and Ka-band broadband for Africa faces further delays because of an anomaly in its Ka-band system, government and industry officials said. The satellite, called EDRS-C by the European Space Agency, Airbus Defense and Space and the European Commission, and Hylas-3 by commercial satellite fleet operator Avanti Communications, which will operate the Ka-band service, is unlikely to launch before mid-2018, officials said. EDRS-C/Hylas-3 is important for Airbus because it will extend the coverage and provide backup for the EDRS-A payload now in orbit on fleet operator Eutelsat’s Eutelsat 9A satellite at 9 degrees east in geostationary orbit.   More
(Source: Space Intel Report - Jun 27)

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