WHERE WILL THE OUT-OF-CONTROL CHINESE SPACE STATION LAND? - Scientists have admitted that they have no way of safely guiding Tiangong-1 back to Earth, and say it is moving too fast to accurately predict where debris from the 8.5-tonne module will crash. The nation’s first prototype space station, Tiangong-1, or “Heavenly Palace”, launched into orbit in September 2011. The module reached the end of its service life earlier this year and was due to splashdown – eventually – in the Pacific Ocean. But at a recent press conference, the Chinese space agency admitted it had lost contact with the station. They did not explain what had gone wrong.   More
(Source: The Guardian - Sep 25)

ALIBABA PLANS TO LAUNCH WORLD'S FIRST E-COMMERCE SATELLITE - China's online marketing giant Alibaba plans to launch the world's first e-commerce satellite next year to provide people with the best vegetables after analysing agricultural cultivation and harvesting data. Juhuasuan.com, a group shopping website affiliated with Alibaba Group, has announced plans to launch the world's very first e-commerce satellite, a report in the state-run People's Daily said. The project is in cooperation with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle T ..    More
(Source: Economic Times - Sep 24)

EXPLOSION THAT DESTROYED FALCON ROCKET, FACEBOOK SATELLITE POSSIBLY DUE TO GAS TANK BREACH - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that exploded on the launch pad earlier this month and destroyed a valuable satellite may have resulted from a leak in its cryogenic helium system, the company said Friday. SpaceX attempted to launch the locket at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Sept. 1. AMOS-6 mission controllers said the "catastrophic abort" occurred during a stationary test firing of the rocket's engines. The aerospace company said in an update Friday that it has been working with NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration and industry experts to try and determine the cause for weeks.   More
(Source: UPI - Sep 24)

MORE SATELLITE COLLISION WARNINGS TO COME WITH SPACE FENCE DATA - A senior Pentagon official said the U.S. Air Force will need to rethink how it issues satellite collision warnings when a new space object tracking system goes online or risk overwhelming satellite operators and hardware systems with overly cautious alerts. In 2018, the Air Force’s next-generation space object tracking system, known as the Space Fence, will go online and detect satellites and space debris 5 centimeters and larger. Defense Department officials said they are optimistic that on the best days, the $900 million Space Fence, built by Lockheed Martin on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, may be able to track objects as small as 1 centimeter. That’s a marked improvement over the Defense Department’s current network of radars and sensors, which tracks objects 10 centimeters and larger.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Sep 23)

CHINA JUST LAUNCHED BOTTLES OF WINE INTO SPACE FOR AN EXPERIMENT - China launched a cache of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir vines into space on the orbiting Tiangong-2 lab during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival on September 15, in an experiment that hopes to yield a sturdier plant by exposing them to the harsh climates and radiation of space. According to DecanterChina.com, scientists hope the experiments will create a vine that is more drought, cold, and virus resistant making the vines more suitable for Chinese weather. The auspicious launch date is perhaps a nod to Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival folklore, as legend tells the story of the moon goddess, Chang’e, levitating all the way in to space after getting drunk on the “elixir of life.”   More
(Source: Fortune - Sep 23)

CHINA’S FALLING SPACE STATION IS NOT GOING TO HIT YOU ON THE HEAD. UNLESS IT DOES - No day counts as a good day when an eight-ton Chinese space station falls on your head. If you’re like most people, you don’t give that danger a lot of thought, and the good news is, you don’t have to start now. Probably. The dangers posed by an eight-ton Chinese space station have been much in the news of late, after Chinese officials admitted during a Sept. 14 press conference that its Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace) space station, launched in 2011, having “comprehensively fulfilled its historical mission,” is going to come crashing back to Earth sometime in 2017. Where exactly will it land? Well, hard to say. When exactly will the reentry happen? In the second half of the year—if it doesn’t happen earlier or later.   More
(Source: TIME - Sep 23)

ISRO TO LAUNCH SCATSAT, 7 OTHER SATELLITES ON SEPTEMBER 26 - Indian Space Research Organisation on Wednesday said it would launch SCATSAT-1 for ocean and weather related studies and seven co-passenger satellites into polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) on September 26. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 37th flight, (PSLV-C35) will launch the satellites at 9:12 hours on September 26, 2016 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, ISRO said. The 377 kg SCATSAT-1 satellite will have satellites from Algeria, Canada and USA, as well as two satellites from Indian Universities as its co-passenger. ISRO said SCATSAT-1 would be placed into a 720 km Polar SSO, whereas the two Universities satellites and the five foreign satellites will be placed into a 670 km polar orbit.    More
(Source: Times of India - Sep 22)

CHINA LOSES CONTROL OF SPACE STATION NOW HURTLING TOWARDS EARTH - China has begrudgingly admitted that the country's first and only space station is most likely out of control -- and is expected to crash into the Earth's atmosphere next year. The Tiangong-1 space station, launched in September 2011, means "heavenly palace" and was used to perform docking exercises in preparation for the country to build and launch a larger space complex by 2020. The station is also equipped with monitoring equipment and sensor payloads for space observation. However, speculation over the past few months has led to rumors that the 8.5-ton Tiangong-1's telemetry link to Earth operators has failed, which would result in an uncontrolled plummet to Earth in the next few years.   More
(Source: ZDNet - Sep 22)

BREATHTAKING IMAGE OF MEDITERRANEAN STORM TAKEN FROM SPACE STATION - 4Share to TwitterShare to RedditShare to StumbleUponShare to Google+Share to Tumblr NASA have released stunning new night-time pictures taken from onboard the International Space Station (ISS), giving a fascinating perspective of cities and regions bordering the Mediterranean. The Strait of Gibraltar, the Nile river, southern Italy and a powerful thunderstorm, seen from more than 400km (250 miles) above, were all captured on film by members of the Expedition 49 crew as the space station passed over Earth in low orbit.   More
(Source: RT - Sep 22)

Previous Next