COMMUNICATION SATELLITE LOST IN SPACEX ROCKET EXPLOSION WAS CO-LEASED BY FACEBOOK - A satellite co-leased by Facebook and intended to bring internet access to parts of sub-Saharan Africa, was destroyed on a launchpad in Florida today (Sept. 1), when the rocket meant to carry it to space exploded. The explosion occurred at approximately 9:07 a.m. EDT (1307 GMT) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The AMOS-6 communications satellite was scheduled to launch on Saturday (Sept. 3), and was already secured atop a Falcon 9 rocket, built by Elon Musk's private spaceflight company SpaceX. The rocket exploded during a routine prelaunch static-fire test, in which the first stage of the rocket is ignited but does not leave the launchpad, according to a statement from SpaceX.    More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 2)

ASTRONAUTS CONCLUDE SECOND SPACEWALK OF EXPEDITION 48 - Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins concluded their spacewalk at 2:41 p.m. EDT. During the six-hour, 48-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts successfully retracted a thermal radiator, installed two enhanced high definition cameras on the station’s truss and tightened bolts on a joint that enables one of the station’s solar arrays to rotate.   More
(Source: NASA - Sep 2)

SPACEX ROCKET AND ISRAELI SATELLITE DESTROYED IN LAUNCH PAD EXPLOSION - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded in the final minutes of a simulated countdown at Cape Canaveral on Thursday, destroying the booster and an Israeli communications satellite valued at nearly $200 million. The mishap on Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad Thursday will raise questions about the reliability of the Falcon 9 booster, which is slated to haul up cargo to the International Space Station, launch dozens of commercial satellites, and eventually send astronauts into orbit. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) launcher exploded at 9:07 a.m. EDT (1307 GMT), a few minutes before a planned ignition of the rocket’s nine Merlin main engines for a brief “static fire” test designed to wring out problems with the launch pad and the vehicle.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 1)

EUROPEAN SATELLITE HIT BY SPACE PARTICLE - European Space Agency (ESA) engineers reported today (Aug. 31) that a solar panel on the Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite was hit by a millimeter-size particle in orbit on Aug. 23. The strike produced a sudden small power reduction and slight changes in the orientation and the orbit of the satellite. "Following a preliminary investigation, the operations team at ESA's control center in Darmstadt, Germany suspected a possible impact by space debris or micrometeoroid on the solar wing," according to an ESA statement.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 1)

SES AGREES TO LAUNCH SATELLITE ON ‘FLIGHT-PROVEN’ FALCON 9 ROCKET - SpaceX and SES, an international communications satellite operator based in Luxembourg, have agreed to place the SES 10 television relay craft aboard the first launch of a reused “flight-proven” Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral as soon as October, the companies announced Tuesday. The agreement ends SpaceX’s search for a customer to put a satellite aboard a previously-flown booster, and a successful demonstration of the launcher’s ability to fly multiple missions could persuade other companies to sign up for a flight on a reused rocket. “Thanks for the longstanding faith in SpaceX,” SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk tweeted. “We very much look forward to doing this milestone flight with you.”   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 1)

IRAN SATELLITE LAUNCH PROMPTS FEAR OF LONG RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK - Iranian officials announced on Tuesday that the country is preparing to launch three new satellites into space, renewing concerns from defense experts about Iran’s ongoing research into long-range ballistic missile technology that could help it fire a nuclear weapon at Western nations. Mohsen Bahrami, the director of Iran’s space agency— which has long been suspected of providing cover for weapons research—announced that Iran would launch its newest satellite, dubbed “Friendship,” later this year.   More
(Source: Washington Free Beacon - Sep 1)

CHINA READIES NEXT 'HEAVENLY PALACE' FOR MID-SEPTEMBER LAUNCH - China is readying its next piloted space mission, a multifaceted undertaking that will lay the foundation for the country to build a space station in Earth orbit in the 2020s. Both Tiangong-2 (whose name means "Heavenly Palace") and the piloted Shenzhou-11 spacecraft are now undergoing checkout at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. Tiangong-2, which is scheduled to launch in mid-September, is a true "space lab" that will verify key technologies for building China's space station, according to its chief designer, Zhu Zongpeng.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 1)

THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IS GETTING A NEW HD CAMERA - Tomorrow, two American astronauts will boldly go where several people have gone before. In the early hours of September 1 astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins will embark on America's 195th spacewalk, venturing outside of the ISS to make some basic repairs, including retracting a part of the station's cooling system, a task that has been on the to-do list of spacewalker's for a while now. The two will also install a new high-definition camera on the outside of the ISS. The camera will add to a growing collection of cameras mounted on the ISS. The ISS HD Earth Viewing experiment broadcasts live views of Earth from the ISS, while ultra-high definition cameras capture stunning views that are eventually edited to make videos like these.   More
(Source: Popular Science - Sep 1)

INDIA BAGS DEALS TO LAUNCH 68 FOREIGN SATELLITES, 12 OF THEM FROM US - India secured deals to launch 68 overseas satellites, including a dozen from the US, a top official said on Tuesday. “We got fresh orders to launch 68 satellites from various countries, including 12 from PlanetiQ, a US-based weather forecasting satellite firm,” said Rakesh Sasibhushan, Chairman and Managing Director of Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of the Indian space agency. Through Antrix, the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched 74 foreign satellites, including many from advanced countries like Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Israel and the US over the 15 years, using its most reliable workhorse - the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).   More
(Source: Hindustan Times - Aug 31)

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