SURVEILLANCE SATELLITE LAUNCHING THURSDAY ATOP DELTA 4-HEAVY ROCKET - One of the largest satellites in the world will launch aboard America’s biggest operational booster Thursday, riding that power to a listening post 22,300 miles above the planet for its clandestine eavesdropping mission, all indications suggest. A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will fly from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37 at 1:59 p.m. EDT (1759 GMT). Although the duration of the day’s usable launch window has not been revealed, officials previously said liftoff would occur by 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT). Weather forecasters say there is a risk of showers and thunderstorms, dropping the odds of acceptable launch conditions to 40 percent due to anvil clouds, cumulus clouds and lightning.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 7)

CHINA PLANS TO LAUNCH HUBBLE-LIKE SPACE TELESCOPE - China plans to launch an independent optical facility, which will function like the Hubble Space Telescope , along with the construction of a space station in the coming years, scientists said. The field of view of the optical cabin will be 300 times as large as that of the Hubble, and the cabin will be connected with the space station, said Gu Yidong , technology consultant of China's manned space flight project and academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).    More
(Source: Times of India - Jun 7)

RUSSIA DELAYS LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION TO ENSURE SAFETY OF NEW SPACESHIP - The flight of the next crew to the International Space Station has been postponed until July 7 from June 24 in order to ensure the safety of the first launch of their new Soyuz-MS spaceship, Russian space agency Roscosmos said Monday. A series of additional tests of the spaceship's software is required, Roscosmos said, citing the decision of a state commission which met earlier Monday. Russian Commander Anatoly Ivanishin, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Japan's Takuya Onishi are due to take off from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Soyuz-MS.   More
(Source: Daily Star - Jun 7)

ASTRONAUTS ENTER INFLATABLE SPACE STATION MODULE FOR 1ST TIME - The International Space Station's new inflatable habitat has had its first visitors. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams opened the hatch leading to the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) for the first time today (June 6) at 4:47 a.m. EDT (0847 GMT), NASA officials said. Williams and cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka then entered BEAM "to collect an air sample and begin downloading data from sensors on the dynamics of BEAM's expansion," NASA officials wrote in an update today. "Williams told flight controllers at Mission Control, Houston, that BEAM looked 'pristine' and said it was cold inside, but that there was no evidence of any condensation on its inner surfaces."    More
(Source: Space.com - Jun 7)

TINY ‘CHIPSAT’ SPACECRAFT SET FOR FIRST FLIGHT - On 6 July, if all goes to plan, a pack of about 100 sticky-note-sized ‘chipsats’ will be launched up to the International Space Station for a landmark deployment. During a brief few days of testing, the minuscule satellites will transmit data on their energy load and orientation before they drift out of orbit and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. The chipsats, flat squares that measure just 3.2 centimetres to a side and weigh about 5 grams apiece, were designed for a PhD project. Yet their upcoming test in space is a baby step for the much-publicized Breakthrough Starshot mission, an effort led by billionaire Yuri Milner to send tiny probes on an interstellar voyage.   More
(Source: Nature - Jun 6)

PROTON-M WITH TELEVISION SATELLITE ERECTED ON BAIKONUR LAUNCH PAD - Proton-M carrier with Briz-M booster and Intelsat DLA-2 satellite was taken to the Baikonur’s launch complex, the Russian space agency, Roskosmos, reported on Sunday. "On June 5, 2016, at the Baikonur cosmodrome, to the launch system has been installed the Proton-M carrier with Briz-M booster and the Intelsat DLA-2 satellite," the agency said. "The specialists have begun preparing the carrier for the launch." The launch is scheduled for June 8 at 10:10 Moscow time. The space apparatus was made by the U.S. Space Systems Loral at the order from Intelsat S.A. satellite communication operator. The satellite weights more than six tons. The Russian-U.S. International Launch Services Inc. signed a contract on its launch in March, 2013.    More
(Source: TASS - Jun 6)

ROKOT LAUNCHER BLASTS OFF WITH RUSSIAN GEO-IK-2 GEODESY SATELLITE - Russia successfully launched a Rokot booster on Saturday, June 4, carrying the country’s latest geodesy satellite. The spacecraft, named Geo-IK-2 No.12, lifted off at 10:00 a.m. EDT (14:00 GMT) from Site 133/3 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The mission had alarmed environmentalists in Canada as the second stage of the launcher, loaded with toxic propellants, fell into the Baffin Bay where the country has jurisdiction over protecting the marine environment. The launch was carried out by the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN RF). Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Aleksander Golovko was in charge of the launch. Ground services of RVSN RF were supervising the liftoff and the flight of the satellite. The mission was initially planned for May, but it was postponed due to technical reasons.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Insider - Jun 5)

WHAT WAS THE MIR SPACE STATION? - On February 20, 1986, a Proton rose off its launchpad in Kazakstan bound for low Earth orbit. Its payload was a module designated 17KS, known better as the core stage of the Mir space station. In the 15 years that followed, modules were added and rearranged, prompting some to liken history’s first modular space station to a Tinker Toy. But however non-traditional it was at the time, a lot can be gleaned from its name. “Mir” roughly translates to "peace" or “world,” but a more nuanced is the translation of “village.” If the Americans and Soviets behind their space programs are a village, Mir brought everyone together for the sake of the mission.   More
(Source: Popular Science - Jun 4)

NARRATED TOUR OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - This 16-minute narrated tour of the International Space Station shows all the modules of humankind’s weightless laboratory orbiting Earth 400 km above. The video is available in English, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish and French and is shown to visitors at ESA’s technical heart ESTEC in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. This video is also available in all languages in stereoscopic 3D on ESA's Youtube channel   More
(Source: ESA - Jun 3)

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