RUSSIA’S NAVIGATION NETWORK RECEIVES NEW SATELLITE - A Glonass navigation satellite blasted off Sunday aboard a Soyuz rocket, reaching an orbit nearly 12,000 miles above Earth to join Russia’s fleet of positioning, navigation and timing spacecraft. The new Glonass M satellite, designated No. 53 in the navigation system, launched at 0844 GMT (4:44 a.m. EDT) Sunday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in far northern Russia. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket boosted the 1,415-kilogram (3,119-pound) satellite and a Fregat upper stage to space in less than nine minutes, then the Fregat’s main engine took over for a pair of maneuvers to guide the Glonass M craft into a circular orbit more than 19,100 kilometers (about 11,900 miles) above Earth.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 2)

MSU SPACE SCIENCE STUDENTS FIND MISSING SATELLITE - Two Morehead State University Space Science Center students have given back an out-of-this-world learning tool to 10,000 grade school children in Virginia after tracking down a satellite that was deemed lost in space. Cody Robinson and Maria LeMaster were the duo that took on the task with the assistance of staff member Bob Kroll. Students from St. Thomas More Elementary School built the STMSat-1 satellite that has received a viral following and was even blessed by the Pope. The satellite is a cubesat — a type of miniature satellite developed at MSU — that uses a camera as its payload, transmitting Slow Scan TV signal or SSTV with a frequency of 437.8MHz. On May 16 the satellite was released from the International Space Station, but as the school children tuned in to hear the satellite orbit, not a single sound was made.   More
(Source: The Independent - Jun 2)

GEOSTATIONARY ES’HAIL-2 SATELLITE SET TO LAUNCH THIS YEAR - Launch of the geostationary Es’hail-2 satellite into orbit is planned for December 2016. The satellite will be placed in a 25.5° orbit. Coverage of the Amateur Radio narrowband (NB) and wideband (WB) transponders should extend from Brazil to Thailand. Es’hail 2 will carry two “Phase 4” non-inverting Amateur Radio transponders operating in the 2.4 GHz and 10.45 GHz bands. A 250 kHz bandwidth linear transponder intended for conventional analog operation, and an 8 MHz bandwidth transponder is designed for experimental digital modulation schemes and DVB amateur television.   More
(Source: ARRL - Jun 1)

'CATASTROPHIC AVALANCHE' OF SPACE JUNK COULD WIPE OUT SATELLITES WITHIN YEARS - The world's navigation and communication networks are at risk of being brought down by a "catastrophic avalanche" of space junk, researchers have warned. The rapid build-up of space junk orbiting Earth is a serious threat to satellites, which are crucial for everything from global positioning systems and mobile phone calls to television broadcasts and weather forecasts. And destructive junk doesn't need to be big. Chief executive of the Space Environment Research Centre Ben Greene said a thumbnail-size piece of junk travelling at 10 kilometres a second could take down a satellite.    More
(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald - Jun 1)

CHINA LAUNCHES NEW ZIYUAN III 02 SATELLITE FOR CIVILIAN HI-RES MAPPING - China on Monday launched a new civilian high-resolution mapping satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province. The Ziyuan III 02 satellite took off on the back of a Long March 4B rocket at 11.17 a.m., the centre announced. It is the 228th flight mission by a Long March carrier rocket. Also on board the rocket were two NewSat satellites developed by URUGUS S.A., the Uruguayan subsidiary of Argentine company Satellogic. All three satellites have entered preset orbits, the centre said.   More
(Source: I4U News - May 31)

MARK ZUCKERBERG TO CONNECT WITH SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS LIVE VIA FACEBOOK - Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and chief executive officer, will speak with three astronauts currently living and working aboard the International Space Station at 12:55 p.m. EDT Wednesday, June 1. The Earth-to-space call will be seen live on NASA’s Facebook page. During the 20-minute Facebook Live video call with NASA astronauts Tim Kopra, KE5UDN and Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, and ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) Tim Peake, KG5BVI, Zuckerberg will ask questions submitted on NASA’s Facebook page.   More
(Source: Southgate - May 31)

RUSSIA’S GLONASS-M SATELLITE DELIVERED INTO INTERIM ORBIT - A Fregat booster with a Glonass-M satellite separated from the third stage of a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket at the designated time in a normal regime, the press office of the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday. The carrier rocket was launched at 11:45 a.m. Moscow time (08:45 GMT) from site No. 43 of the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region in north Russia by an operational crew of the Russian Aerospace Force’s space troops. "It will take several hours for the Fregat booster to bring the Glonass-M satellite into the designated orbit," the press office said.    More
(Source: TASS - May 30)

ISRO TO LAUNCH RECORD 22 SATELLITES IN SINGLE MISSION IN JUNE - ISRO today said it will launch a record 22 satellites in a single mission next month. “After the current reusable launch vehicle, the next experiment what we have to do we have to worry about that. Other than that, next month we have a launch where we will be launching about 22 satellites. Also one of a cartographic series satellite will be launched,” ISRO Chairman Kiran Kumar said. Speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), he said that of the 22 satellites, three are Indian and the rest all commercial. “The launch is scheduled during the end of next month,” he added.    More
(Source: The Hindu - May 29)

ORBITAL ATK'S THAICOM 8 SATELLITE ENJOYS A SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH - The THAICOM 8 commercial communications satellite, built Orbital ATK for Thaicom PLC, was successfully delivered to orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the satellite is operating as planned. THAICOM 8 will support Thailand’s growing broadcast industry by providing broadcast and data services to customers in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket occurred on May 27 at 5:39 p.m. (EDT) from the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida.    More
(Source: SatNews Publishers - May 29)

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