CHINA TO LAUNCH A NEW SPACE STATION IN 2016 - China says it will launch its second space station, the Tiangong-2, in 2016. It will go into orbit aboard a Long Rocket 5 and replace the nation's current space station, the Tiangong-1, which will eventually be de-orbited. The 47-foot Tiangong-2 will be able to house a crew of three. This new project represents the second of three planned space habitations by the Chinese space agency. While Tiangong-1 is largely regarded as a prototype space station for the fledging Chinese space program, 2 is a stepping stone to Tiangong-3, planned for 2022, which will become the basis for a larger overall station. The agency is currently recruiting astronauts for the second space habitation.   More
(Source: Popular Mechanics - Mar 11)

FOX-1A READY FOR LAUNCH, FOX-1D TO CARRY RADIATION-MAPPING EXPERIMENT - Following successful vibration and thermal/vacuum testing, AMSAT-NA's Fox-1A CubeSat now sits in a clean environment awaiting launch. AMSAT Vice-President-Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, said that NASA, the launch provider, now is reviewing several required reports. Fox-1A completed its Mission Readiness Review at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California, on February 24 before a review board of Cal Poly and NASA representatives, he said, adding that Fox-1A delivery and integration has been set for March 25. “From there, we won’t see her again, but certainly look forward to hearing from her again,” he said.   More
(Source: ARRL - Mar 11)

WEEKS FROM ANOTHER LAUNCH, SPACEX KEEPING PACE WITH MANIFEST - The next launch in SpaceX’s busy manifest this year is scheduled for March 21, when a Falcon 9 rocket will take off from Cape Canaveral and deliver Turkmenistan’s first satellite into orbit. The liftoff from SpaceX’s Complex 40 launch pad on Florida’s Space Coast will mark the Falcon 9 rocket’s fourth flight of more than a dozen missions on the docket for 2015. The satellite arrived at Cape Canaveral on Feb. 26 aboard a cargo plane after a trans-Atlantic journey from its factory at Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, France.   More
(Source: SpaceFlignt Now - Mar 10)

A NEW SPACE RACE EMERGES AS NASA PREPARES TO AWARD CONTRACT TO FERRY SUPPLIES TO SPACE STATION - Lugging groceries and supplies to the astronauts on the International Space Station may not be as cool as ferrying the astronauts themselves into orbit. But the NASA contract to fly cargo to the station in unmanned rocket ships has attracted bids from high-profile companies in what analysts say is another indication of commercial spaceflight’s recent renaissance. It appears that at least five space firms have submitted proposals for the work, including giants such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which didn't bother to bid on the work the last time. In a new sort of space race, the contract has touched off an intense competition between stalwart defense contractors and new space start-ups that have, in just a few years, shown they can compete.   More
(Source: Washington Post - Mar 10)

UNH INSTRUMENTS TO LIFT OFF ON SATELLITE MISSION - A satellite launch from NASA scheduled Thursday will contain instruments constructed or coordinated by University of New Hampshire researchers. More than half of the key instruments that populate four satellites were worked on for nearly a decade by scientists, engineers and students from UNH's Institute for the Study of Earth Oceans and Space. Each of the four satellites, flying together as a tightly coordinated, pyramid-shaped fleet, will study electromagnetic fields and "space weather" patterns that can impact communication satellites, GPS navigation, and Earth-based power grids.   More
(Source: WMUR Manchester - Mar 9)

SPACE STATION LAUNCHES SET TO RESUME FROM VIRGINIA NEXT MARCH - Mark your calendar and cross your fingers — an upgraded Antares rocket is expected to launch again from Virginia's spaceport this time next year. If and when that happens, it will mark the final recovery of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) from the worst disaster in its short history. The state-owned spaceport is located at NASA Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore. But many things must still go right in order for that to happen, said Barron "Barry" Beneski at Orbital ATK, formerly known as Orbital Sciences Corp.   More
(Source: Daily Press - Mar 9)

NASA ORDERS MISSIONS TO RESUPPLY SPACE STATION IN 2017 - NASA has ordered four additional launches to deliver cargo to the International Space Station in 2017 — three from SpaceX and one from Orbital ATK — to cover the research lab’s logistics needs until a new set of resupply contracts take effect. The extra missions for SpaceX and Orbital ATK will serve as a bridge between the contractors’ current contracts and new commercial cargo deals that will cover resupply missions launching from 2018 through at least 2020. SpaceX and Orbital ATK won Commercial Resupply Services contracts from NASA in December 2008, covering 12 cargo deliveries by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and eight missions with Orbital ATK’s Cygnus supply ship.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 8)

CHINA TO LAUNCH TIANZHOU-1 CARGO SHIP IN 2016 TO RENDEZVOUS WITH SPACE LAB - China will send a cargo ship into the space in 2016 to dock with a future space module scheduled to be launched earlier the same year, a leading Chinese space scientist said Friday. The Tianzhou-1, which literally means "heavenly vessel", will carry propellants, living necessities for astronauts, research facilities and repair equipment to China's second orbiting space lab Tiangong-2, said Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China's manned space program.   More
(Source: Xinhua - Mar 8)

ISRO RACES TO FIX GLITCH IN NAVIGATIONAL SATELLITE SO THAT IT CAN BE LAUNCHED IN TIME - The Indian space agency is deliberating the ways and means of setting right a glitch in its fourth regional navigation satellite with minimum effort so that it can be launched early, said an official. The 1,425kg satellite - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-IRNSS-1D - was supposed to be launched on the evening of 9 March by an Indian rocket called Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL). The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on 4 March, however, deferred the launch after it discovered that one of the telemetry transmitters in the IRNSS-1D was not working properly.   More
(Source: Firstpost - Mar 7)

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