Tag: CubeSats
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Soyuz booster rolls out for launch with space station cargo freighter
The Soyuz-2.1a rocket arrives at Launch Pad No. 1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sunday. Credit: Roscosmos Russian launch crews stood up a Soyuz rocket Sunday on its launch mount in Kazakhstan for a scheduled liftoff Wednesday with approximately 5,500 pounds (2,500 kilograms) of supplies, experiments, fuel and several small satellites to be released by…
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Small satellite launcher set for first orbital test flight this week
The Electron rocket at Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula on New Zealand’s North Island during a May 16 wet dress rehearsal. Credit: Rocket Lab The first test flight of Rocket Lab’s commercially-developed Electron launcher was held up by weather Sunday, but conditions could improve for a launch attempt Monday from New Zealand…
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Don’t miss this spectacular video of 104 satellites deployed in space
Video Playerhttp://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/videos/pslv_c37-on_board.mp4.mp4 Media error: Format(s) not supported or source(s) not found Download File: http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/videos/pslv_c37-on_board.mp4.mp4?_=100:0000:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. NOTE: Updated with correction from Planet. India’s space agency has released stunning video captured by cameras mounted on-board a rocket that launched this week with 104 satellites. The views begin with the blastoff…
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India lofts a record 104 spacecraft on a single rocket
Credit: ISRO An Indian rocket deployed 104 spacecraft into orbit 300 miles above Earth on Tuesday, the largest pack of satellites ever launched on a single booster. The satellites from India, the United States, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Israel, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates will take pictures of planet Earth, monitor the environment, validate new…
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Indian rocket set to place 104 satellites in orbit
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is scheduled to fire into orbit early Wednesday with 104 satellites on-board, setting a record for the largest flock of spacecraft ever launched on a single rocket. Most of the payloads cocooned inside the PSLV’s nose shroud are as small as a toaster oven, set to join commercial fleets tasked…
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NASA okays commercial airlock for space station
Artist’s concept of the NanoRacks airlock attached to the space station’s Tranquility module. Credit: NanoRacks A commercial airlock built in partnership by NanoRacks and Boeing will be connected to the International Space Station in 2019, the companies announced Monday, after the proposed project won preliminary approval from NASA managers. NanoRacks plans to deploy small commercial…
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Planet acquires rival satellite company from Google
One of Terra Bella’s SkySat satellites captured this image of downtown San Francisco on Dec. 27. Credit: Planet/Terra Bella San Francisco-based Planet, a company with a fleet of miniature satellites in orbit looking down on Earth, has acquired Terra Bella from Google to add high-resolution imaging to its business portfolio. The financial terms of the…
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ISS set for first commercial airlock for external payloads and cubesats
The International Space Station (ISS) is set to gain another addition in 2019, with the announcement of a milestone being achieved with the goal of launching a commercial airlock for installation on the Tranquility module. The airlock – in association with NanoRacks and Boeing – will be used for deploying external payloads and cubesats. New Airlock:…
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Experimental flight of Japanese sounding rocket falls short of orbit
Credit: JAXA A small research rocket launched from Japan fell into the Pacific Ocean on Saturday after attempting to send a student-built CubeSat into orbit, Japanese officials said. The three-stage rocket took off at 2333 GMT (6:33 p.m. EST) Saturday from the Uchinoura Space Center in southern Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture, four days after inclement weather…
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Launch of experimental Japanese rocket scrubbed
The SS-520-4 launcher is in position for liftoff in this photo from the Uchinoura Space Center taken Monday. Credit: JAXA The launch of an experimental fin-stabilized Japanese rocket with a shoebox-sized CubeSat was scrubbed Tuesday, pushing back a test flight to demonstrate how companies and institutions can inexpensively put small satellites in space. The modified…