Gregory Kulacki at the Union of Concerned Scientists notes the successful flight of a new launch vehicle by China’s military forces and discusses its strategic significant:

On 25 September 2013 China launched another earth observation satellite into orbit. The spacecraft, identified in Chinese press reports as the Kuaizhou 1, is a small earth observation satellite that will be used for disaster management and will be operated by China’s National Remote Sensing Center. But the launch had a second purpose: to test a new solid-fueled launch vehicle the Chinese military plans to use to provide a rapid ability to replace Chinese satellites that might be damaged or destroyed by an enemy attack.

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Etienne de la Roij (Credit: SXC)

Ticketholder Interview
Via SXC

At the age of 26, Dutchman Etienne de la Roij is one of SXC’s youngest ticket holders. Etienne became a Founder Astronaut in October 2012.

Q. Tell us a bit about your background?

I work for PowerCem, which is our family business.

I like to do thrilling activities that give me the feeling that I am alive. I have done some parachute jumping, paragliding from mountains, bungee jumping, cage diving with sharks, motorcycling. I do this to experience new things in life and to see the wonders of the world.

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL., October 2, 2013 (CASIS PR) – Today, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which was selected by NASA in July 2011 to maximize use of the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, announced a partnership with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to launch research investigations studying factors that contribute to occurrences of harmful algal bloom (HAB), or red tide.

The NRL plans to use advanced imaging technology on the (ISS) to develop early HAB detection, quantification and classification algorithms. CASIS has awarded $250,000 enabling the principal investigator, Dr. Ruhul Amin of the NRL, to expand this research.

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Via NASA — In the new Warner Bros. movie “Gravity,” two astronauts find themselves adrift in space and struggling for survival after their spacecraft is destroyed by space debris. Although this scenario makes for gripping Hollywood entertainment, NASA actively works to protect its astronauts and vehicles from the dangers portrayed in the movie.

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The open hatch to the Cygnus freighter. (Credit: NASA)

International Space Station (ISS) astronauts opened the hatch to the newly arrived Cygnus freighter on Monday and began unloading cargo as NASA officials gave Orbital Sciences Corporation permission to proceed with a commercial cargo delivery flight in two month’s time.

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Falcon 9 lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base. (Credit: SpaceX)

Satellite fleet operator SES is awaiting a detailed explanation from SpaceX as to why the second stage of its upgraded Falcon 9 booster failed to reignite during a flight on Sunday before placing its communications satellite on the next launch of the rocket.

Meanwhile, SpaceX has denied a report that the second stage might have exploded after delivering multiple satellites in low Earth orbit during a demonstration of the upgraded Falcon 9 version 1.1.

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Sunjammer deployment test.

Tustin, CA (Sunjammer Mission PR) — NASA officials, team partners, and local students were on hand to witness a key milestone for the Sunjammer Mission as it successfully deployed a quadrant of its solar sail – a critical design component that will eventually herald an era of propellantless spacecraft. Sunjammer will be the largest solar sail ever flown using photonic pressure (or sunlight) to maneuver in space.

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Former CU-Boulder students Mark Sakaguchi and Bruce Davis test the DANDE satellite. (Credit: CU-Denver)

BOULDER, Colo. (CU-Boulder PR) – A small satellite designed and built by a team of University of Colorado Boulder students to better understand how atmospheric drag can affect satellite orbits was successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Sunday morning.

The satellite, known as the Drag and Atmospheric Neutral Density Explorer satellite, or DANDE, will investigate how a layer of Earth’s atmosphere known as the thermosphere varies in density at altitudes from about 200 to 300 miles above Earth. The commercial Falcon-9 SpaceX rocket lifted off the launch pad at about 10 a.m. MDT carrying DANDE, a small beach ball-sized satellite developed over a period of about six years by roughly 150 students, primarily undergraduates, as part of the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, or COSGS.

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AMSTERDAM (SXC PR) — SXC, in collaboration with Space Affairs, is proud to present a staggering 4 day event into the discovery of human space exploration. Future SXC astronauts will join us in Russia where they will be visiting the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, the Yuri Gagarin Museum in Star City and the Monino Air Force Museum. The cherry on the cake is the fact that they will experience full […]

Robert McBrayer of Mojave, Calif., works on a spacesuit project funded by SpaceGAMBIT. (Credit: Douglas Messier)

MOJAVE, Calif., Oct. 1, 2013 (Luna Desic PR) – Luna Desic of Mojave, Calif., is pleased to announce the completion of a partial pressure suit under a $20,000 grant from SpaceGAMBIT.

“We’re very pleased to have been selected by SpaceGAMBIT for this award,” said Luna Desic Founder and CEO Robert McBrayer. “The competition was tough for awards. We’re very grateful to Jerry Isdale and Maiu Makers for having confidence in us and selecting our project.”

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