News Notes - 2007

Dec 21 - SELENE STARTS INTENSIVE LUNAR STUDY

The Japanese lunar probe Selene(Kayuga) starts an intensive 10 month study of the moon from a near circular orbital height of 100 km. Fifteen scientific intruments will probe various aspects of the moon including its structure, gravity, magnetism and plasma environment, in the most intensive investigation of our satellite since the Apollo missions. ISAS - SELENE

Dec 20 - UN DECLARES 2009 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY

The 62th General Assembly of the United Nations has adopted a proposal of the International Astronomical Union and declared 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy. This proposal was first mooted at the IAU meeting in Sydney in 2003. International Astronomical Union IYA2009.

Dec 10 - US SPACE SHUTTLE FLEET GROUNDED

Space shuttle mission STS-122 (Atlantis) was to have been launched to the International Space Station early December. However, problems with an engine cutoff sensor (ECO) in the external fuel tank, and/or associated wiring have grounded the shuttle fleet until the problem can be resolved. This may delay the next launch by a month or more. NASA Space Shuttle.

Nov 26 - CHINA RELEASES FIRST MOON IMAGES

China has released the first pictures of the moon's surface captured by its Chang'e-1 lunar probe. Images

Nov 10 - US LAUNCHES EARLY WARNING SATELLITE

A spectacular night launch from the Kennedy Space Center by a Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle lofted the last Defense Support Program satellite (DSP-23) into orbit. This satellite uses an infrared sensor to provide early warning of missile and rocket launches. Although its final geosynchronous location is classified, rumours that it will be able to monitor rocket launches in Iran and China indicate that its position in space will be above the Australian horizon, and will probably downlink its data through a ground station in Alice Springs. This will be the last DSP satellite. The series will eventually be replaced by SBIRS (Space Based InfraRed System) satellites. For more on DSP satellites see the USAF DSP factsheet.

October - IAU LAUNCHES FREE ONLINE JOURNAL

The International Astronomical Union this month launched a free online journal "Communicating Astronomy with the Public". This is part of a worldwide effort leading toward the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. Copies of the journal can be downloaded from the website at CAP Journal .

Oct 24 - CHINA LAUNCHES MOON MISSION

China launched its first lunar mission from the Xichang launch centre in Sichuan province using a Long March 3A rocket. This 2350 kg spacecraft was based on China's DFH-3 communications satellite but with considerable autonomous computing power. The name of the craft - Chang'e [pronounced Charng-her] is after a mythical Chinese goddess who flew to the moon. The spacecraft was initially placed in a very eccentric Earth orbit which was then increased in size over several days to the point where it could easily slip into lunar orbit. The final orbit of the mission is planned for 200 km above the lunar surface. It is hoped that the first lunar images will be available late November. The ESA tracking station in New Norcia, Western Australia, has been involved in receiving telemetry signals from Chang'e for the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA). Although the CNSA has a web page devoted to lunar exploration, this is not routinely updated with mission news. Probably the most timely source of Chinese space activities can be obtained from the China People's Daily.

Oct 24 - SPACE SHUTTLE STS-120 LAUNCHES TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

Full details of this mission can be found at NASA Space Shuttle.

Oct 23 - COMET HOLMES EXPLODES

A very faint periodic comet (17P/Holmes) has exploded, and within 24 hours brightened from magnitude 17 to magnitude 2.5 (visible to the naked eye). The size of the debris cloud from the explosion has expanded to almost 2 million kilometres in diameter (larger than the Sun, but of course much less dense). Unfortunately for Australian observers, the object has a very northerly declination (about 50^oN). Thus while it may remain visible for the next month or so, only observers north of latitude 30 S have much chance of seeing it. Even then it will be very low in the northern sky for a short time each night, around midnight. It is in the constellation of Perseus, and appears as faint fuzzy glow. Binoculars will definitely assist in viewing the object. The comet will slowly move to a more southerly position in the next few months, but it is impossible to predict how its brightness will vary in this time. The comet is currently about 2.5 AU from the Sun and 1.6 AU from Earth. More information at Australian Sky and Telescope. See also the Australian Space Academy comment on the Comet Holmes outburst as an impact event.

Oct 11 - US LAUNCHES FIRST WIDEBAND SATCOM - AUSTRALIAN DOD TO SHARE

The first in a series of wideband defence communications satellites was launched by an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 01:22 UT. Known as WGS-1 (Wideband Global Satcomm satellite), this one satellite, with X-band and Ka-band transponders, will provide more bandwidth than the entire constellation of DSCS satellites (the current US DoD geosat communications network backbone). Australia will pay $927 million to purchase one of six satellites in the WGS fleet, and has also agreed to allow the US Army Space Command (the controlling authority for DSCS and WGS communications) to locate a WGS teleport (network hub) at the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) facility west of Geraldton in Western Australia. A Universal Space Network ground station at Dongara, south of Geraldton, was the first station to receive signals from WGS-1 following its launch. A fact sheet on WGS may be obtained from the satellite manufacturer Boeing.

Oct 7 - NEW REPORT RELEASED ON SOLAR POWER SATELLITES

The US National Security Space Office has just released a new report on space based solar power. The authors of the study have a very positive view of the potential of solar power satellites and believe the US government should take the lead in developing the technology. The full report, including an executive summary, can be downloaded from NSSO.

Oct 5 - NEW AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE IN ORBIT

The latest Australian Communications Satellite, Optus D2, was launched into orbit at 22:02 UT from French Guina by an Ariane 5 rocket. Optus D2 will be located in a geosynchronous orbit at 152 degrees East and will replace Optus B3 which has been in operation for 13 years. The satellite was built by the Orbital Sciences Corporation using their STAR platform and has 24 Ku band transponders. The D-series satellites provide fixed communications (point to point) and television and radio broadcast services to Australia and New Zealand. Details of the satellite can be found at Orbital.

Sep 24 to 27 - 7th AUSTRALIAN SPACE SCIENCE CONFERENCE

The seventh Australian Space Science Conference was held in Sydney. A big feature of this year's conference was discussion of a decadal plan for Australian space science, in which the Australian Government will be asked to fund $100 million over a 10 year period to support some high priority projects, including 'Sundiver', a spacecraft that would gather data from closer to the Sun than any previous solar mission, in an orbit that would end in the Sun itself. A draft copy of the decadal plan is available from IPS Radio and Space Services. Details of the conference, including biographies of the invited speakers and abstracts of all the presentations can be found at 7ASSC .

Sep 22 - SERC DIRECTOR MEETS ASA STAFF

Professor Kiyohumi Yumoto, Director of the Japanese Space Environment Research Center at Kyushu University had dinner with Australian Space Academy staff. Professor Yumuto presented John Kennewell (ASA director) with a certificate of appreciation for technical support of the SERC CPMN magnetometer at Learmonth Solar Observatory. Discussions were held on a range of issues relating to space weather monitoring. SERC.

Sep 18 - NASA ACCEPTING ASTRONAUT APPLICATIONS

NASA is now accepting applications for its 2009 astronaut class. You have until 1 July 2008 to apply, but you need to be a US citizen. NASA Astronaut Recruitment.

Sep 12 - JAPAN LAUNCHES KAGUYA (SELENE)

On Wednesday the 12th, Japan launched its Kaguya (Selene) Lunar Orbit Explorer on an H2A launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center launch site. Kaguya is an extremely complex spacecraft, carrying 15 scientific instruments and two sub-satellites. Billed as the most sophisticated lunar exploration mission in the post-Apollo era, this SELenological and ENgineering Explorer will observe the distribution of elements and minerals on the Moon, its surface and sub-surface structure, its gravity and remnant magnetic field, and the plasma environment around the Moon. ISAS - SELENE

Aug 24 - 2008 SPACE MOOT PROBLEM RELEASED

The International Institute of Space Law (of the International Astronautics Federation) has just released the 2008 problem for the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition. This is an annual competition for law students to give them court experience of space law problems. Space Moot.

Aug 19 - ASA WEB SITE OPENS

The Australian Space Academy web site, hosted by Sumer Digital, went on-line displaying the home page. The site will be expanded during the next few months.