NASA pronounced it dead over a decade ago – now, amateur satellite trackers found the agency’s 18-year old IMAGE magnetosphere exploration satellite to be actively transmitting signals to Earth
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The classified NROL-47 satellite launched by a Delta IV rocket on Friday had barely made its first lap around Earth when its identity as a radar reconnaissance satellite was revealed by amateur satellite trackers listening to the spacecraft’s radio transmissions, found to be in family with predecessor missions of the same kind.
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The year 2017 saw a total of 90 known orbital launch attempts from seven nations and space ports in eight different countries. 2017 had the second most orbital launch attempts of any year in the current century, short of 92 launches in 2014 and showing a slight increase from 2016 that had 85 known launch attempts.
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The Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft closed out a very successful mission via a targeted destructive re-entry on Friday, concluding a critical demonstration of China’s cargo resupply architecture in anticipation of the deployment of a large modular space station later this decade.
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China’s Tianzhou-1 cargo resupply spacecraft completed an express link-up with the unoccupied Tiangong-2 space laboratory on Tuesday, continuing a shakedown mission to pave the way to an operational cargo architecture for the upcoming Chinese Space Station (CSS).
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More trouble appears to be brewing in Geostationary Orbit as reports emerged this week of a satellite breaking apart in prime orbital real estate – the second such incident in as many months, adding to an already significant population of debris and zombie satellites
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A previously unknown ‘Inspector Satellite’ separated from the Russian military-operated Kosmos-2519 satellite last week, the Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed on Wednesday and reported the small sub-satellite would be tasked with tasked with inspecting an unspecified Russian satellite via photo surveys.
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The stricken AMC 9 communications satellite that suffered a sudden and unexpected anomaly on June 17 has shed at least three pieces of debris according to information from the U.S. Air Force and private tracking firm ExoAnalytic Solutions.
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China’s Tiangong-2 space laboratory and Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft spent five hours apart on Monday in a deliberate maneuver to undock the resupply ship and fly it around the ‘Heavenly Palace’ before bringing it back for a re-docking
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Satellite operator SES announced on Monday that the company’s AMC 9 communications satellite suffered “a significant anomaly” over the weekend and that customers were being transferred to alternate satellites to mitigate service outages as a result of the anomaly.
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China’s Tianzhou-1 cargo resupply craft, currently docked to the Tiangong-2 Space Laboratory completed its second in-orbit refueling demonstration
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India’s GSAT-19 satellite reached a near-Geostationary Orbit on Saturday after a re-planned orbit-raising campaign that was necessitated by a slightly off-target delivery of the high-throughput communications satellite by the new GSLV Mk. III launch vehicle.
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Observers in Western and Central Europe were treated to a unique sight passing overhead Saturday night when the freshly launched SpaceX Dragon along with its second stage and two protective covers streaked across the sky just minutes after lifting off from Florida’s Space Coast.
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Satellite communications provider Iridium placed eight of its new satellites launched in January into active service after a complex ballet of orbital moves to position the new additions in the 66-satellite constellation while spiraling retiring satellites down from their operational orbits.
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China successfully completed its first refueling exercise in orbit between the Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft and the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, marking the completion of the last crucial demonstration before the country can begin the deployment of its planned modular Space Station currently expected to start in 2018.
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China’s Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft arrived at its orbital destination Saturday morning, successfully docking with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory to conclude the first chapter in a pathfinder mission
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The International Space Station adjusted its orbit on Monday to set up the precise orbital geometry for the homecoming of three resident crew members on April 10 and the launch of a two-man Soyuz crew on the 20th for a fast-track rendezvous with the orbiting outpost.
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